September 1,  2002                                 Issue #80



         Mcpete Sez, 
   The Lingerie Newsletter 
                   & 
    Women's Wear Journal                          

                 
Sleepwear-Daywear-Foundations-Loungewear-Hosiery-
       Swimwear-Dancewear-Clubwear-Funwear 
                              Ready to-wear.

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        Prince Charles goes Fashion
Britain's Prince Charles, lover of all things natural, will launch his own range of country clothing to help revive the rural economy, the Sunday Times reported. 
The royal fashion label will only use wool supplied by British sheep farmers and the products will be made in rural workshops, the paper said. 
It quoted an informed source as saying the project had been motivated by Charles's "deep sense of obligation" to tackle the crisis in agriculture. 
"Although he is a substantial donor in his own right to charity, and raises many millions more, he wants to provide practical leadership," the source said.    Britain's agricultural industry was ravaged by last year's foot and mouth epidemic. 
According to figures from the National Farmers' Union, the average British farmer earned just $15,270 in the year to February. 

Gap reports 37 percent drop in second-quarter profit 
SAN FRANCISCO - Clothing retailer Gap Inc.'s financial struggles continued in the second quarter and it warned that its third quarter had a rocky start.   The San Francisco-based company said late Thursday that it earned $56.8 million, or 6 cents per share, for the quarter ended Aug. 3 — down 37 percent from $89.8 million, or 10 cents per share, at the same time last year.

Sales at U.S. online retailers rose in the second quarter of 2002, but fell slightly as a proportion of overall retail sales, the government said on Thursday.  In its quarterly report on e-commerce, the Commerce Department  said online retail sales grew by 3.7 percent in the second quarter to $10.24 billion. That reversed a revised 11.6 percent decline in first quarter sales to $9.88 billion. 


                        
2/6
                                Betsey's 60th
Three years ago, when Betsey Johnson bought "My Blue Heaven," her teal cottage nestled in the sticks of East Hampton, she had a vision: For her 60th birthday, which coincided with the 25th anniversary of her company, she would have a big party in her backyard, and stage a memorable fashion show.
So, at 3pm on Saturday, a slew of cars and one big bus arrived at "My Blue Heaven" for the spectacle that took Johnson several months to assemble: 28 staged vignettes by the models, who were done up with tiaras and tousled hair for a babydoll-becomes-homecoming-queen look.
Beneath a tree by the pool was "Little Miss Muffett," who in a pink and white polka-dot lace-up dress, gold platform sandals, and Cutler & Gross aviators, dutifully ate her curds and whey. In a bathroom upstairs, one girl, dressed in a pink quilted bustier dress, jammed to headphones, applied lip gloss, and sipped sufficient amounts of Pop champagne, while out on the porch two half-clad nymphettes splashed in a Jacuzzi and seemed startled when one of the rubber ducks emitted a noise upon being squeezed.
"Betsey's been planning this for a long time, and it's her birthday, so I think it's fine, but I'm not in favor of showing on the 17th. Unfortunately, by nature, designers are going to want to do their own thing," shrugged Herman. "But, it would be nice if we all came together and pulled one weight."
For Spring 2003, Betsey's collection was not unlike the naughty doll aesthetic she's shown for the last 25 years. There were skin-tight mini dresses and lace up bustiers, tutu "circle" skirts and smocked chiffon bandeaus, some very cool pegged skirts and "D-ring" belted harem pants -- all in different variations of electric-kool-aid-acid colors and bold rosebud prints. It all made for a very 1984, rock 'n' roll bride-steals-the-Corvette kind of feel.

