True Blue, Was It Me Or You?

True Religion has changed things up!

Many times when designers change the look or toss up the design of their jeans a bit, they don't just stop there. With the world of designer denim as fast and competitive as it is, designers are under the stark notion that they must totally re-make and re-invent themselves every few years. Atleast, that has been the general trend since designer jeans hit the lime light at the turn of this century.

True Religion (and 7 for all Mankind and Rock and Republic) has recently re-invented themselves, with all new pocket designs, washes, hardware and tags to boot. This is not only to create revived interest, but also to battle the counterfeits and keep them on their toes. However, they have also changed their fit model, which essentially has changed the way the jeans are made and how they fit. This is a huge bummer for those who relied on and loved the old fit, and perhaps a great relief to those it hadn't worked for in the past.

True Religion has also re-invented some of its proportions on the jeans (unfortunately!). The waist is generally larger than its older counterpart, and the thighs have been taken in a bit. For me, this was largely disappointing, as when I looked in the mirror I frankly resembled a blossomed tulip. For my body type, it gapped at the waist and squeezed my thighs. Funny enough, it seems to be doing this to the model in the pic above as well! Needless to say, I will be snatching up a few extra old pairs before they are gone. Hopefully True Religion will find a different fit model in a few years and be back on track ;)

Now for the technical side...here is a nice article explaining just some of the changes taking place at True Religion this year!

True Religion Ignores Wall Street
By Anders Bylund March 16, 2007

Run! True Religion Apparel (Nasdaq: TRLG) is under alien invasion! A bunch of internationally respected designers and big-name executives are taking over the high-end jean peddler -- and the market doesn't like it one bit.

Last Friday, the company hired a new CFO, a top name with a recent high-level history at respectable and large-scale operations like Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) and Albertson's. It was a forward-looking hire, and part of sweeping changes in True Religion's executive and design teams. So of course an analyst noted that these changes might hurt short-term performance, and the stock took a severe beating that day.

It's just another data point that shows how short-term concerns often mask the long-term best interests of any given company, and particularly smaller ones like True Religion. Forget the future -- trade in the here and now!

That is, of course, baloney. The rich margins on display in last night's earnings report showed that True Religion can afford to pay for top talent, while total inventories are actually shrinking, so there's no huge stockpile of unsold Lone Star skirts or Medium Thunder Kiss stretch jeans, gathering dust in a warehouse outside Los Angeles.

It's a very good idea to distance True Religion from its somewhat shady past, and to bring in the kind of executive team that can take this company to the next level. Today, it's not much more than a day trader's plaything, jumping and jerking at the slightest provocation -- good or bad.

This week, the transformation continued, with CEO Jeffrey Lubell's wife Kimberly leaving the top design post, a move that was announced on the same day as the rather stable earnings report. These guys are trying hard to look like a contender, and stubbornly moving forward with its recasting despite Wall Street's skepticism. Good on you, mates.

You don't have to earn analyst respect to succeed. In fact, keep doing what you're doing; ignore Wall Street as best you can and focus on setting up for future success. I, for one, welcome our new denim overlords. Set up right over there, right next to one of your competitors, Guess? (NYSE: GES).