Seasons of Clothing Retail

Understanding timing in retail is really valuable. When I first began exploring color for each season  I was told that seasonal colors are established for 5 years into the future. Wow, it really isn't any kind of random creative thing.  Angie of YouLookFab posted a great overview of the best timing for buying clothes.   As you will see, the end of July is the best time for end of summer sales.  August is the time to begin buying Autumn and Fall outfits- especially important to take advantage of in smaller cities where merchandise options are fewer, and go fast.

The Two Seasons of Clothing Retail posted by YouLookFab
There are four seasons in a calendar year, but only two seasons in the clothing retail year. The fashion industry focuses on Spring and Autumn collections. Here’s what this means for the Northern Hemisphere (this is basically inverted South of the Equator):

• Spring is about the warmer seasons. The collections run from February to June. July, at the end of the season, is the biggest sale month. You’ll find real Summer merchandise in stores from April onwards.
• Autumn (or Fall) is about the cooler months. The collections run from August to December and January is the big Sale month. Winter merchandise is in stores from October onwards.

You won’t hear designers and buyers referring to Summer and Winter collections because in the fashion world, they don’t exist! Summer merchandise is included in the Spring Collection, while Winter merchandise is packaged with the Autumn collection. When the fashion industry refers to the Spring trends, this includes Summer (and the same holds true for Autumn and Winter).
From a retail perspective in the Northern Hemisphere, we’ll soon be putting Spring 2007 to bed as Autumn collections start to hit shelves in mid-July. Stay tuned for what’s in store for us for Fall!