Fashion Stars Experience Fall Sales Slump

Fashion Stars Experience Fall Sales Slump
Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Liz Claiborne are among the top U.S. designers experiencing a fall sales slump for their moderately priced clothing lines.

After a strong spring, many designers saw sales decline this fall, prompting plans for fewer career-driven outfits and more casual clothes on the rack, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

Everybody can talk about weather and hurricanes and Republican conventions and all that stuff, but I think in general, fall has been softer in the better categories, Roger Farah, president of Ralph Lauren, said of Lauren, the company's moderately priced line.

He blamed too many players in the mix for the sales decline.

There's been a lot of new players entering the marketplace, some more successful than others, so the pie is being shared in a lot of senses, Farah said.