| | This is the catchall topic for the t-shirt selling discussion. Not sure where to post your question about t-shirt selling? Start here. Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
October 26th, 2008
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Oct 26, 2008 11:31:18 PM -
#1 (permalink)
| | T-Shirt Lover T-Shirt Aficionado
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|  Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
Here are some tips that may help some of you starting a clothing brand.
1. Do research. Tons of it! Figure out your target market and your competitors, and read everything you can and soak all of the information you can. You'll probably only remember 25% of what you read, but that is 25% more then you knew before. Now with the internet, free information is in front of your finger-tips.
2. If you're not a designer, but have ideas, try looking for a freelancer designer. A skilled freelance designer should be able to take your sketch or idea and create your vision. Although hourly/project rates are important to look at, one major aspect that is commonly missed is the designers communication skills.
3. Focus on branding. Longevity of a brand consists of customer loyalty. Believe it or not, it's not all about how cool your design is. Choose a theme or style for your brand and stick with it.
4. When looking for a manufacturer or screen printer, be honest and realistic. (before you contact a printer, make sure you have a good idea of what you want & what you need).
5. Although freshly starting brands are afraid to print more than 1-2 designs to start with, if you have the capital, try to print at least 5 different designs. Imagine this from a customers stand point...A customer may "enter" your store whether it is your website or a physical retail, and there they see 1 single design stacked on a table.
This doesn't show much confidence and may turn the buyer off. I see this happening a lot with newer brands that launch a website with only a couple of designs. Remember, visitors take a glance at your website for about 5 seconds before they decide if they want to stay longer.
6. Re-invest your profits into more designs and more shirts. This part should be placed into your business plan. This simple part of business is over-looked by start ups.
7. Patience is key when starting a clothing brand.
8. Figure out a marketing plan. Don't figure since you have great designs that customers will seek you out. It's Vice Versa! You need to keep plugging away and reach the consumer. Put it in front of their face day in and day out. Once again, be patient, it could take awhile. One important thing: Talk, Talk & Talk. Simply talking about your brand can stir up interest.
This is not a complete list, and there is much more to this industry. Some can be explained, some just have to be experienced. I will add more things as they come along. If you have more tips to add to this list, please do so! 
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Last edited by INKSCREENS; October 26th, 2008 at 11:36 PM.
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October 27th, 2008
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Oct 27, 2008 12:25:38 AM -
#2 (permalink)
| | Forum Member T-Shirt Member
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
Excellent thread!.. And one I'll be keeping an eye on.
Number 3, choosing a theme. An idea I strongly agree too.
My thoughts are that once a theme is found, you should work hard to find a market/group/organization of people and market your self.
Be true and honest with these people. So you can learn what they are/ would be looking for in such a New label.
Dan | |
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October 27th, 2008
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Oct 27, 2008 1:25:12 PM -
#3 (permalink)
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
Good stuff for sure | |
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October 27th, 2008
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Oct 27, 2008 4:08:48 PM -
#4 (permalink)
| | T-Shirt Lover T-Shirt Aficionado Thread Starter
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
A couple more things that came to mind today:
1. Don't focus too much on making money. A lot of start up brands start to put all of their effort into turning a profit. Once they start doing this, they lose focus on their brand. Money is always great, but it's not everything.
2. Don't copy. Okay, okay everyone is "influenced" by another artist or designer right? There is nothing wrong with that as long as it is INFLUENCED, but don't take it overboard. Never will there be a 100% original design (intentional or not). Put your own style into your clothing and make it something you would wear and be proud of.
3. Don't sweat the big stuff. What do I mean by that? For instance, if you cannot afford to make custom hoodie pulleys, DON'T! If you cannot afford custom packaging, DON'T! That can come later, if you try everything the larger companies are doing, you will be broke.
4. If you are designing on your own with a vector/bitmap program, you should consider purchasing a pen tablet. It will allow you to create different pen strokes and pressures and is a more natural tool then using a regular computer mouse.
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October 28th, 2008
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Oct 28, 2008 3:12:24 AM -
#5 (permalink)
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
good post, useful information | |
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October 28th, 2008
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Oct 28, 2008 6:23:28 AM -
#6 (permalink)
| | T-Shirt Lover T-Shirt Master
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
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October 28th, 2008
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Oct 28, 2008 7:24:13 AM -
#7 (permalink)
| | T-Shirt Lover T-Shirt Aficionado Thread Starter
You can call me: Alex
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
 | Quote: |  | | |  |
Originally Posted by jkruse |  | | | | | | | | | Not becoming profitable is the quickest way to go out of business. | |  | |  | | Very true, but I am seeing every clothing brand trying to be the next millionaire overnight. They naturally begin to focus all of their energy on money which can also lead to business failure.
Money is always great, but spread your energy evenly.
1. Attend tradeshows. To name a few of the largest would be MAGIC, POOL, & PROJECT. These shows feature major retail lines as well as independent lines. It also allows you to view future trends that might take place. If you cannot afford to attend all three, I at least suggest visiting Magic Marketplace which will be the most "general" fashion trade show. Magic Marketplace also features a Sourcing section, which allows you to connect with fabric sources, embellishment sources which are located in the U.S. or overseas.
