Apparel and Fashion Accessories

What Customers Are Wearing (From page 67)

which is why the other line that does well is Powder UK: Their socks, crafted from trendy bamboo fabric, feature quirky little critters.

Cozy socks maybe a pandemic thing, but Utrup said she noticed shoppers gravitating toward funkier styles even beforehand. As a gift, footwear is “a great way to say ‘I’m thinking about you’ without breaking the bank,” she noted, “and everyone can use another pair of socks.”

Say Say shoppers are men and women, mostly between ages 30 and 60, who are looking for more distinctive items than those sold in chains. It’s no surprise that these offbeat tastes have made turquoise, mustard and — most improbably — red the favorite colors this fall and winter, when most of the country is awash in neutrals. “I have a whole rack of bright red right now,” said Utrup in November, suggesting the upcoming holidays could be a factor.

Most years, retailer Amy Ward is able to spot trends at her eclectic boutique, Amy’s Cottage in Williamstown, Mass. But not this year. After the summer tourism season, when shoppers snapped up Berkshires and Williamstown logo shirts, Ward no longer saw any particular patterns in purchases of ponchos, earmuffs, sleep shirts, leggings and ball caps. “This year, it really is a little bit of everything,” Ward said.

There aren’t a lot of retail options in rural Williamstown, home to Williams College. So Ward’s 1,500-square-foot emporium caters to the whole town — “the teenagers running down the street, their grandmothers, and everybody in between,” as Ward put it. ❖