The Guild 10-7-2004 Retailers embrace the poncho, betting the trend will last into fall

Star Living ^ | 8-24-2004 | Style Section

[BigWaveBetty]

I'm praying retailers are dead wrong. Wasn't a fan of the poncho in the 70's and my heart hasn't grown any love for them in 2004.

Please excuse the insult if you like them but they do nothing for me. And I've never seen a poncho that says, I'm the one, we'll look gorgeous together, buy me! Plus those annoying little fringes inevitably drag in the onion dip when I'm at a party trying to get a little nosh.

Hey! You got onion dip on my fringies! Well you got poncho fringies in my onion dip! *We pause to ponder the possibilities...*

The hostess and I let out a simultaneous Nahhhhhhh! Nothing good ever comes from combining poncho fringies and onion dip. However, the dog, trying to nip at the onion scented fringies did become my best friend.

Now from the experts on ponchos:

Apparel retailers across the country have been begging for something new, a fresh look that every woman doesn't already have in her closet.

This summer they got one: the poncho.

Crocheted with airy holes, off-the-shoulder or down to the knee, the '70s-era accessory has made a big-time comeback and is a hot product for clothing retailers headed into the fall shopping season.

Teenagers are wearing ponchos. So are their mothers and grandmothers. There aren't many fashion trends that can claim such reach.

Adding to the poncho's appeal, it disguises less-than-buff arms and comes in a friendly one-size-fits-all.

"Women got tired of everything being so body-conscious and bare," explains David Wolfe, creative director with the Doneger Group, a consulting firm that advises retailers on fashion trends.

Retailers from top to bottom have embraced the once utilitarian cover-up. At the low-end, Wal-Mart has them displayed front and center in refurbished apparel departments. At the high end, Neiman Marcus is showing a striped cashmere poncho in brown, black and gray for $245.

In between, Marshall Field's is offering a black open-knit poncho for $29.99, while Target is featuring a cheap-chic, flower-adorned pink version for $12.99.

The women's apparel industry certainly could use a boost. Sales of women's clothing fell 6 percent in 2003, the third consecutive year of declines, a reflection of the recession, lower-priced foreign imports and a lack of hot items.

Sales of women's clothing were flat through the first half of 2004, but they could jump 4.5 percent by year-end, predicts Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst with NPD Group. If so, it would be the best showing in five years. Continue the Poncho Pitching

Here are some examples, some good, some bad, some just plain ugly.

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[BigWaveBetty]

A string of pearls wouldn't even make these glorified horse blankets wearable!

Is Fall over yet?

[BigWaveBetty]

Good Morning!!

[Timeout]

Hey! Proud to confess I've never owned a poncho on my life!

[Iowa Granny]

Good Morning Sweetie. I made a poncho to wear for warmth when I was preggers the first time,,, back in 1968. I've always associated them with maternity wear.

It isn't only the ponchos. There are lots and lots of really 'bad' things on the racks this year. Thank God for Talbots. And I must say, even Talbots is drifting away from truely classic stuff.

[DollyCali]

Fun essay! thanks. I remember the ponchos. prolly still have some in bag/box in attic.

they are easy but not too glamorous.. (but that one wispy one which is more style than warmth looks okay to me.. or is it the pretty model?)

They do also cover some "body flaws" .. if you know what I mean? Remember the TV ad a few decades ago showing three attractive teens walking on the beach. Two were in skimpy bathing suits & one was wearing a sweat shirt.

Ad asked, do you know why the middle girl was wearing a sweatshirt? of course it was some diet aid product. She didn't look HEAVY per se.. but probably was packing a bit more than the slender model types next to her.

The ponchos struck me the same way

I adored Ronald Reagan. Just looked over some of the pix from his funeral in DC... and came across this in morning email ..want to share as most are so appropriate:

@@@

Reagan-isms

"No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women." - Ronald Reagan

"Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose." - Ronald Reagan

"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." - Ronald Reagan

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan

"Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong." - Ronald Reagan

"I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandment's would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress." - Ronald Reagan

"The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination." - Ronald Reagan

"Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."- Ronald Reagan

"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under." - Ronald Reagan

"The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program." - Ronald Reagan

"I've laid down the law, though, to everyone from now on about anything that happens: no matter what time it is, wake me. even if it's in the middle of a Cabinet meeting." - Ronald Reagan

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first." - Ronald Reagan

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." - Ronald Reagan

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book." - Ronald Reagan


"Some people live an entire
lifetime and wonder if they have
made a difference in the world.
Marines don't have that problem." Ronald Reagan 1983

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

How do you come up with such great thread ideas?

