Today, we’re diving into the trends, colors, and must-have styles for the upcoming season just in time for the August WESA Trade Show. Whether you’re stocking for fall, holiday, or early spring, this session with content creator Morgan Nicole is designed to help retailers stay ahead of customer demand, make smarter buying decisions, and show up to WESA with confidence and clarity. 

WESA Retail Roundup July 14, 2025:

• Host: Glenn the Geek, Host of Horses in the Morning
• Facebook: Retail Roundup Facebook group
• Guest: Morgan Nicole Zipperlen, visit on Instagram
• Link to WESA PartnerShip
• Presented By: Western English Sales Association

Timestamps:

01:06 - Trends and Styles for the Upcoming Season

07:58 - The Transition to Accessories in Fashion Retail

12:09 - Consumer Spending Trends and Expectations for the Future

19:04 - The Evolution of Consumer Relationships with Brands

23:01 - Preparing for the WESA Trade Show

Foreign.

You are listening to the Horse Radio Network, part of the Equine Network family.

Well, hi everybody.

This is Glenn the Geek back with you and we're here for another retail roundup on a Monday.

I'm the founder of the Horse Radio Network and host of the Horses in the Morning daily podcast for the last 14 years.

And welcome to the WESA Retail Roundup.

The Retail Roundup is your go to virtual hub for all things retail.

Join panel discussions, learn from webinars, share your thoughts, ask questions, and connect with your community.

We host a virtual event or share educational content every week via the Retail Roundup Facebook group.

If you haven't joined that yet, hop on over to Facebook and look for Retail Roundup and you'll find it there.

I want to apologize.

My voice is not great.

I've had a bad allergy week and I just, I did my show this morning.

Horses in the Morning just got done with that and I think I have enough to get through today, so.

So we're going to make Morgan do all the talking today.

Absolutely.

You know, I can do that.

I don't worry about that at all.

Today we're diving into trends, colors and must have styles for the upcoming season.

Just in time for the August WESA trade show, which my wife Jennifer and I will be there.

Whether you're stocking up for fall, the holiday or early spring, this session is designed to help retailers stay ahead of customer demand, maintain, make smarter buying decisions, and show up to WESA with confidence and clarity.

Last week we learned about inventory management and now it's time to learn what trends to buy.

Coming up today on the Retail Roundups, one of my favorite people and one of my wife's favorite people, actually.

We're joined by Morgan Nicole, a WESA partner and western fashion content creator based in Texas.

Morgan is known for her authentic storytelling and engaging digital content rooted in western and and outdoor lifestyle.

She's also the brand new co host of the Wisdom by WESA podcast with my wife Jennifer.

So you two are co. How's it going over there?

How you liking being a podcaster?

Well, Glenn, we are having the time of our lives.

We are definitely laughing and enjoying all the incredible conversations.

It's been an absolute dream.

Well, you know, what did I say to you after you.

You were on this show before and what did I say to you after this show?

You remember you said something like, you know, we are really going to reign you in somehow.

And little did I know that I'd be receiving a phone call.

That's right.

Podcast co host.

But whenever WESA called and they said, you know, is this something you're interested in?

I said, work and yapping.

Yes.

I can talk, I can yap.

And really just getting, getting to connect with retailers and wholesalers, but also getting the viewers a chance to listen into has been really neat.

Well, and you and my wife actually are good combination because she comes from.

She has a lot of business experience in the retail world and the wholesale world for that matter.

And you have, you have this fashion and all of that and the social media stuff.

So it's a really good.

It's a good compliment, I think.

It really is.

It's an incredible balance because like you said, we have two different viewpoints and aspects, but yet so many common threads.

And it's always great to get another's insight or view or perspective.

So I've been loving it.

Well, and there's two different age groups, and that's important too, actually, you know, because you're covering both ends of the spectrum there too.

Yes, it really is.

Well, that's not why we're here today, but go check it out.

Search on your podcast player for wisdom by Wesa and you'll hear Morgan and Jennifer on there co hosting that show.

They took over a couple episodes ago, so I think there's two episodes out with those guys on it.

So check that out today.

But we have a bunch of questions for you about what to buy come this trade show coming up and colors and things like that.

This is an area I know nothing about, so I'm learning with everybody else today.

So what is the trending color palette.

Palette for right now for the upcoming.

I mean, right now we're looking at really Christmas.

We're looking at the fall, we're looking at Christmas, and we're actually looking at the beginning of spring next year.

So what, what are we looking at?

That's a great question, Glenn.

Right now, what we're seeing is a lot of, for fall, a lot of trending spice browns, rust, teal and olive.

I know we'll get into all the fine print throughout the podcast today, but what I'm really noticing is that the color is driving the first impression.

