California Apparel News

UPDATE: Barbara Fields Reopening Buying Office

After 35 years tracking trends, Barbara Fields is retiring and closing her Barbara Fields Buying Office at the California Market Center in Los Angeles.

In 1984, Fields opened her trend forecasting and retail consulting operation at the CMC, and on June 1, she closed her doors.

Fields said she reached the decision to retire “after a lot of thought.” She announced her retirement plans over the Memorial Day weekend in a letter sent to her retail clients and manufacturing contacts. Fields, who said she plans to stay in Southern California, said she wants to spend more time with her family.

For more than three decades, retailers have been relying on Fields’ seasonal forecasts for the juniors industry as well as her signature “Million Dollar Items”—those must-have apparel and accessories pieces Fields predicted would be key each season.Fields’ forecasts drew representatives from retail chains large and small including JCPenney, Rue 21,Nasty Gal, Windsor, Ross Stores, Sears, Siblings, Citi Trends, Bon-Ton Stores, Ron Jon Surf Shops, Love Culture, Papaya and Just Fab as well as celebrities such as Anna Nicole Smith and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi when

they had a brand launching.

To keep her finger on the pulse of fashion, Fields kept a rigorous travel schedule that had her scouting trends across the country and around the world.

“After going to New York and London every month, it’s time to take time to smell the roses,” she said.

In 2008, Fields was named Woman of the Year by the Fashion Industries Guild of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center at the organization’s annual gala, where more than 850 tickets—a record-breaking turnout—were sold for the black-tie event in Beverly Hills.