Ponchos, who ever would have believed that they would make a comeback?

[Carolina]

Ah! What could be more chic than to wear your afghan in public.

[Fintan]

 

Can the tam-o-shanter be far behind???

 

[Carolina]

Heh! Ya need a kilt to go with the tam.

[BigWaveBetty]

Was it you a couple of threads back who asked why Kerry is always wearing the same tie? If so, tighten your tinfoil hat!

THE NECKTIE JOHN KERRY WEARS during the next two presidential debates might be a secret semaphore revealing where his loyalty lies. During much of the campaign Kerry has worn neckties whose pattern, suggests New York journalist Joan Swirsky, is like a secret signal of support to the Muslim world.

“Why else would the richest man in the Senate – a man whose pricey wardrobe is laid out for him daily by his personal valet – wear only one necktie during almost all of his public appearances?” asked Swirsky in a September 20 column. “And that necktie – albeit not in a thin muslin or coarse cotton but probably woven from the finest silk – a replica in its pink and white pattern of the Arabs’ favorite headdress, the kefiyyah.”

An examination of campaign photographs shows Kerry wearing several neckties with pink or red patterns resembling the familiar kefiyah Arab male headdress. By itself, this could be dismissed as mere coincidence having no signal significance.

Perhaps Kerry merely likes pink, and in his family his powerful wife Teresa wears the male-color blues. And Kerry has always demonstrated an affinity for reds.

John Kerry’s campaign, however, has quietly built bridges to Muslim voters, Muslim money and a hidden connection with the Ayatollahs of Iran that should concern everyone who supports Israel and is uncertain what policies a President Kerry might adopt in the Middle East. More

After looking through about 100 pages of pictures to test this story, it seems he wears blue half the time and red/pink the other half. What do you think, is Kerry sending subliminal messages to Arab's with his kefiyah patterned ties?

Example of the kefiyah tie?

[BigWaveBetty]

It's nice to see you all bright and bushy this Thursday morning!

I made a poncho to wear for warmth when I was preggers the first time,,, back in 1968.

Perfectly acceptable when preggars! If you look at the story, it talks about how great they are for hiding this or that. I imagine if one is not preggars that could be very depressing!

[Rebelbase]

Those ponchos would look really nice if accessorized with an Urban Sombrero from Peterman's. :-)

[BigWaveBetty]

I too am a proud owner of not a single poncho! But I will confess in 8th grade I had a full length brown wool CAPE with fur trim on the hood. The blood still rushes to my cheeks when I think about it.

[BigWaveBetty]

All really terrific Reagan quotes and a wonderful to start the day! Nothing will remove the huge smile I'm sporting today after reading those. Thanks DollyCali! :-)

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

Good grief. I'm glad this thread was posted because I didn't even know ponchos are in. I must go get one. I like them. I used to have a gray wool one. Wish I still had it.

[BigWaveBetty]

Oh please, my threads always pale in comparison to yours.

Ponchos, who ever would have believed that they would make a comeback?

Whoda thunk ANYTHING from the '70's would make a come back? They must've hit the bottom of their idea barrel and it was empty!

[DollyCali]

We all know that fashion "ins" have nothing to do with what looks good or what people want.

It has to do with what is NOT IN OUR CLOSETS so we will go spend money on ugly clothes so we will look "in" and so that in next year or so we will have a bunch of things that are NO LONGER IN.

My mom when I was younger always told me not to worry about fashion, but to wear what I like, feels right etc. She was a bold, flamboyant dresser.

As a teen, I laughed at her. As a grandma, I now know she is right. I too am a bold dresser & follow what I like & feels right

BTW.. I do like capes/ have a few..

[Iowa Granny]

Welcome to the Guild.

How are things going? Life is beyond hectic here.

[BigWaveBetty]

Ah! What could be more chic than to wear your afghan in public.

Why you and your baby doll wearing matching pink velvet ponchos w/fuzzy balls of course!

[BigWaveBetty]

Can the tam-o-shanter be far behind???

Sweet mercy man, are you trying to give me nightmares?!