Let's start with a big market that is entering its boom season -- ladies spring dress hats. You will not be disappointed in the fresh designs this season -- neither will your customers. Veteran retailers know that the biggest volume in dressy hats is from now until Mother's Day, with Easter the biggest day of all. The biggest market is church hats. Dressy hats always have a classy look, but with classic designs dominating fashion trends, this season's millinery selection is even more elegant.
Polypropylene is the favorite choice for ladies dress hats and the new look of polypropylene weaved with lurex adds a metallic sparkle to headwear. Sinamay is also back for spring with creative new designs. While the new is exciting, the greatest stir is in the reinvention of classic looks from the past -- cavaliers from early 20th century, lamp shades from the sixties, and elegant small brims we remember from classic movies. Stock your hat inventory now to catch the lion's share of this business. Don't worry about selling out by Mother's Day because the need goes through the summer and customers have a harder time finding retail sources later in the season.
Ball Caps For Women
Casual Hats
The Fashion Accessory that Heightens a Look
Casual hat demand has seen a steady rise over the last few seasons and strength of early spring sales indicate this will be a banner year. A range of hats are selling including up brims, jockey hats, newsboy, ball caps, and fedoras. The list goes on with army caps and cabby hats. But the two most important styles to concentrate on are cowboy hats and widebrims.
The self-expression that shapeable cowboy hats deliver is a look that is just too good to go away. The hot number is distressed pinch front cowboy hats with shapeable brims. As we enter the fourth year in the cowboy hat rage, a lot of majors and importers have caught on. So expect competition in the distressed look. What they haven't caught onto is that the second best market is in colored cowboy hats, especially black and white. Include these in your mix along with fashion colors because this good seller will have considerably less competition. Another hat area is ladies glitzy cowboy hats with rhinestone bands, sequin studding, weaved lurex, or sequin patterns. This is a fashion look that will see little competition. So put some variety in your selection to hedge your bet against strong competition in distressed pinch fronts.
The second hat item is colored wide brims. These hats took off with such a vengeance that we had to rush to get new designs up while existing ones sold out. Colored widebrims have enjoyed excellent sales over the last few summers and finding inventory is difficult when we move into mid-summer. This is good news for you because if you have a source, the supply and demand law will mean low competition in a high demand item. The best colors are white, nautical combinations, lime, fuchsia, turquoise, black, and ivory. Pink and red are also good for the red hatters. Actually, it's hard to think of any color that doesn't sell. Stock early while you have a pick of designs. Even if inventory is deep, some styles will catch on and go quickly.
Spring Dress Hats