Hats: 2008 Key Retail Trends

• Hats had a surprisingly good year—driven by fashion and function—with vendors beating plan in many categories and some retailers discovering they didn’t concentrate on the classification enough to match demand.

• While still regional, theatrical “derby” hats, with their big brims, feathers and bows, had success this spring. One vendor reported a southern department store buying 1,000 of such hats in ’08, but planned it at 2,500 hats for ’09.

• Sun protection became a real selling point, giving women functional reasons to buy broad-brimmed hats for spring and summer. More companies are actively promoting sun protection as a feature, with UPF ratings prominently stated.

• The 1960s-inspired TV hit “Mad Men” drove demand for masculine “borrowed from my boyfriend” fedoras (as women pretend they borrowed theirs from dreamy lead Don Draper). Menswear fabrications, as well as asymmetrical styles did well.

• “Who shrunk the fedora?” was an appropriate mantra for many retailers.

• Small-brimmed (aka “stingy brimmed”) fedoras were a more fashion-forward trend, driven by male celebs like Brad Pitt and Justin Timberlake, not to mention Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Ritchie.

• Some vendors reported selling out of fedoras, and the industry book “Hat Life” report that white wool fedoras with black satin trim were best-sellers for women.

• Another popular favorite driven by celebrities was the trilby hat—a soft felt men’s hat that features a narrow brim, a deeply indented crown and a pinch at the front.

• The “Mod” cap—rounder and tighter to the head with a small brim— performed well, kicking off in spring.

• For fall, the classic cloche silhouette was a best-seller, with wool felt details to match the hat fabrication.

• Plaid caps were also popular, particularly with juniors.

• For special occasions, cocktail hats gained traction particularly with younger customers who flocked to these retro looks for their sense of whimsy. Elegant fascinator hats, with their feather toppings, netting and vintage flair, looked fresh again.
  

Hairgoods: 2008 Key Retail Trends

• Hair accessories always come and go, and this year they came on strong, thanks to hot TV shows like “Gossip Girl” and various retro trends that the younger generation embraced.

• “Gossip Girl” really kept the headband into the limelight. Blair Waldorf wears them in almost every episode, notably her signature bow style.

• Mischa Barton has sparked the across-the-forehead hippie headband trend—not just by wearing them all over the paparazzi pages, but by designing her own line as well (for Stacey Lapidus)

• Retro hair accents such as feathers and veiling made inroads, appealing to a younger crowd seeing this for the first time.

• Thin headbands with chunky accents let clusters of faceted stones or flat feathers appear to float. Kenlee on Bravo TV’s “Project Runway” was a huge fan of the retro, off-center feathered or flower headband, wearing one in almost every episode.

• Flowers also made a comeback, with silk organza flowers showing up on thin headbands for a retro look.