And with some great accessories and pops of color, that's where we're going to see a quote unquote trend color.

But every Western girly knows that the basics are more than basics and their staples and essentials, but definitely the spice browns and rust and teal.

Wow.

We were bright colors a few years ago.

We were.

I remember that it kind of Seems like it's in every three to four year cycle, right?

The first year there was, you know, of the, the three year span, the first year it's really strong.

Second year, it's still about three fourths of what we're seeing.

And then that third and fourth year, it's slowly fizzling out.

I've spoken a lot, actually through the last couple of years on podcasts with trends is, you know, it is great to follow a trend sometimes, but really my focus in my fashion is being able to wear an outfit that I can be proud of today, five years from now and 15 years from now because, you know, the trends will come and go.

But accessorizing is always a great option.

And you could add color to that too.

So rust, I got to go back to rust for one.

Rust colored breeches came out when we had our tack shop many, many, many years ago.

And that was like a statement.

Rust was like a statement because we had white and we had black at that point.

And then rust came out and everybody was buying rust colored breeches.

And then very quickly they went away.

But rust is back.

It is, it's back.

And I think that this is one that is here to stay.

And throughout the years it will.

Today I have to just point out the obvious.

I'm playing coastal cowgirl today.

I'm at the beach.

So don't like can of sardines on.

You, me and my friends.

But typically.

Okay, I gotta explain for the audio listeners.

You're.

You're wearing a sweatshirt with a can of sardines on it.

Oh, yes.

She's amazing.

Do you like sardines?

No.

Just for the fashion statement, Glenn, you should know that.

But in general, someone in the western space is going to have denim in their closet.

Chambray and rust is something that you can keep in your closet for a lifetime.

And of course we see, you know, depending on the piece of clothes, you're going to see different color trends too.

Right.

Shirts are going to be different than jeans are always jeans.

Right.

So.

But skirts are going to be different.

You know, your dresses are going to be different too.

Definitely.

But accessories are kind of priority right now.

Which ones, which ones are coming up specifically?

Twillies from fringe scarves, one of my clients.

But dear friends, the twillies are taking over the world.

I mean, they truly are.

It's a little piece of fabric that you can tie around your neck.

You can do it on your neck as a bow, kind of like a little knot, two to the side.

You can do it on a handbag.

You can do them around your wrist.

But accessories like twillies and, of course, wild rags will always be around.

Tying them in your belt loops or even in your hair are a great way.

And boots, of course, I am a boot connoisseur with 175 pairs and counting.

Well, you know, one of the questions when you're a retailer is obviously you're going to always carry the base colors, right?

You're always going to have the denims, and, you know, you're always going to have those base colors.

How do you decide what inventory, how much of the trendy fashions you're going to put in the store, and how much of the base colors, you know, is there a percentage that you think?

I feel that it's hard to put an exact percentage on it.

But what I will say is when you do carry staples in your boutique or, you know, as a retailer, you definitely want to make sure that you are carrying strong staples.

Staple pieces that can be restyled, repurposed for buyer behavior.

Right now, we are definitely doing some emotional buying, but also being realistic.

If I'm going to buy a blazer, well, I really need to see a blazer styled three to four ways for me to say, you know what, that deserves to be in my closet.

Is that a result also of the economy and everything else this year?

It is.

And I think also with the market being so oversaturated, and people ask me that all the time, well, what market is oversaturated?

And I tell them quite literally, any and every market, especially fashion, you know, everyone wants to jump in.

But if you are here to make.

And it's more accessible now to everybody, too.

It is.

And if you're really here to make an impact as a retailer, I would suggest finding that happy, you know, healthy balance of great staples that you can repurpose.

You can carry them all throughout the year if someone buys it and several months later, their friends say, where you still can, you know, restock those.

But then having the accessories, I think it's great to filter those through and have new arrivals really every for two to four to six weeks, depending on how much volume you're doing.

But if you can't offer staples, it's really hard definitely, to get those sales up.

But the accessories is what keeps your clients coming back and back.

It's interesting you mentioned that, because I. I saw a picture from a tech shop on Facebook the other day where they took.

They took a blazer and they took, you know, just a pair of jeans.

They had three separate mannequins with the same blazer and the same pair of jeans and then changed everything else out.

So they did accessorize it differently, but they had them all in a row.

So you could see, okay, this blazer goes with this, this, and this.

And it was completely different looks.

But that kind of makes the person want to buy more than, you know, want to buy two or three of those different accessories and shirts and things to go with the blazer.

Right.

So it was a cool way to do that.

I've noticed that too lately.

And what I'm seeing is that the buyer behavior is really focused on their priorities now.

And the priority kind of cycle is the uniqueness of the product, then the quality, and of course, the price.

