apparel retailers

Expect your T-shirts to get a little bit thinner next year -- and maybe a little more expensive. Apparel retailers are looking high and low for ways to keep from passing on too much of their own rising costs to consumers. The trick: Doing so without hurting quality.

Some merchants adjusted quickly to the "new normal" of penny-pinching shoppers, but others are still struggling with shrinking consumer budgets or headwinds they were fighting before the bottom fell out. Here's a look at the two groups that are going in two different directions.

Despite heat waves, penny-pinching parents and a weak job market, most retailers posted solid sales in August. They benefited from better inventory control -- giving local stores more say in merchandising -- and well-timed promotions.

The weather was hot in July, but consumers went cold, leading to disappointing retail sales that came in below or at the low end of most forecasts. The high temperatures may have been one culprit, helping boost sales of marked-down summer clearance items.