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At the year-round shop Body Double Swimwear in Delaware, customers are looking for comfort and style. This apparel and swimwear shop is open year-round and carries about 40 different lines of swimwear. Donna Hitch, manager, says popular swimwear styles include tankinis and halters.

"Tankinis, halter styles are very big. The tankini, it's two pieces, but you get the coverage. It's convenient and it's very forgiving. The halter is a pretty neckline. A lot of girls can't wear them because they don't like something around their neck, but it's a big trend right now," she says. Also good-selling are mix and match tops and bottoms.

All types of apparel, including swimwear, hats, cover-ups and other accessories are doing well in a variety of shops. At the same time, some stores that cater to an older clientele are finding the buying environment challenging.

That is the case at Cullum's Apparel in Georgetown, Del. This year-round, 2,800-squarefoot women's shop stocks apparel in the moderate to upper moderate and better range. There is swimwear, sportswear and dresses for a clientele that is aged 40-plus.

"For swimwear, it is a difficult time. We can't find the styles our customers want. The styles have gone very juniors," says Jane Skillman, president. Skillman is looking for sarongs, boy legs and skirted suits. "Everything that they are doing is short shorts and tankinis.... We are concerned, we can't find anything. I'm desperate, or we're just going to fold our swimwear."

Skillman also stocks sports-wear, such as coordinated pants suit and long skirt looks. "They don't want it to look like you've been to Goodwill or Britney Spears," she says of her customers. At the same time, the shop is selling more extra large sizes. "The clothes are being cut too small," she adds. Skillman says she underbought for spring and summer because "I just can't seem to find what our customer wants, what our customer has been asking for. I am tired of looking under rocks."

As for color, Skillman says pink will be hot in the fall and also popular for spring. Lime green, different shades of yellow, blue chambray, baby blue, mint green, turquoise and black are also popular colors. And she is also stocking a little bit of black and white and some raspberry and light lavender.

At South Coast Wahines in San Diego, California, good-selling are T-shirts, tank tops, jeans, pants, skirts, dresses, hats and jackets. The best selling apparel is from Billabong, which has a full line, and Volcom, says Ashley Hamilton, shift manager.

And at the Brighton Beach Surf Shop in Long Beach Township, N.J., owner Michael Lisiewski sells resort, surfing, skate boarding and tourist apparel. The shop also sells men's swimwear, wet suits and T-shirts. In the summer, resort apparel sells well and in the off-season, skate and surfing apparel move, he says.

The gift shop at Kure Beach Pier in Kure Beach, N.C. sells sweatshirts, jackets, kid's jackets, caps and hats and other items. Waterproof jackets are good selling, and they come name-dropped with Kure Beach, N.C. and also with the pier's own custom logo.

For this year, the Blue Marlin Beach Shop in Kure Beach, N.C. will sell name-dropped Kure Beach caps from Seagull, says Gilbert Alphin, owner. The shop has been operating since 1978 and is one block off of the beach. It is a small bait and tackle store that also stocks beach items, suntan lotion, surf mats and beach toys. It used to sell more T-shirts, but has been run out of that business by big chain stores, Alphin says. And the area is changing, with old motels that brought tourists being replaced with condominiums, a development that doesn't bode well for stores like his, he says. Still, the caps will be a new addition for the season. "We just came across a good deal," he says.

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