They still account for 20 percent of department store sales, says retail consultants Customer Growth Partners, but blue jeans haven’t hit the skids this hard since Marlon Brando and James Dean made them famous in the 1950s.
Blue jean sales last dropped 12 years ago, falling about 3 percent when khakis made a comeback, says NPD analyst Marshal Cohen. Sales also declined 3-4 percent in the mid-’70s, when consumers turned to briefly to corduroys, according to NPD estimates.
But the “athleisure” trend could be blue jeans’ biggest threat, says Amanda Hallay of LIM College in Manhattan, coming not just from consumers’ fickle fashion tastes but an entire lifestyle change. Companies are lowering dress codes, telecommuters enjoy casual days at home and standards for appropriate attire are shifting throughout society.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member