Nothing shouts coastal living like casual apparel. Whether your customer is looking for fashionable surf brands, breezy and cool comforts, or a positive connection to their beach memories, apparel is the epitome of beach buys for its universal appeal and functionality.
At Sandwich, Massachusetts-based Wave Cape Cod happy beach vibes are what it’s all about.
Summer dresses and beach coverups are aplenty at Wave Cape Cod.
“We are primarily a jewelry and gift store focusing on sterling silver jewelry, and beachy/Cape Cod gifts, clothing and accessories,” Carisa Phillips, owner of Wave Cape Cod, describes. “We want our store to feel like stepping into your best beach day even in the dead of winter.”
And apparel does not take a backseat due to its practicality and souvenir characteristics. “Everyone likes to commemorate where they have traveled or where they live. Plus, here on the coast the weather can change quickly. People often forget to bring that extra layer. As a merchandiser, I think the clothing absolutely helps tell the story of the store and the season.”
Sweatshirts make up the biggest part of Wave Cape Cod’s apparel selection.
“I mean you can never have enough cozy sweatshirts in your closet. It’s all about happy comfort in this shop, and we have the perfect sweatshirt for a cooler beach day or a summer bonfire on the beach,” Phillips explains.
Most of Wave’s sweatshirts are designed in the shop and printed locally.
“We have our bestselling sweatshirts ‘Love, Cape Cod’ and ‘Love, Sandwich’ which fly off the shelf and several other designs that were new this year,” says Phillips.
She adds that the store is always working on new designs for the coming seasons and changing demographics, which range from typical beach vacationers in the height of summer to travelers from all over the country, Canada and Europe during the shoulder seasons, and a loyal customer base of local residents during the off-season.
“In addition to our sweatshirts, we offer long-sleeve T-shirts with our designs and add in additional sweatshirts and T-shirts from one of my favorite brands, Oat Collective among others. We also carry summer dresses and beach coverups from brands like Elsie and Zoey, Top it Off, and Mudpie,” Phillips relates.
While she says a classic hoodie in any shade of blue is going to be a top seller at Wave, this year the store’s “Sun Seeker” hoodie in butter yellow was a best seller. “It certainly is a happy sweatshirt,” she says.
While hooded sweatshirts will always be on trend in Cape Cod, she does still pay attention to the graphic design elements. “I think the boho/California coast beach vibe is something people are gravitating to. We will look to continue that idea with our designs going into next season.”
Soft spot
For Sean Feeney, founder and CEO of The Lomas Brand, what began as a booth at the Solana Beach Sunday farmer’s market has grown into a coastal apparel business with both a thriving retail store and a national online following.
The Lomas Brand has built a steady loyal following for its comfy coastal apparel in North San Diego County and beyond thanks to wholesale and online sales.
“Four years ago my wife and I opened our retail store along the 101 in Solana Beach after years of setting up booths at local farmer’s markets,” Feeney shares. That early presence built a loyal community in North San Diego County, which showed up in force when the storefront launched.
Today, The Lomas Brand is known for comfortable, quality apparel that balances style and ease. “Our customers when in the shop almost immediately gravitate to the softness of our T-shirts and always stop to check out our microfleece sweater as its textured exterior and plush fleece interior stops traffic right away,” Feeney says.
Just like in Cape Cod, sweatshirts in particular are a year-round staple. “Even in the peak of summer our sweatshirts take the cake as top sellers,” Feeney explains, pointing to the beach-dyed crewneck in sage and the tradesman shirt jacket as standouts. Tees remain close behind, especially the North County Tee, a nod to the brand’s roots.
Feeney sees customers gravitating toward what he calls a “bold simplistic aesthetic.” The approach combines eye-catching design with everyday wearability — never too loud, but far from plain. Above all, comfort is the main driver in buying decisions.
“Comfort has evolved into being a must for a lot of our customers — and I would put myself in that category as well,” he says.
Bread and butter
For Ocean Treasures in Padre Island, Texas, apparel is a souvenir first and foremost. The store, which has been in business for 40 years, is the first gift shop visitors see as they cross the bridge to the beach — meaning nearly all of its customers (about 90%) are tourists, according to Erica Shick, who serves as office manager for Ocean Treasures and its two sister stores, Bo Jon’s Surf & Gift in Port Aransas, and Sea Treasures in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Happy beach vibes are reflected in the clothing selections at Wave Cape Cod where its all about living your best beach day.
While Ocean Treasures carries a variety of items from wall decor and jewelry to toys and beach goods, apparel is central to the experience. Souvenir T-shirts dominate sales, making up at least half of the store’s business. “That’s our bread and butter,” Shick says. The shirts in each store feature their location’s name drops: Padre Island, Port Aransas and Corpus Christi, which Shick says is exactly what vacationers are looking for. “That’s what I want when I go to other places … not just a shirt featuring a sea turtle, but one that has the name drop makes it a little more special.”
Shoppers will find a full rainbow of colors, from classic whites to purples, yellows and pinks, often priced at $5.99 or three for $15. Styles include T-shirts, hoodies, tanks, and popular performance fishing shirts, with sizes ranging from newborn to 3X. Tie-dye is another favorite.
Going retro
In Newport Beach, California, staying trendy is a priority for the beach and board crowds. Ren Lopez is an executive manager for several stores in the area, including The Beach Store, PJ’s Surfrider and Boardwalk Sports, where he oversees buying for branded lines such as Quiksilver, Billabong, RVCA, O’Neill, Volcom and Vissla. Lopez says he has noticed that a throwback look is defining currently sales. “All of the big surf brands have been going back to the same trend, which is the late ’90s, early 2000s look,” Lopez says.
“Billabong is essentially almost doing a re-release. They had a T-shirt that was really popular for them around that era, and they just re-released it. It’s like almost a time machine.”
Staples for the stores remain graphic T-shirts and board shorts. Colors trending within the retro wave lean darker, with shades like brown and black as top sellers.
Business has been steady this year with a noted shift in who was buying at the stores. “The younger crowd was spending more money this year than the older crowd,” he reflects.
Between souvenir staples, comfort and style, your customers will have no shortage of apparel options to keep casual on a sunny day and stay comfortable as the cool fall nights start setting in.
