Interest in everything related to Western fashion is driving up demand for denim clothing such as skirts and dresses, according to San Francisco-based Levi Strauss. The frenzy comes as Western wear has gained a groundswell of cultural support that’s caught the attention of consumers, not to mention the retailer’s chief executive and Wall Street. A Levi’s store at the Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets in Florida. Jeff Greenberg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

In a lyric on her latest album, Beyoncé sings “denim on denim, on denim, on denim.”

Levi Strauss shoppers are taking that advice to heart. Levi Strauss executives are ecstatic.

Western wear is booming as consumers opt for top-to-bottom denim looks, the iconic, 171-year-old clothing maker said on Wednesday. As the style wins cultural favor, its popularity is juicing denim niches — like shirts, skirts and dresses — that fall outside Levi’s widely-known blue jean offerings.

“The growing popularity of Western wear is at an all-time high,” CEO Michelle Gass told analysts Wednesday night after the California-based retailer’s latest earnings report for the quarter ended in May.

A Western renaissance has been gaining traction over the past several months, sending stylish shoppers searching for pieces like jeans, boots and cowboy hats. Levi’s scored a huge hit when its jean brand was referenced in Beyoncé’s song “Levii’s Jeans,” released earlier this year.

Beyond Beyoncé’s chart-topping “Cowboy Carter” album, the increased ubiquity of Western style has also been tied to a fashion line unveiled by Louis Vuitton earlier this year and Taylor Swift’s ongoing Eras Tour.

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Gass, who took over as Levi Strauss CEO earlier this year after previously serving as the CEO at Kohl’s, has touted that denim is having a moment in the popular imagination, with Western wear trending more broadly throughout the culture.

More specific data shared on the company’s earnings call Wednesday showed how Levi Strauss is taking advantage of demand for denim beyond its popular “501” jeans. Sales of denim skirts, jumpsuits and dresses all at least doubled in the latest quarter, Gass said. Western shirts sales are also up significantly, she said, especially on the women’s side.

Levi is find success in what the 55-year-old chief executive described as

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The core personal consumption expenditures price index increased just a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for the month and was up 2.6% from a year ago. May marked the lowest annual rate since March 2021, which was the first time in this economic cycle that inflation topped the Fed’s 2% target. Personal income rose 0.5% on the month, stronger than the 0.4% estimate. Consumer spending, however, increased 0.2%, weaker than the 0.3% forecast.

An important economic measure for the Federal Reserve showed Friday that inflation during May slowed to its lowest annual rate in more than three years.

The core personal consumption expenditures price index increased just a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for the month and was up 2.6% from a year ago, the latter number down 0.2 percentage point from the April level, according to a Commerce Department report.

Both numbers were in line with the Dow Jones estimates. May marked the lowest annual rate since March 2021, which was the first time in this economic cycle that inflation topped the Fed’s 2% target.

Including food and energy, headline inflation was flat on the month and also up 2.6% on an annual basis. Those readings also were in line with expectations.

“It is just additional news that monetary policy is working, inflation is gradually cooling,” San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin during a “Squawk Box” interview. “That’s a relief for businesses and households who’ve been struggling with persistently high inflation. It’s good news for how policy is working.”

The Fed focuses on the PCE inflation reading as opposed to the more widely followed consumer price index from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. PCE is a broader inflation measure and accounts for changes in consumer behavior, such as substituting their purchases when prices rise.

While the central bank officially follows headline PCE, officials generally stress the core reading as a better gauge of longer-term inflation trends.

Outside of the inflation numbers, the Bureau of Economic Analysis report showed that personal income rose 0.5% on the month, stronger than the 0.4% estimate. Consumer spending, however, increased 0.2%, weaker than the 0.3% forecast.

Prices were held in check during the month by a 0.4% decline for goods and a 2.1% slide in energy, which offset

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