The approach to women’s promo apparel used to be to “pink it and shrink it,” describes Cassie Stanczyk, director of sales at BELLA + CANVAS (asi/39590). While the options for women’s styles have significantly expanded since those days, Stanczyk still notes a lack of conscious thinking around the product specs necessary to ensure a piece of clothing is well-fit to the female body.
That’s often also still the case for women’s athletic uniforms as well – which is where Marina Paul comes in. Her sportswear brand, SPRHRA (short for and pronounced SUPERHERA), caters exclusively to female athletes in the hopes of using uniforms to enhance performance.
On this week’s episode of Promo Insiders, Stanczyk and Paul – along with Victoria Thomas, director of marketing at BELLA + CANVAS – talk through what it means to create female-focused apparel and why it’s so impactful for suppliers to offer well-fitted, high-quality women’s options.
“If you can’t cater in the right way to women, that is a significant portion of the population that will not be wearing that shirt with your brand or your logo,” says Stanczyk. “That’s why people produce promo, right? It’s not so it goes into a drawer; it’s so it becomes someone’s favorite shirt, and they wear it over and over again, creating all of those impressions.”
Podcast Chapters
0:47: Origins of SPRHRA
3:07: Evolution of women’s apparel in promo
7:06: Specific product considerations
13:08: Current trends and trending styles
16:17: What clients are looking for in women’s apparel
21:05: Why focusing on women’s apparel is crucial in the industry
25:09: Final thoughts
Key Takeaways
• Addressing a Need: Marina Paul founded SPRHRA to tackle the issue of ill-fitting sportswear for female athletes. After experiencing significant discomfort and body image issues due to poorly fitting sportswear during her time as a soccer player, she wanted to ensure better fit and performance for future athletes.
• Market Gap Identification: During the early ’90s, the promotional products industry largely ignored the need for well-fitted women’s clothing, which was a market gap that BELLA + CANVAS sought to fill. Today, there are far more options for women’s styles but there’s still room for industry growth.
• Importance of Technical Fit: Ensuring a proper fit for women’s apparel and sportswear involves considering different technical specs than a product designer would for a unisex or oversized fit. Fitting garments on actual human bodies across different sizes – and sports, for uniforms – rather than relying solely on size grades can help create apparel that fits well and is comfortable for women of all body types.
• Trend Influence: Fashion trends, such as the resurgence of ’90s styles, significantly influence women’s apparel – for example, the return of baby doll tees and a desire for updated basics and a variety of colors that reflect current retail trends. This shift indicates a growing awareness and demand for well-designed women’s apparel in the promo sector.
• Health & Performance Impact: How sportswear fits significantly impacts the health and performance of female athletes. Properly designed apparel can boost confidence, support mental and physical well-being, and enhance overall performance.
• Market Demand: Considering women’s apparel products is essential for promo suppliers and distributors because women drive a significant portion of consumer spending. Ignoring this market segment means missing out on substantial business opportunities and failing to meet the needs of a large and influential customer base.
• Brand Representation: Offering well-designed women’s apparel in promotional products ensures that brands are represented positively. When women receive apparel that fits well and looks good, they are more likely to wear it frequently, increasing brand visibility and creating positive impressions.
