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Casual clothing in an army/navy store is a flexible category. It can represent military apparel, military styles and items that are unrelated to the military. The only apparel that is generally excluded from an army/navy store’s inventory is formal business and dress wear. Under the umbrella of the army/navy and surplus business, a great variety of clothing and accessories can be found, as the six retailers from different regions of the country interviewed for this article demonstrate.

Casual clothing is an essential component of Federal Army and Navy in Seattle.

“It comprises 60-70 percent of our business. We sell more casual apparel than hard core military items,” said co-owner Henry Schaloum.

His best sellers include vintage T shirts and vintage shorts from Rothco, as well as BDU shorts from TRU-SPEC. But Schaloum also has a strong market for commercial non-military shorts. Colors include tan, khaki and plaid.

“They are a regular fit and very comfortable. We have never catered to the baggy look,” Schaloum said.

He also sells swim shorts that can double as a casual short for street wear.

One of his unusual items for casual wear is a military mesh bug jacket. Designed originally to be worn over clothes for insect protection, it has become popular as a women’s fashion item.

Sleeveless in Seattle

Schaloum’s fellow Seattle merchant, Cynthia Cohen of Surplus Too, also relies on casual apparel to keep her business healthy. Cohen enjoys a strong business with women in tops in a variety of colors and patterns from Rothco. Designed to complement Rothco’s Booty Camp short collection, the tops can be worn as underwear or as a tank top.

Cohen enjoys a huge market for shorts, which she buys from Carhartt, Dickie-Williamson and other manufacturers.

BDUs comprise another top selling category, and Cohen carries 14 different patterns, with Woodland the number one seller.

“Woodland is still big. On the West Coast we are a little slower to catch up on fashion trends, but we beginning to see the ACU and digital patterns picking up,” Cohen explained.

New York state of mind

At the opposite end of the country, Jennifer Carrillo sells a large selection of casual clothing and accessories at Harriman Surplus in Harriman, New York, about an hour north of Manhattan.

Carrillo’s customers fall into one of two general categories. “Our guy is either a woodsy, outdoor type into green, khaki or navy or someone a little edgy who wears black tattoo t-shirts and jeans.”