Dressing Dockers -- Popular Brand's New Line Caters To Younger Boomers

Dressing down at the office is resulting in a dressing up of the Dockers line of casual pants and shirts for men.

The Dockers line of Levi Strauss & Co., already the fastest-growing brand in apparel industry history, is hoping to expand its market even more with a line called Dockers Authentics. These new slacks and shirts are dressier than the original Dockers introduced in 1986 and less dressy than Dress Dockers introduced a year ago.

"The younger half of the baby-boomers really prefer 100 percent natural fabrics, especially cotton, and Dockers Authentics is an all-natural line," says Brad Williams, marketing specialist for Levi's, who points out that Dress Dockers include polyester-wool blends.

Aside from fabric, there's the matter of casual vs. dress clothes at work. "There is a significant trend toward casual wear in the workplace," says Williams, citing a Levi's-commissioned survey last year that found 67 percent of companies allow employees to dress casually, either on a daily basis or on designated "casual days."

This number is probably higher in Silicon Valley, where the concept of casual dress days, especially on Fridays, is believed to have originated with Hewlett-Packard and the high-tech industry.

In the early days of Hewlett-Packard, products were shipped out on Fridays and all employees were encouraged to dress casually to help with the shipping. Beer busts in the afternoon were a frequent reward, and as HPers moved to other firms they took that corporate tradition with them.

The beer busts are long gone, but casual dress days remain and have moved across the country and beyond high tech into other businesses, including marketing, finance and law firms.

Initially, casual dress days meant jeans and many companies called the practice "jeans Friday." However, jeans are seen as too casual by some corporations, but casual pants such as Dockers are acceptable.

Casual dress days or not, there's no disputing the success of Dockers. Close to two-thirds of men ages 18 to 45 own Dockers pants, averaging 3.4 pairs. Since its introduction seven years ago and expansion to include women's, boys' and licensed products such as shoes along with the men's line, its annual sales now exceed $1 billion wholesale.

The success of Dockers is one that has fascinated the fashion industry. Some attribute it to Dockers' loose fit in the seat and thigh, giving baby-boomers more comfort as their weight changed.

Williams acknowledges that "comfort is definitely a factor," but he thinks Levi's merchandising approach with Dockers when they were first introduced is equally important.

"It was the first line to utilize the shop-within-a-shop concept," he says. "You go into a department store now and it's prolific, but in 1986 the Dockers Shop was a pretty radical idea. The beauty was (that) tops and bottoms were merchandised together.

"From research, we know when men go shopping they want it quick and easy. Their confidence level in their own ability to pick out an outfit that looks good varies quite a bit. When men see outfits merchandised together that look good, they see it as a service."

Williams says Dockers Authentics is aimed at the "consumer who is a bit more fashion-forward (and) with a younger mind-set, who is more involved in his clothing than the core Dockers consumer."

Levi's research pinpoints the Dockers consumer as between the ages of 25 and 49, while Dockers Authentics are targeted at men ages 21 to 39. The cuts of the pants differ as well - Dockers are loose through the seat and thigh with a tapered leg, while Authentics are loose throughout. The Dockers label on the Authentics line is green and about half the size of the traditional blue label now on other Dockers.

There's also a price difference. Dockers now sell for $36 to $50, while Authentics will be priced from $40 to $45. Dockers Authentics were just introduced in stores two weeks ago, including The Bon Marche and J.C. Penney, at their Northgate and Southcenter locations.