Two Dowdy Clothing Brands Go for Vogue

'A Functional Fleece'
Ms. Gardell, who lives in Manhattan, says she can't remember the last thing she ordered from L.L. Bean or Lands' End. "It might have been a functional fleece to go skiing," she says. "I go through the catalogs, and I don't really see anything that jumps out at me and makes me want to buy. It's kind of dowdy. What comes to mind is pleated khaki pants and zip-up fleeces that come in 18 different colors but don't really have style."

Still, she says she would be willing to give the new collections a look. "If there is something different, I'll try it," she says.

For both brands, the biggest difference lies in fit. To design its Signature line, which launches in March, L.L. Bean tapped Alex Carleton, who founded fashion line Rogues Gallery and once worked as a designer at Bean. Signature alters the silhouettes of the label's clothing, such as men's work shirts and cargo pants and women's camp shirts and shirt dresses. In some cases, it changes the fabrics, using chambray rather than poplin, for instance. Also, pants for both men and women have shorter rises, the length of the fabric from the crotch seam to the top of the waistband. Prices will be slightly higher than those in L.L. Bean's core line.