The stock pattern of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP), first discussed here on April 13, 2009, at a price of $26.52, has not been for the feint of heart, but it appears that the worst of the storm is over regarding this long-time, persevering retail chain.

First the short-term data: JCPenney posted third quarter earnings per share of 19 cents, 2 cents above the 17-cent First Call estimate, on revenue of $4.19 billion, slightly below the $4.25 billion First Call estimate. Same store sales rose 1.9% -- the third straight quarterly increase. Overall, it wasn't a bad Q3 report, but, of course, in today's high-bar investment climate, the street sold the shares, and JCP closed Friday down $1.09 to $31.03.

Shares of women's specialty retailer Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS) rose slightly yesterday despite the company posting another quarterly loss.

The operator of 1,074 Chico's, White House/Black Market and Soma Intimates stores said its fourth-quarter loss widened on store impairment charges and severance costs, but absent those charges results exceeded Wall Street's expectations.

The loss for the quarter was $40.5 million, or 23 cents per share including the charges, and 14 cents per share without. Last year's fourth-quarter loss was $20.5 million, or 12 cents per share. Sales fell 9% from a year ago to $373.4 million, while same-store sales were off 13% overall (17% at Chico's and 5% at White House/Black Market).

Having already gained dominance in a huge swath of American retail consumer goods including toys, books, and electronics, the insatiable juggernaut of Bentonville has now set its sights on fashion -- again. Wal-Mart has always struggled with this fickle category, where threading the needle between cheap and cool was well nigh impossible.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) is probably the best managed specialty retailer of the pack. It's maintained strict discipline on pricing and discounting, unlike many of its peers. ANF has managed to expand its offerings into three separated branded chains selling to different markets.

And the company enjoyed accolades from Wall Street after it beat earnings estimates handily on Feb. 13, reporting earnings of $1.10 per share versus consensus of $1.01 per share. Shares were up over 10% on the news. While I think not much has changed with Abercrombie's operational expertise and its strategy, the current environment is simply not conducive to teens paying big bucks for clothes.

In a sign that Americans are bracing themselves for hard times, or at least taking a break and holding their breath while they see what direction things go in, apparel chains reported September sales, which usually rise at this time of year, were not at all where stores expect them to be.

In a sign that customers are looking toward frugality, WalMart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) saw a small gain in sales, though not as much as analysts would have liked.

Look for this effect to hit other retail environments, not just apparel, if the market continues to be the top headline and spook customers.

Cruising down Wilshire Boulevard I noticed fresh window dressing at the Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) promoting it's version of "dress shirts," long sleeves rolled up to the elbow, in everyday colors; white, blue, striped. They were simple and clean, and for the right price, it's all good. But then that's the problem with the Gap now, it's all good -- and nothing great.

The Gap seems to be on cruise control. Everything about it seems average. It's not that it doesn't offer nice clothes, it's just that I can get them anywhere. I can find the same merchandise at any number of stores including some places that have not been traditional competitors until now, like JC Penny (NYSE: JCP), Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD), via catalog or online retailers such as Lands' End (owned by Sears) and many more. Equally important, the Gap seems to have lost its ability to distinguish itself in any way except for Gap Kid's which I think has more to offer. The Old Navy Stores and Banana Republic owned by Gap Inc. at least conjure up some image or separate identity.

Speaking about average, I checked out the stock to find it closed yesterday at $18.78 within pennies of its 52 week average, between a low of $15.91 and its high of 21.39. How nice that it pays a dividend, but it too is average with a yield of 1.7%. Its profits margins are low to average, its ROE is average and lower than its P/E around 21 which is too high. And so I cruised past the stores and now have cruised past the stock and if you should be thinking about investing in the Gap, I recommend you cruise on by as well.

But don't just take my word for it. Yesterday my young BloggingStocks colleague Zac Bissonnette posted Gap hopes white t-shirt is its savior, outlining a similar view in portraying a petty attempt by Gap to Glam Up...Not!

Those of you who are new to BloggingStocks can check out my other stories and read Chasing Value or Serious Money to find more potential opportunities and verify my track record as well.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the vice president for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. Check out his other posts for BloggingStocks here.

Wednesday on Jim Cramer's MAD MONEY, the loud-but-excited analyst discussed a spinoff of Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI) fom Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE:SLE).

The question on investor's minds should be, naturally, does a spinoff make sense? To give a little background, Cramer referred back to the GM-Delphi spinoff, opining that the two auto units were too tangled to properly unwind. In this case, it may be a bit simpler; after all, he asked, does it make sense for a cupcake and meat company to own an underwear company? Nope, said he, the two units needed to be under a different roof. Can HBI make you money? Cramer says, "yes."

Hanesbrands shares traded up 2.3% to $23.18 in after-hours trading after Cramer's well-reasoned recommendation, especially after he referred back to several prior deals, including the Freescale spinoff, the Coach spinoff, and the Darden spinoff.

He did say that Sara Lee forced it to take on a lot of debt, but the company's lower margins may improve since manufacturing has been moved internationally.

In a call-in Cramer said he thinks Under Armour, Inc. (NASDAQ:UARM) is going higher. In another call Cramer said Jos. A Bank Clothiers, Inc. (NASDAQ:JOSB) is a "stay away" story.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.