The State of the Childrenswear Industry in 2007

The information for this blog entry comes from one of those fantastic business databases available from my local library. One of the biggest hurdles in my business plan was trying to describe the current state of the industry. From experience, I could say things were in decline. And really, if I included that in my business plan, it wouldn't give a financial institution much incentive to loan me money. Who would invest in a business where the entire industry is in decline? Now I can write something with a bit more substance and support that things aren't so bad (not great, but not dismal either). I am not looking to secure financing through the SBA, but some of you might and this resource is something that could help.

The database where this information is found is called the Business & Company Resource Center powered by InfoTrac (owned by Thomson-Gale). Be sure to do an industry search. In the description area enter the word children. Several descriptions should pull up for children's and women's clothing industries. I selected #2361 - Girls', Children's and Infants' Dresses, Blouses and Shirts description.

The article has too much info to repeat here. Here are some tidbits that may interest you:

As was true for much of the U.S. apparel industry, these establishments tended to be small, family-run businesses, and they faced stiff competition from low-cost imports.
As of 2005, Wal-Mart carried a 12 percent share of the apparel industry, though it aimed for 30 percent. With more than 4,000 stores offering a wide variety of apparel falling within this industry, Wal-Mart's annual clothing and footwear budget alone was $35 billion.
Also contributing to the industry's decline in the United States was the reliance of manufacturers on offshore assembly of pieces cut in the United States, which actually increased during the mid-2000s.
By using computers to track inventory and sales, as well as consumers' responses to particular items, manufacturers gained the ability to respond quickly to market demand. This allowed them to get a jump on foreign producers who were often half a world away, and minimize their vulnerability to imports.

One interesting observation comes from the first paragraph. Most apparel businesses are small, family-run businesses. This is exactly how most childrenswear companies start! It is a good place to be. Later, I may pull up information on the industry leaders: OshKosh, Carter's, and Gerber. Very interesting.

When you read things like this, it makes you wonder why anyone would enter the childrenswear business in the first place. And yet, I discover new businesses starting up all of the time (they must not have read these reports). The truth is, there is room and growth in this business, and you can do it! These types of reports look at the big guys with the big numbers. The biggest thing to remember is that you should not compete with Wal-Mart or the industry leaders on price or even look. The specialty market is always looking for something new and exciting.

Other tidbits included in the article: News (from the last few years), company profiles and industry rankings.

Source Citation: "Girls', Children's, and Infants' Dresses, Blouses, and Shirts." Encyclopedia of American Industries. Online Edition. Thomson Gale, 2006. Reproduced in Business and Company Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.:Gale Group. 2007. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BCRC

Neck Opening Circumference

Please note: Body measurement charts for infants which include the neck circumference measurement are now available in my book The Essential Guide to Children's Clothing Sizes, available on Amazon.

Libetty left a comment on a recent blog entry and I think the answer deserves its own blog.

So I have a sizing question that you may be able to answer... What is the minimum neck opening circumference that a child needs to get a garment on over their head? I've always thought that it was 18". Is this correct???

Babies are very interesting. Most babies have the head circumference that they will have as adults. There is some growth that occurs between newborns and older babies as the bones in the skull begin to fuse and the head takes shape. Other factors that contribute to head size are genetics and weight. A newborn baby's head circumference may start as small as 14 inches but grow to about 20 inches by age 2. Proportionally, babies appear top heavy because the head looks too big in comparison to the rest of the body.

When designing clothing and patterns for babies, there are some other considerations. Babies do not dress themselves. This means someone else must be able to reach into a shirt, for example, and comfortably pull it over the head. With a dress, you have to reach down through the neck and pull a dress over the hips and ultimately over the shoulders. Some degree of space must be included to allow for ease in dressing (as quickly as possibly too!).

The recommended head opening for children's clothes is 20 inches for all infants and 21-22 inches for toddlers and up. This is a minimum measurement. Additional ease may be required depending on the fabric and/or style. This recommendation comes from my experience working with big box retailers - and they all seem to agree on this point. Over the years, I have seen that this is the measurement that is actually needed. BTW, this measurement refers to the extended neck measurement (see pictures below). There is no US government regulation that I know of - this is an industry standard. You can measure lots of product yourself to see most things follow this guideline.

Incorporating 20 inches into a neck circumference can be very difficult. The assumption is made that the neck circumference of the pattern must meet 20 inches. A neck circumference on a baby is 12-14 inches (measurement taken at the base of the neck). If your pattern has a neck circumference of 20", then your garment will probably fall off. The extra girth needed to meet the extended neck circumference can be added by the addition of a front or back placket, zipper, button placket, lapped shoulders, elastic, or stretchy neck ribbing. In other words, make the neck of the pattern where it should be and add extra length/girth somewhere else.

Here are few pictures of me measuring the extended neck circumference of a few different styles. Please note, I used a tape measure because it shows up better in the pictures. You should probably use a flat ruler instead. Plus, DH was taking the pictures off to the side, so it appears that I am not lining things up right, but I am. To measure the extended neck circumference, place one finger in the center front neck and another in the center back and stretch. Double the measurment from the ruler and you will have the extended neck circumference. If drafting a pattern, you can measure the pattern neck circumference plus any additional opening. It is best to double check a measurement after a garment is sewn up because things change.

This shirt has an elastic neck. Stretch the elastic as far as it will go without damaging it. You can see this neck measures about 22" extended.









This infant polo shirt has a front button placket. You can see this shirt stretches to 20".










This infant t-shirt only stretches to about 18". It is a bit tight IMO. Part of the problem is the stretch of the ribbing and also how it is stitched to the neckline. The topstitching prevents stretching beyond this point and could actually break if I take it any further.






To measure the neck opening of a dress, measure from the center front neck to the bottom of the skirt placket opening. The extended neck measurement needs to be larger because the waistline needs to either slip over the head or the hips easily. This measures about 26 inches.

I like Jack Handford's book Professional Pattern Grading!

You know you might be a little strange when you do a happy dance after receiving a new book in the mail on pattern grading. That was certainly me yesterday when I received Professional Pattern Grading by Jack Hanford in the mail. This book has long been on my Amazon wishlist and I finally bought it for myself.

This is the BEST book on pattern grading. If you own the Price/Zamkoff book, just stuff it in a corner and get this one instead. The explanations are very clear and complete. And yes, this is how it is done in the industry. It was so gratifying to see that what I have learned on the job, some of it on my own, IS how it is done. The other book is too complex and ignores men's and children's styles completely. Jack Handford covers all three categories very well. And it is so nice to see that children have not been ignored. He covers infant, toddlers, boys, girls, and juniors.

This book describes manual grading with a paper and pencil. Still the concepts can be applied to computerized grading. Most of my grading is done on the computer and I will be using this book as a reference.

In fact, this book is so good, that I will not be doing my last installment on my grading series (a pictoral demo). Handford demonstrates the process well enough, there is no reason for me to duplicate it. Can I say buy the book? I will probably blog more about grading in the future, so no worries there.

I will be going back over my infant pattern/body measurement charts to see how they compare with Handford's grading. I probably will be making some adjustments. I am not too far along on developing my own infant/toddler patterns, so this is a great time to go back over them.