Big pants are driving big changes across the entire wardrobe. A shift in fashion toward wide-leg jeans has driven the likes of Gap Inc, J Crew Group’s Madewell and even Lululemon Athletica Inc to offer these styles, boosting sales. Now the brands are enjoying an extra benefit that comes with the popularity of the new silhouette – consumers are buying a host of other items to go with the pants.
While bigger tops worked with skinny jeans, shoppers are now gravitating to smaller ones to balance out the wider bottoms. The phenomenon is driving more purchases at brands like Madewell, Gap and Urban Outfitters Inc’s Anthropologie. And its potential to significantly shake up spending in teens and young women is making companies and analysts carefully track the wide-leg jean craze – and the additional shopping that it inspires.
It’s yet another factor that’s contributing to a revival among consumer apparel retailers like Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch Co, shares of which have more than doubled over the past year. Isabelle Hasslund, 24, is one buyer who exemplifies the dynamic. Read more: Glamour of goth: All-black everything is the fashion trend of the moment Over the past 12 months, after spending more than US$100 (approximately RM413) on wide-leg jeans, she has shelled out even more – US$700 (RM2,893) – on items to pair with them.
Her haul includes multiple "baby tees” and cropped-tee shirts, including a US$48 (RM198) top from Kim Kardashian’s Skims. "Wow, I’m lik.