Modesty is fashion statement

OREM — They're long, they're tight, they're colorful and they're taking over the teenage T-shirt market.

Camis and cap tees — modest shirts recognized by their extra long body and thin fabric for layering — have roared onto the fashion scene and flown off the summer shelves, giving consumers clothes with more coverage, in front, back and below.

Shade Clothing, Impel, Apricot Apparel, ModBod, Undertease and Layers are only a few of the industry names, but almost a dozen have sprung up throughout Utah over the past year offering competing camisoles.

But with all the new competition, some companies are wondering how long the rage will last, especially now that summer is quickly fading and short-sleeved shirts get pushed to the back of the closet.

"I think in a few years the ones that are there for the short ride — quick money — will be gone," said Chelsea Rippy, CEO of Shade Clothing, which started selling the popular shirts in October 2004. "A few companies will have the foundation and the vision to take it into a full-blown brand — Shade Clothing being one of them."

Rippy, who said she thinks Shade really defined the modest shirt market, first got the idea for her product when she was at the mall and unable to find something that allowed her to feel modest and "hip" at the same time.

"One day shopping was extra frustrating and I just thought of the idea, 'If I create an undershirt that covered me in all the right places, I could really wear anything that I wanted to. If I need the shirt, so does every other woman in my position.' "

Thus the Shade shirt was born. The stretchy, snug-fitting shirt is longer than many popular styles of tops, allowing women and girls concerned about modesty to "layer," or wear multiple shirts to create a trendy and covered-up style targeting the midriff area, front, back and shoulder/arm areas.

And Rippy was right — other women do need this product. The company has already pulled in $2.2 million in sales from its first year and looks to make even more this year, especially with the introduction of their new maternity line, coming soon, Rippy said.

Competing companies offer the same basic mold but with their own individual tweaks.

The two basics are a camisole and a cap-sleeved style. The cami is a tank top with spaghetti straps and a cap-sleeved shirt has small sleeves but is still long enough to cover any undergarments.

There are also shirts with lace, square necks and the newest addition popping up — long-sleeved shirts.