"We estimate that the apparel index will increase 4.2 percent this year, compared with 5.2 percent for the overall Consumer Price Index," said Rosalind Wells, president of the firm.

"Department store numbers have been pretty dismal," said Rosalind Wells, an economist for the NPD Group, a market research company in Port Washington, L.I.

Women's Apparel Gains Seen "This year, the women's apparel area is expected to improve the most, coming off a very weak 1988," said Rosalind Wells, chief economist of the association.

"This year, the holidays came at a good time because the economy was picking up momentum in the third quarter," said Rosalind Wells, chief economist at the National Retail Federation in Washington.

Rosalind Wells, the economist behind the Retail Federation's estimates, acknowledged that her analysis was basically a rosy one.

But as of yesterday, it does, in the person of Rosalind Wells, who decided to stay behind when the J. C. Penney Company moved its national headquarters to Dallas from New York.

Rosalind Wells, the association's chief economist, pointed out that population and new household growth will slow during the 90's.

The National Retail Merchants Association is optimistic that sales will pick up later this year, the group's chief economist, Rosalind Wells, said.

"I think it will be hard for a while to propel consumers back to strong spending levels," said Rosalind Wells, chief economist for the National Retail Merchants Association.

"We will see much weaker sales in February," said Rosalind Wells, chief economist for the National Retail Federation.