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                                  EXHIBIT 99
                          FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Written and oral statements provided by the Company from time to time may
contain certain forward looking information, as that term is defined by the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act") and in releases
made by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").  The cautionary
statements which follow are being made pursuant to the provisions of the Act and
with the intention of obtaining the benefits of the "safe harbor" provisions of
the Act. While the Company believes that the assumptions underlying such
forward looking information are reasonable based on present conditions, forward
looking statements made by the Company are not guarantees of future performance
and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward looking
statements as a result of various factors.  Accordingly, the Company has
identified important factors which could cause the Company's actual financial
results to differ materially from any such results which might be projected,
forecast or estimated by the Company in written or oral forward looking
statements:

 .      The overall retail economy in the United States could affect retailers'
       expectations of future apparel product sales. A more pessimistic
       evaluation compared to 1996 could adversely affect both the advance order
       and in-stock product lines marketed by the Company. The Company's sales
       and earnings could be adversely impacted to the extent that the financial
       strength of its existing or new retail customers worsens.

 .      The Company's largest customer represented approximately 18%, 16% and 14%
       of consolidated sales in fiscal 1996, 1995 and 1994, respectively. The
       Company's second largest customer in 1996 represented approximately 7% of
       consolidated sales. The Company believes it maintains an excellent
       business relationship with these customers and sales volume for 1997 is
       anticipated to approximate recent historical levels. However, an
       unanticipated decline in sales with the Company's largest customers would
       adversely affect profitability as it would be difficult to immediately
       replace this business with new customers or increase volume with other
       existing customers.

 .      In November 1996, the Company acquired substantially all of the license
       rights, current assets, properties and operations of the Plaid Clothing
       Group, Inc. ("Plaid"). Plaid has been operating as a debtor-in-possession
       under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code since July 17,
       1995. The Company's financial results could be negatively impacted if the
       operating margins of the Plaid business do not improve from the rates
       during its bankruptcy and if synergies of the acquisition, which the
       Company anticipates, are not realized.

 .      Continuation of the trend towards more casual dressing in the workplace
       could reduce the demand for the Company's tailored clothing products,
       especially for tailored suits. While the Company markets several
       sportswear and casual product lines, consumer receptiveness to the
       Company's casual and sportswear products may be less than anticipated.

 .      Sales derived from products which utilize licensed brand names represent
       an important current component of the Company's overall revenue and
       profitability. The Company


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       also serves as a licensing agent for several of its principal licensors.
       While the Company believes the relationships with its principal licensors
       to be favorable and the termination of any single licensing agreement
       would not have a material adverse effect on its business taken as a
       whole, the long-term prospects of the Company assume the continuation of
       most existing licensing arrangements and ongoing consumer acceptance of
       the products sold under these licensed brands.

 .      The Company competes with numerous established manufacturers and
       distributors of apparel products, both foreign and domestic. The
       Company's financial results may be negatively impacted if its existing or
       new products are less favorably received by retailers and consumers due
       to competitors' pricing activities in the marketplace, which could reduce
       the Company's ability to generate sufficient margins.

 .      Substantially all of the Company's men's and women's sportswear, women's
       career wear and a portion of its tailored suits, sportcoats and slack
       production are manufactured utilizing independent contractors, mostly
       located outside of the United States. The percentage of product
       manufactured or assembled outside of the United States is increasing. The
       Company is dependent upon the contractors' ability to deliver such
       products on a timely basis. Labor, delivery, or transportation
       difficulties regarding contractor sourced products which result in delays
       not readily controllable by the Company could negatively affect operating
       profits. Also, unanticipated political or economic disruptions in these
       countries and/or currency fluctuations could adversely impact overall
       Company profitability.

 .      The Company's sales and earnings could be adversely affected to the
       extent that the quantities and/or quality of production from the
       Company's owned facilities in Mexico and Costa Rica falls short of that
       anticipated by the Company.

 .      Fabric purchases from the Company's largest supplier approximated 43% of
       the total fabric requirements in fiscal 1996. As is customary in the
       industry, there are no long-term contracts with fabric suppliers. The
       Company believes that there are alternative sources of supply available
       to satisfy its raw material requirements. However, a prolonged,
       unanticipated disruption of scheduled deliveries from this or other
       suppliers would adversely affect production scheduling and ultimately the
       Company's ability to meet customer delivery dates.

 .      During 1996, the Company's variable rate debt (based on the Prime or
       LIBOR rates in effect from time to time) averaged approximately $61
       million under its Revolving Credit Facility. The Company anticipates that
       such variable borrowings will be approximately the same during 1997 at
       rates averaging approximately 8%. An unexpected increase in total
       borrowings and/or in the borrowing rates under the Revolving Credit
       Facility would adversely affect profitability.

 .      The Company is not aware of and has assumed no significant adverse impact
       of pending or threatened litigation matters.

 .      The Company has assumed that no major acquisitions will occur during
       1997.


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The above noted review of factors pursuant to the Act should not be construed as
exhaustive or as any admission regarding the adequacy of disclosures made by the
Company prior to the effective date of the Act.