With there being so many things on the market right now, you really have to either be creating a product or carrying a product that has that uniqueness factor and of course, the quality to make the purchase worth it, in a lack of better words.

So do you think people right now, and you see this, you know, talking to people and being out doing your job, do you think people right now are spending more on accessories and less on the big purchase items, the, you know, the $400 blazer or jacket, Are they.

Are they spending more on the smaller stuff to go with what they already have?

Yes, I think with us specifically being in July, someone might be listening in a later month, but right now, so speaking live, we are in July, and I can say as a consumer that, yes, I rather spend my dollars right now on a lower price point of an accessory or something, because summer means quantity.

You know, we're all traveling, we're going to different events.

It's fun to experiment with different things.

It's definitely coming up in the cards with rodeo season and the nfr as the NFR is a big money maker for us.

But I can definitely speak on right now.

You know, I just bought a new handbag the other day, so I might splurge through the spring and summer and get one big piece, but then I'm definitely going for those lower ones until.

The fall with your, with your clients and things.

What are we looking for?

What are we looking at for this Christmas?

Because, you know, it is kind of a weird year, right?

It's been a weird year or what?

You know, what are you looking for for this Christmas?

Would you be stocking up on more of the smaller pieces and less of the larger for Christmas?

So I would say kind of backing up a smidge, if you don't mind.

I would say that October to November is your heavy hitters.

Stock up, spend the money on those higher priced items.

Because the girls are shopping in October, November, last minute nfr, Thanksgiving family, you know, Christmas card photos, they'll take those in November.

So October and November definitely spend the money there.

When we're already in December, you know, the NFR is happening really early in December.

I would almost say get those Grab and Go accessories, get those Grab and Go gift sets.

Get some of those tank tops that they might fit small mediums and then medium larges.

And that way it's easy and digestible for Christmas shoppers.

If anyone is shopping and they're really into rodeo, but are even attending or part of the nfr, we are looking for easy grab and Go gifts.

So if you are carrying clothing items, maybe something that someone can say, oh, you know, I don't know what size she is.

Let me get something that might work.

So what about, I mean, we're also looking at next year.

We're also, you know, now thinking about buying in for, you know, the winter end of winter, next year into spring.

Because we're thinking ahead.

What do you see there right now?

I think that set, I know this.

Is fortune telling at this point, but you know, we are going to see it out there.

Well, the great thing about fashion is we typically get to see a small little snippet, kind of a quick glance and then it will resurface.

Having some short sets with maybe like a sweater top or something that's matching in bold prints will always be fun too.

Coming into a new year, do you.

That's a little scary.

I know.

That's crazy.

I graduated from TCU, the Neely School of Business, last May.

And I'm looking at the calendar now and I'm like, are you serious?

I've been graduated for over A year now I'm married.

A house.

You have a real girl, A big girl job.

Yeah.

I have people listening to what I'm yapping about.

Crazy.

So what?

So let's go there.

Your age group.

How are they different now?

What are they buying?

What are they doing?

Are they tending to spend a lot of money?

Are they holding back or know or.

Or, you know, where are they at it really?

I kind of feel like that's twofold and maybe I can share some of my personal experience.

So it is no surprise that I am a shopaholic.

I have been since I was a little girl.

I started working really early on and started several businesses and different ventures to quite literally fund my shopping addiction and my shopping lifestyle.

And I think of.

I have personally grown.

And when I say grown, this could be something.

I don't know.

You are wearing a can of sardines.

Let's go.

Maybe the fashion has gotten to a low point.

Okay.

Hey, But I still have some jewels on.

It's all about balance.

But what I've seen in my own.

You wear your sardines well, I will say that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

What I've seen with myself is that there's kind of spurts and moments, right?

90 to 120 days ago, I was buying all the little things.

This, that, and the other.

And then there's moments where I might just want to go buy a new Louis Vuitton and say, you know what?

I'm gonna.

Wait a second.

Then I might stumble across a couple great pairs of denim, and I have to have it.

So my age demographic right now, I think speaking for all this, we're figuring it out.

You know, some days it's spend, spend, spend.

Some days it's hang tight.

But again, that emotional buying is huge right now.

Consumers are wanting a personal connection to the brands and the companies they're buying from.

And that's why.

That leads me to my next question.

When you were on before, we talked about storytelling, because that's kind of your thing, right?

You're the storyteller.

Uh, so how can.

How can.

And you're right now planning stories for fall and for Christmas.

They should.

We should be.

Anyway, we have to start thinking about that ahead of time, especially if you want your social media to work.

You really have to start kind of start planning.

And you talked about that last time you were on.

So what are we looking at for this Christmas and storytelling?

What do you think?

Are we.

Are we tugging at the heartstrings or what are we doing in telling those stories.

