Markdown Madness: Clearance Activity Drives Summer Sales

NEW YORK — You can have it all — the comfort of your favorite pair of jeans plus the chic of a night-on-the-town look. Right now, designers are creating cleaner, more tailored cuts in denim. For more, see photospread Night Moves.

Welcome to a sea of sales. Markdowns remain in full swing around the country, with stores discounting spring-summer merchandise by…

• JAEGER’S TIME MACHINE: British women’s wear retailer Jaeger is returning to its 120-year-old roots, when looks were elegant and Audrey Hepburn would go on to become its campaign girl. So it’s gone from the classic…
  

D&G fur is featured in the International Fur Trade Federation’s new advertising. The line was incorrectly identified on page 12, Tuesday.

The lace-edged pink bra and briefs on page 7, July 31, were incorrectly credited. They are by Helena…

NEW YORK — A lift in overall sales boosted Tiffany & Co.’s net income 28.8 percent in its second quarter as the famed jewelry retailer reaffirmed its earnings forecast for the year.

For the three months ended July 31, the New…

DALLAS — After months of speculation, the plan to build a fashion mart downtown here became a reality Wednesday, as developers said construction will begin today with the intent of opening for January market.

“We’re the…

NEW YORK — Most retailers would love to have Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s problems.

The world’s largest company on Wednesday bemoaned second-quarter sales that were below plan, but reported that earnings clipped along at their usual…

NEW YORK — Federated Department Stores Inc.’s second-quarter profits fell by more than half and sales retreated as well, but the firm’s ability to beat consensus estimates and recent guidance marked it as a star in the beleaguered…

PARIS — Hit by a dramatic drop in tourism in Europe and negative currency effects, Hermès International saw its second-quarter sales slip 9.2 percent to $290.4 million from $319.8 million a year ago.

Dollar figures have been…

Location being everything in Hollywood, Anna Getty married screenwriter Gregory Pruss at the Villa di Maiano overlooking Florence, Italy, on Friday. “Our intention is to provide everyone with a perfectly good excuse to enjoy a…

NEW YORK — “Some people would be appalled by the choices I make,” says financial reporter Virginia Postrel, whose latest book, “The Substance of Style,” in stores Sept. 5, celebrates the abundance of aesthetic choices in…

Hollywood often makes women out of girls. And every once in a while, those coming-of-age performances lead to Oscar buzz, as was the case at Tuesday’s West Coast premiere of “Thirteen.” Thanks to her raw emotional portrayal of…

BERLIN — The Wella Group felt the impact of a strong euro and weak economic conditions worldwide in the second quarter of 2002.

Sales fell 4.1 percent to $920 million, but rose 5.7 percent when adjusted for currency fluctuation, the…

NEW YORK — The U.S.’s hunt to track down those who would aid the Al Qaeda terrorist network has led FBI agents to Seventh Avenue.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed a complaint in Manhattan federal court against Uzair…

WASHINGTON — An interagency government group said Tuesday it will move forward with three petitions requesting safeguard action against Chinese imports, but it rejected a fourth petition for gloves, saying it needed more…

LOS ANGELES — Facing continued weakness in its production factories and emerging strength in its retail “idea lab” ventures, Tarrant Apparel Group expects to announce today in its second-quarter results a shift to a leasing…

NEW YORK — Macy’s Herald Square has never been more ready for back-to-school.

The Macy’s East flagship has completely revamped its more than 42,000 square foot fourth-floor junior department, adding more brands and categories,…

NEW YORK — For years, Tony Margolis has been getting a constant question from buyers who looked at his Tommy Bahama collection: “Why are there no jeans?”

For a brand whose motto is “life is one long weekend,” it…

Junior denim resource Mudd Inc., which in the Nineties helped reinvigorate the moderate jeanswear market by offering branded products at a price that undercut many status-brand rivals, is preparing to enter that higher-priced tier with a new line…

An export credit from South Africa made the difference between profit and loss for Novel Denim Holdings Ltd. during the first quarter.

During the three months ended June 30, the Hong Kong-based apparel and fabric producer reported net income of…

Wanderlust might strike customers visiting Lucky Brand Dungarees stores.

Starting Aug. 24, Lucky will give away company-branded “Let’s Go: USA” travel books to customers who buy $125 or more in merchandise in its stores. Never…

Customers shopping at the Mavi store in Manhattan’s Union Square will be posing — but not in the dressing room mirror.

The store will offer a free yoga class to customers on Aug. 20. Inspired by Russell Simmons’ HBO series,…

NEW YORK — Instead of whistling the same old tune, swimwear makers struck some new chords to drum up interest in the $2 billion swimwear industry.

Nautica set sail under the Authentic Fitness team and Ralph Lauren swimwear bowed at the…

REEBOK TO TAKE PARIS: Reebok will be camping out in the Eiffel Tower this month during the World Track and Field Championships to spotlight its new Outperform the Vector advertising and marketing campaign.

The vector refers to…

WASHINGTON — Consumers opened up their pocketbooks and went on a spending spree in July, fueling the strongest monthly growth in apparel, accessories and department store sales this year.

Retailers benefited from intense promotional…

In perhaps the most audacious raid Bonnie Fuller has conducted on a former employer, Wenner Media officials admitted Wednesday that Michael Lewittes, the news director-head gossip writer for Us Weekly, is headed to American Media Inc….

NEW YORK — Ann Taylor Stores didn’t set the fashion world on fire during the second quarter, but it managed a 16.3 percent profit increase anyway.

“Ann Taylor’s positive comparable-store sales for the quarter were driven…

The 15 back-to-school fashion items trendsetting teens can’t live without, ranked by price, in descending order

For trendsetting teens, the general feel for fall fashion is prepster-meets-surfer-girl with a military twist. Many…