While the secondhand market booms, thrifting is coming apart at the seams

Apr 15, 2024
If you've recently dug through the racks of a Goodwill and found a lot of lower-quality fast fashion, you're not alone, says Kelsey Vlamis of Business Insider.
"Needs-based shoppers are increasingly getting priced out, and it's getting harder to find those, like, special pieces at an affordable price," says Business Insider reporter Kelsey Vlamis.
Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Apparel brands turn to #curvy influencers to court online shoppers

Jan 26, 2024
In the increasingly online women’s apparel market, mid-size and plus-size influencers play a critical role in steering retail dollars toward brands.
Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images for Ryllace

The lost art of making perfectly fitting trousers

Dec 29, 2023
Menswear writer Derek Guy explains why men's pants don’t look like they used to.
A cutter marks out a pattern at Huntsman tailors in London, England. According to menswear writer Derek Guy, fewer and fewer tailors understand the lost art of “ironwork” in the construction of pants.
Bruno Vincent/Getty Images

Stitch Fix's quarterly earnings spotlight changes in the subscription economy

Dec 6, 2023
The personalized clothing box company's results may signal how such firms are faring in the current economic climate.
Since a pandemic high, inflation and subscription fatigue have unraveled some of the success of subscription service Stitch Fix.
Daniel G. Wells III, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Apparel sales might catch a chill as winter nears

Sep 28, 2023
Nike reported disappointing earnings, weakening the outlook for clothing sales — which have a lot to do with the year-end shopping season.
Since clothing isn't as essential for most households as food and gasoline, sales may soften.
Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

How one company is tackling the tricky — and expensive — task of recycling clothing

May 1, 2023
Diverting textiles from landfills is more difficult and more expensive than doing so for paper and glass. A group of formerly incarcerated workers is paving the way.
Companies send in unsold stock and returned clothes to divert their waste from landfills.
Caleigh Wells

Not wearing those leggings? Many retail stores are expanding into resale

Apr 15, 2022
Sustainability and demand for apparel make reselling used clothes an attractive option for brands, including Lululemon and Target.
Lululemon is getting into the clothing resale game, and it's not alone.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

People are clothes shopping in person again, and small businesses want to be ready

Mar 14, 2022
In-store purchases of clothes and accessories rose 21.9% from last year. Small businesses stand to benefit if they can attract once-cautious shoppers.
Jill Lindsey said she received two federal loans totaling $86,000 to keep her eponymous Brooklyn boutique open during the pandemic.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace

After 18 months on lists of Black-owned businesses, her clothing company is "leveling out"

Dec 23, 2021
Aliya Wanek's clothing line is still more popular than it was in 2019, so she reduced her hours at her day job.
Aliya Wanek now works part-time as a speech therapist to devote more time to her clothing business.
Photo courtesy Aliya Wanek

Sweatpants have gone professional, and there's no going back

Dec 20, 2021
The comfy remote uniforms are emblematic of the blurring between home and work.
In his experiments, social psychologist Adam Galinsky found that while “traditional work clothing” made some remote workers feel more powerful, “home clothing” made them feel authentic and more engaged in their work.
FreshSplash via Getty Images