Don’t call L.L. Bean kid’s clothing cute

FREEPORT, Maine — L.L. Bean, a giant in the mail-order clothing business, is shrinking some of its most popular products as it prepares to launch its first line of children’s clothing.

“The purpose is family fun in the out of doors,” said Betsy Kelly, the L.L. Bean executive shepherding the children’s line.

The clothing, which will appear in fall and winter catalogs that will be circulated this summer, will include some of the Maine outdoor outfitter’s biggest sellers for grown-ups.

Initially, the clothes will be designed for 6- to 12-year-olds.

The clothes may be smaller than what L.L. Bean is used to selling, either from its sprawling, rustic retail store in downtown Freeport or through its worldwide catalog sales. But Kelly insists the new merchandise is NOT cute.

“These garments are very appealing, but they are not cute.”

Cute is not what parents are after, either, according to focus groups and other research the company conducted before completing the new line.

Parents are looking for comfort and warmth, something L.L. Bean has been providing to adults since Leon Leonwood Bean sold his first Maine hunting shoe in 1912. Smaller versions of the “Bean Boots” are in the works.

“We want to make sure your kid is going to be dry and warm and comfortable. We kept hearing about comfort over and over and over again,” said Kelly, herself a mother of three.

While the items are basically smaller versions of L.L. Bean’s adult products, some features were added with kids in mind. Most items have name tags sewn inside, and some jackets and other outerwear have patches of reflective fabric outside for safety.

Like the clothing, the price tags will be smaller — about 75 percent of their adult counterparts.

That includes fleece pullovers for $38; anoraks for $42; Warm-Up Jackets (Bean’s best-selling adult jacket) for $55; and “Ragg” wool socks for $5.

Bean is launching the new line at a time when sales of its other products are better than ever. In 1992, sales rose 18 percent to $743 million.

But, Kelly warned, Bean junkies will still have to shop elsewhere to complete their children’s wardrobes.

“We’re not going to meet all of the kids’ needs. We do not have party dresses. We do not have jammies. We’re not going to be doing Sunday school clothes,” she said.