Apparel and Accessories

How People Show (From page 44)

In addition to T-shirts in both short and long sleeves styles, Lewis and Clark has done well with hooded, fleece and quarter zip pullover styles. Best-selling col-

Natural History Association in Interior, S.D. Socks are a best-seller: “People pull up their pants a little, and you see our logo and a bison,” said Executive Director Katie Johnston . “It’s something you can show off at work, but it’s also functional in the park.” ors vary by season — blue tones in winter and warmer, sunnier designs in the summer months.

Johnston said the shop’s logo socks high quality and comfortable, equally wearable with business shoes or hiking boots. Scarves, similarly versatile, are another favorite accessory.

Wildlife and landscape graphics are also featured on the popular shirts, caps and socks sold by Badlands

This year’s top-selling unisex T-shirt was heather gray with a vintage style graphic featuring a vibrant turquoise and orange sunset over the Badlands landscape. “That tee outsold any of our others this year, and that image was popular anywhere we printed it,” Johnston noted.

It was a great sales year at the three visitor center retail outlets of Glacier Park Conservancy, based in

Are Hats Good Sellers? What Types of Hats and Why?

It strikes a lot of people as weird, but young shoppers — especially girls — are wild about the mesh trucker style hats traditionally associated with men four times their age.

“That Grandpa look is cool,” observed Julie Dougherty, director of park stores at Glacier National Park Conservancy in Columbia Falls, Mont. Hats are popular overall, and trucker styles comprise perhaps half of headwear sales. But the store also sells 12 styles of ball caps and plenty of beanies on cool August days, “when people don’t think they’ll need them,” Dougherty observed.

Retail Manager Tracy Christoff has seen the same vogue for trucker hats at the three retail outlets operated by the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Peninsula, Ohio. “It’s funny how young women want to dress like their grandfathers,” she laughed. Beanie caps are also popular, she noted.

All kinds of hats sell well at the Fort Clatsop bookstore, operated by the Lewis and Clark National Park Association in Astoria, Ore. They include garment-washed cotton ball caps in soft colors like faded denim blue and hunter green; khaki bucket styles; and beanie caps with an embroidered front patch.

Given the fort’s military connection, Executive Director Cynthia Thompson is not surprised at the demand for military style caps. “They are like ball caps, but with a smaller rim and flatter top,” she explained. “They’re a little vintage, a little retro, so it goes with our theme.”

At the Black Hills public lands partner sites, hats are “decent sellers, but definitely not blowing the doors off,” said Matthew White, retail operations manager for the Black Hills Parks & Forests Association. “It depends how you merchandise them.” One winning strategy: a discounted T-shirt and hat combination.

Stocking hats, in earth tones with patch decorations, are popular with Badlands visitors. “They’re simple but very nice looking hats,” noted Katie Johnston, executive director of the Badlands Natural History Association in Interior, S.D. Ball caps sell all year round; stocking caps do best in fall and winter. All of them bear the park name and logo, alongside wildlife or landscape graphics. ❖

Columbia Falls, Mont., and Director of Park Stores Julie Dougherty expects 2022 to be another record season. Her winning apparel formula involves basic unisex styles, evocative park imagery, comfortable cotton or blends, and a modest price point. “We’ve got all kinds of people who come into the store, and we want to have something for everyone,” Dougherty said.

The stores’ popular socks are designed with local wildlife or scenery — grizzlies, mountain goats, the park’s red busses. “It’s a gift they can bring back that’s practical but also has pictures of things they’ve seen here,” the retailer said.

T-shirts are a perennial best-seller; each year, a new style features a different Glacier park animal, such as a wolf. “T-shirts truly are a souvenir,” Doughtery noted. Sweatshirts, outwear, ball caps and beanies also sell well, especially to underdressed summer tourists.

This season, Dougherty is debuting simple, unisex name-dropped sweatpants. “We don’t normally carry those, but it’s often cold up at the mountain pass,” she noted. “So I think they’ll do well.”

In Peninsula, Ohio, Retail Manager Tracy Christoff has found success by keeping inventory local at the three outlets operated by the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. “We always look for merchandise designed by local artisans,” Christoff explained. Best-selling hoodies, for instance, are custom designed and printed by the Cleveland Clothing Company. Another local outfit is responsible for the shop’s logo cycling jerseys.

Christoff oversees a 1,000-square-foot store in Peninsula, as well as a seasonal shop in the park and a small retail outlet in the park visitor center. All feature regional art, as well as graphic tees featuring the Cuyahoga logo and other nature themes. ❖

Seen at the Philadelphia Gift Show