I think what we're doing now is really opening up the brands to their core, as some viewers also know, listening.

I'm not only a podcast co host, but I am a Western fashion content creator.

But really, you can think of me as a brand representative.

And what I am seeing in my business field is that we are really diving deep to the core and the center of who the companies are and bringing it to the surface.

We're going back with family history and lineage of the company.

One of my clients is Robin Hack Hoffman with Lovely Ranch.

She will also be at all the trade shows.

But something really neat about her story is that her family has been in the textile industry for over 100 years.

And so with Robin right now, we are literally going into the archives of her family's warehouses, pulling up prints, and then Robin showing us how she is, you know, transferring and then bringing those to life in dresses and cardigans.

So for Christmas, we're hitting the heartstrings.

We're showing the history, and we're showing the why.

Because right now, the why is everything.

And we're here for sustainability and longevity, not fast fashion.

So the why is really crucial.

And it's interesting what you said that ties into what you said about people wanting to have a relationship with the brands that they're buying now.

They feel like they know them and they want a deeper relationship.

It's kind of why podcasts became so popular, because people listening, you know, I. I have a saying that I do use it all the podcast shows when I speak, and.

And the first thing I always say is they come for the content, but they stay for the hosts, you know, so.

And that's true of stuff they're buying, too.

They may come because they liked your product initially, but they want to like the company, too.

And I think that's more so than ever in the past.

It really is.

I don't think I cared when I 30 years ago who the company was, because they're, you know, we didn't have the.

We didn't have the landscape that we do now.

Exactly.

And now it's so much more meaningful.

And again, I'm putting myself back into the consumer position because I could sit here and talk all day from a professional aspect of, you know, the industry, but really just boiling.

Boiling it down to the basics of being a consumer.

It means so much more to me when you can compliment me on my little gun necklace here and say, wow, Morgan, I. I love that necklace.

It's really you.

Who's it from?

And I can sit here and I can tell you that it's Sunwest Silver and it's native made, but I can even tell you the stories that I've been able to swap with the owners.

So it just gives that sentimental touch.

And it's word of mouth, too.

I know my best friends and I, when we're talking about clothing and fashion and boots, if they have a personal connection, I naturally want one too.

And so it really just ties everything together.

What else would you say as far as the seasons coming up for you know what, what other advice do you have for.

For WESA?

For one, we're walking around with 5,000 booths at Dallas.

Yes, I would definitely say that for WESA trade show prep specifically, ask vendors, you know, ask them for their best sellers and what's kind of their exclusive items that are on the line sheets right now.

Do they help provide digital assets?

What is their story?

Because you will be able to really weed out and really find that perfect match when you can connect with the vendor on their story.

And let's be honest, it really helps in marketing on the back end.

You know, yes, you can promote a shirt all day long, but when you can talk about the rayon and high thread count and the wholesaler, it really helps you there too.

So what I would say is walking into Westa, I always suggest several days, go in there with a fresh mind and ready to be a sponge and soak it up.

Come in there with a blank notepad and walk around and just start forming those friendships and relationships.

And as you're asking them questions, write down the best sellers on your journal.

Maybe even talk about past sales.

Hey, what did you see last year out of your line that sold the best?

That's what I want.

You want the heavy hitters.

Very good.

There's just so much to choose from.

It's so hard when you go to the trade shows because you know there's 5 million items there, you know, and you want to carry them all in your store and you can't.

Right?

It's so hard.

It is.

It's so hard to choose.

But what I will say, and even for a quick tip for both of the retailers and wholesalers, everyone needs to keep their eyes out for the hot displays.

Because if someone is going to take the time to make their booth look good and their mannequins look good and really bring that full visual, you really want to explore that more.

Your phone agrees.

My phone agrees.

It had to chime in.

My apologies on that.

She just couldn't keep silent.

It happened.

Funny though.

It was perfect timing.

It was.

Where can people find you, Morgan?

People can find me on Instagram and TikTok.

It's underscore.

Underscore, Morgan, Nicole.

And you can find me on the Wisdom by wested podcast every 15th and 30th of the month.

Look at you.

Congratulations on that.

Thank you.

God is good.

Thank you for joining us again and thank you for everybody being here today.

If you missed part of this, you can catch it all on the audio version.

Just head over to Wisdom by Wesa podcast and these retail roundups show up on that feed as well.

And we, you know, you can go to Wisdom by Wes, so you can go to the wesatradeshow.com website or retail roundups on Facebook.

That's where we announce all these things and what's coming up.

We do these every Monday.

We'll have another one for you next Monday.

And we really appreciate all of you joining us today.

And we'll see you all.

Less than a month now.

Yeah.

Less than a month in Dallas.

Countdown is on.

Thank you for having me, Glenn.