#842 blue

If you needed yet another sign that the world is changing, take this:  last year, sales of blue jeans declined by 6%.  For most of the 141 years since Levi Strauss invented the ubiquitous denim work pants, sales have been steady or rising.  But recent figures show that the popularity of the wardrobe staple is waning.

The cause of this shift is being attributed to the growth of the "athleisure" category of apparel.  Women in particular are buying more athletic clothes, and wearing them as casual attire outside of the gym.  This type of clothing is seen as looser-fitting and more comfortable.  It is also noted that some women "want to look like they're running to the gym, even if they're not."

Jeans are in nearly every closet in America.  Everyone owns several pairs, from toddlers to seniors.  They are omnipresent. 

Or at least they were.  If the sales of such a fundamental product can be threatened, it should be a lesson for you to take nothing for granted.  A long, storied past is no longer a guarantee that there will be a long, prosperous future.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Source:  Makers of jeans enduring rough patch by Ann D'Innocenzio for the Associated Press in the Telegraph Herald, September 14, 2014, p. 2B.