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Tagless, Seamless Clothing Fits Comfortably
October 04, 2004
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As consumers demand more comfortable and better fitting clothes, clothing manufacturers have turned to tagless and seamless garments to increase sales and cut production time. Gap and Hanes have both introduced tagless clothing in the past year; instead of tags, the clothes have logo and other information stamped directly on the fabric via heat transfer. Seamless clothing is less common, so far, but involves new knitting machines that create an entire garment from yarn fed into the machine; no cutting and sewing is required.
Helped by the current trend of tighter, closer fit clothing for both men and women, the new fashions have been a hit -- Hanes' sales have increased by double-digits since switching to tagless and other manufacturers have seen similar gains. It's not a surprise considering that many people, when given a choice, would prefer clothing without inconveniently-placed tags:
"Leah Ingram of New Hope, Pa., said she now wears seamless sport bras and bike shorts and has shopped for tagless shirts at Gap. 'Tags always hit me in the wrong place... I can't tell you how many articles of clothing I've ruined over the years just trying to cut out the tags ... And if I could find seamless socks, I would buy them.'"
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predict that approximately 10% of clothing will be tagless within three years. Seamless fashion will take longer to catch on because of the amount of time it will take fashion companies to implement the technology. In some categories, such as lingerie, that adoption will be quicker; about 8% of lingerie is currently seamless.
"'This is going to be the next generation of clothing because it feels good and slims the body, and there are so many things you can do to it,' said Jack Weinstock, president of corporate brands at New York-based Intertex Apparel Group." |
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