14 ~ Sunday, July 5, 1992 - North Shore News FASHION Hats off to endurable Tilley — Carol FASHION STATEMENTS SINCE ALEX Tilley of Toronto founded illey Endurables in 1980, he has earned worldwide acclaim for his namesake adventure hats. Tilley’s quality merchandise travels with international adven-. turers and explorers from the mountains of Tibet to the jungles of Africa to the Great Lakes of Canada. The hat also goes on dai- ly safaris to the corner store. “All I wanted was a superb sailing hat and suddenly here I am in the clothing business. Yes, it’s by the seat of my pants, but my seat is reinforced,”’ says Alex Tilley. Tilley’s collection of hats, shorts, pants, bush shirts, travel jackets, vests, expedition skirts and shoes now fill five retail stores in Canada and the U.S. They also are the basis of a booming business:in mail order, which generated sales of $10 mil- lion in 1991. . Frustrated that he could not find a hat that would go with him wherever he wanted while on his new boat, Tilley decided to make his own from the now-exclusive AdventureCloth, which is guaran- teed unshrinkable and rain and mildew-resistant. The hat also is guaranteed to stay on the head, float on water, and survive the harshest rigors of wind, water, jungle and mountain range for a lifetime of wear. Even if the hat threatens to wear out, Tilley will replace it free of charge. : . The sailing community was in- trigued by the hat right off the drawing board, and after his first Popcorn reveals ’90s trends Cocooning, fantasy adventure, gardening are in for Currently there are four books listed as bestsellers on the subject AT A recent annual convention in Toronto for retailers, trend forecasting icon Faith Popcorn, the well-respected author of The Popcorn Report and president of BrainReserve in New York, was & keynote speaker who revealed the following trends for the decade. She said that putting the popu- lation into general groups accord- ing to their color and age is out. Popcorn studies much smaller sections of people to find out what people are really about. Groups are becoming more and more defined and special niches are nasrow. Herc is how she looks at the market in two segments: @ There are SKIPPies — School Kids with Income and Purchasing Power. Kids are now given the money to buy clothing, household items and food, making some big decisions for busy parents, but many companies are still advertis- ing only toward adults. © There are WOOFs — Well Off Old Folks. They own 50% of the disposable income. When market- ers categorize them as 50-plus they are missing a lot because someone who is 83 is a lot dif- ferent than someone who is 53. Popcorn also says to watch the ‘leads bestseller book fist trends. of self-esteem. This indicates people are having self-esteem problems and will be spending money to try and correct it in the *90s because they want to fee! bet- ter about themselves. And people will be developing products, clothing and courses 10 heip enhance self-esteem. BrainReserve also looks at what is not on the bestseller list. What is not on it? There are no diet books on the list for the first time in 10 years. This tells them two things: @ there is an- aging population, and @ our new attitudes concerning AIDS and anorexia (thinness has become a signai for bad health, not for good health as before). But women will still be looking for clothes that look slimming to cover the average weight gain of six pounds over the past year. Here are Faith Peopcorn’s 10 trends for the "90s fifestyle. 1. Covcooning — To protect one- self from the harsh environment to wanting familiar surroundings, meaning more time is focused on home, family, gardening, safety measures and total control of your purchased space. . 2. Fantasy Adventure — The modern age whets our desire for experimentation and ‘‘safe’’ risk- taking. They are expressed by food, fashion, design, entertain- ment and travel. 3. Small Indulgences — Stresséd-out consumers want to indulge in little luxuries, explain- ing to themselves that ‘they deserve it.”” 4. Egonomics — To offset the Sterile computer era, consumers crave recognition of their individ- uality and look for new ways to express themselves through distinctive fashion, products and services, 5. Cashing Out — Working women and men questioning per- sonal and career satisfaction and goals opt for better quality of life over more pay within a company. This results in more en- trepreneurialism, leisure time and back to basics. Popcorn states that gardening will be so popular that traditional gardening clothes will replace track and cycling garb See WOOFs page 15 photos submitted showing at a local boat show-and an editorial in Yachting Magazine, Tilley sold $25,600 worth of his hats when he was first making them in his home. THE SHADY T (pictured feft) is a washable, lightweight sunhat for all ages by Tilley En- durables. The famous Tilley hat is unshrinkable, rain and mildew resistant and floats on water. Creator Alex Tilley (in- set) designed the sailing hat and now has a multi-million dollar business in Tilley En- durables. He said each hat cost $12 to make, so he sold it for $16 think- ing that no one would pay any more for a hat. His hat now sells for $45 and more than 100,000 are sold every year. The simple hat has taken on a rather endearing reputation since its loyal wearers have made it a precious possession. Customers at a store in Ontario compete for wail space with fan mail and photos, hoping to become. the subject of a Tilley ad. . The famous. chapeau gained new recognition when it protected the heads of 6,000 Cariadian troops at Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf War. ‘Among the famous people who wear his hat are Paul Newman. Woody Alfen, Carol Burnett; Pav! Simon, the Duke of York and | Norman Schwarzkopf. ; A good reason to sport a Tilley Endurables hat is sun protection, says Alex Tilley. Doctors recom- mend, along with minimum ex- posure to the sun and sunscreen, a broad-brimmed hat made from tightly. woven fabric. which will provide adequate protection from UV rays. The hats are now made for women and children. Tilley Endurables collection . is available at its store located at 1537 West Broadway in Van- couver, as well as selected Van- couver retailers, and through its mail order catalogue, which is available free by calling 1-800-. 387-0110. oe Catalogue orders received in the morning are shipped the same afternoon for prompt service. ., phote submitted GARDENING CLOTHES are predicted to ectipse track and cycting - garb as a back to basics and more leisure time trend Is supposed to become appealing to more men and women.