          
    Clothing prices, on 4-year slide, 
        help lower U.S. inflation 
Increasing foreign manufacturing and aggressive price competition in the U.S. market have pushed apparel prices in the United States steadily down to nearly a four-year low. 
According to the latest consumer price index ( news - web sites) report from U.S> Labor Department ( news - web sites), released last week, apparel prices fell 1 percent in July after falling 0.9 percent in June and 0.6 percent in May. The July move, economists say, is the largest monthly decline for the apparel price index since April 2001. 
Apparel prices have dropped 3.2 percent compared to last year. It was the largest fall among all sectors in the CPI index except for energy, which fell 5.2 percent in the year to July. 
In fact, the year-over-year apparel component of the CPI index has consistently shown negative numbers every single month since September 1998, said Carol Stone, deputy chief economist at Nomura Securities International in New York. 
That means average clothing prices in the United States have been steadily falling in the past four years despite the fact that prices of most other goods and services have been increasing, and some by large margins. 





40/48

Calvin Klein Rapped for Too Sexy British Ad 
LONDON - A Calvin Klein perfume poster, which featured a kissing semi-naked couple, was too sexually explicit to be shown on British billboards.The Advertising Standards Authority said on Wednesday it had received dozens of complaints about the poster, which showed the couple naked from the waist up kissing open-mouthed.
The man had one hand holding a bottle of perfume which partly obscured the woman's breasts, while his other hand was inside the waistband of her trousers.
Calvin Klein said the poster, which is no longer appearing, was not explicit and had been "tastefully photographed." It argued the ad "reflected the glamour, beauty and sensuality of the Calvin Klein brand," according to a statement on the ASA Web site.


“A man who dies without a will has lawyers for his heirs.”
-- Anonymous

  
A young girl models with a number written on her arm, along with other women of all ages while trying to set a world record for the largest number of models in a fashion show, Sunday, Aug.11, 2002, in Figueira da Foz beach, northern Portugal. 
More than 2220 women participated in the event.



16/24
 
                       Jockey's Nothing Bra!
Undie experts Jockey International had a small presentation featuring the best of their spring 2003 line in their New York showroom.
The central attraction was the newly designed 'Almost Nothing' bra. The bra, although not under wired, offers the support of under wiring as the fabric 'Flex-to-Fit' conforms to women's silhouettes.
The benefits of such a bra? No wire marks, perfect fit and no seams.
There are two 'Almost Nothing' styles -- a casual cotton and Lycra spandex number with a low cut front, adjustable straps and surplice front, and for dressier occasions, the elegant bra in nylon and Lycra spandex jacquard, with a smooth front and adjustable straps.

                      Clothes from Junk??
                 
A model wears an outfit made out of recycled materials during a fashion show organized by Cape Town artists and a music store in Johannesburg on Saturday Aug. 24, 2002. The show was held to coincide with the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development and all the clothes are made out of cans, bags CD cases, and other found materials.

OTTAWA - Seasonally adjusted retail sales in Canada rose by a hefty 1.8 percent in June from May but the overall pattern for this year remains fairly flat, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.  
The rise -- much greater than the 0.5 percent gain predicted by analysts -- follows a 1.1 percent drop recorded in May over April. 
That figure was revised from a 1.3 percent fall. 

    British retail sales up 0.3 percent in July 
LONDON - Retail sales edged up just 0.3 percent in July from the previous month, according to government statistics released Thursday, prompting fears that Britain's consumer boom is over. 
Economists had expected the Office for National Statistics to report a larger gain in July following falls in sales over the previous two months. 
Retail sales were 4.5 percent higher than in July 2001, the slowest growth in more than a year.

             Limited sees Strong Earnings
Limited Brands Inc. saw a strong second quarter, posting earnings that exceeded analysts' estimates.
The Ohio-based company, which operates Limited Stores, Victoria's Secret, Express and Bath & Body Works, announced Thursday that earnings in the quarter ended August 3 climbed to $83.2 million, or 16 cents per diluted share. That's a significant leap from an adjusted $34.5 million, or 7 cents a share, in the same period last year.
Wall Street had predicted that Limited Brands would post earnings per share between eight and 14 cents.

                     


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