2. The toughest part of a clothing line is probably being recognized by major retailers (if this is your goal). Remember, the decision maker of products that fill retails stores are the BUYERS. Having experience with buyers, the major thing they are looking for when doing their job is looking for things that will obviously SELL! But if you land a major retailer, and they order 1,000 pieces per store, just think about it!
3. Buyers.........Buyers are great people. But that is not to say all of them are the most honest. When pitching your line to buyers, be aware that they may "take" your idea and have a line they already carry copy your idea. And guess what? The next season you might see a similar idea you had, end up on store shelves. Fair? NO. Does it happen? YES.
4. This one continues from #3 about buyers. Although you should keep in mind about the risks of showing your line, you cannot sell your line if you don't show it! Don't be too paranoid about your designs being stolen. Take steps that will help you, such as copyrighting your designs, perhaps trademarking your brand. But do not place "COPYRIGHT COPYRIGHT COPYRIGHT" all over your line sheet! Maybe one small "copyright" disclaimer on the bottom right corner will do.
5. Getting big too fast may not be as great as you think. I've seen brands growing too fast where they cannot fufill their orders on time. Retailers are a major pain when it comes to deadlines. When they say they need it by 12.4.08, they want it earlier or at 11:59pm on 12.3.08! If you don't get it to them on time, they can return it!
6. Always think ahead. If you are just starting out, don't design for this season. Look ahead and design for next season, or the season after. Retailers buy according to the following season.
7. Approach retailers or boutiques early. Buyers have specific budgets, and if you come too late, they won't have any money left for you!
Also check out the above members link to howtostartaclothingcompany.com, great information and a lot of start up brands in there to check out.
__________________ www.inkscreens.com - Screen Printing & Custom Finishing > Relabeling & Tagless Neck Labels > Toll Free 1-800-724-0577. Follow us: twitter.com/inkscreens
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October 30th, 2008
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Oct 30, 2008 12:55:37 PM -
#8 (permalink)
| | Forum Member T-Shirt Apprentice
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
wow, this was a great post. very useful, thank you! | |
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October 30th, 2008
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Oct 30, 2008 9:00:00 PM -
#9 (permalink)
| | Forum Member T-Shirt Apprentice
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
Thank you all for the great information and I wish all of you much success | |
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October 31st, 2008
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Oct 31, 2008 10:56:59 AM -
#10 (permalink)
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
These threads are very helpful, though I have a question...Would you recommend trademarking the brand name asap or wait till you registure a business name for tax purposes?
My reason for this question is because I believe I should just trademark the name that I want my line to be called because I want to have some fashion shows to promote the line though I'm not really prepared to jump into selling yet, also others said trademarking my name isn't as big of a deal as I'm making it...though I want to build a strong brand. | |
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October 31st, 2008
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Oct 31, 2008 1:32:43 PM -
#11 (permalink)
| | T-Shirt Lover T-Shirt Master
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
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October 31st, 2008
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Oct 31, 2008 7:51:36 PM -
#12 (permalink)
| | Forum Member T-Shirt Apprentice
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
Trademarking is always a great idea if you wish to protect your brand name. | |
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October 31st, 2008
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Oct 31, 2008 10:21:26 PM -
#13 (permalink)
| | Forum Member T-Shirt Apprentice
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
ok thanks | |
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November 2nd, 2008
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Nov 2, 2008 4:30:36 AM -
#14 (permalink)
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
I would also add that you should have fun doing it. don't look at it as work or as a way to make a quick buck. everyone recycles the same ideas over and over again, the key is to do your own thing rather than doing what the other guy is doing. come up with a theme or just go with stuff you'd personally wear. if there's one thing i've noticed with t-shirts (brand or no brand) is that there's a lot of crap out there and people will buy it no matter what, because we're all pesky consumers. | |
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November 2nd, 2008
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Nov 2, 2008 6:30:38 AM -
#15 (permalink)
| | T-Shirt Lover T-Shirt Aficionado Thread Starter
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| Re: Tips of Starting a Clothing Brand
| | Quote: | | | | | |
Originally Posted by EnvyApparel | | | | | | | | | | I have seen varying dates, what is the industry standard for each seasons start/end date? | | | | | | | That's correct, you will see a wide range of dates depending on the retailer. Small boutiques are even harder to guage because they are on their own timeline which could depend on their cashflow and financials.
A general rule would be 3 months before the actual date of each season - up to 6 months before the actual date of each season.
A reminder: If you plan to become a vendor of a retailer, always be sure to ask for clear requirements on their finishing choices. They may require you to apply their hangtags on a certain location, fold them a certain way, box and label them a certain way, UPC barcodes, etc.
Also plan ahead...if you plan to design for Spring 09, you should already have designs for it and be getting prepared to approach retailers at this point. This way you allow plenty of time for print or cut&sew production.
__________________ www.inkscreens.com - Screen Printing & Custom Finishing > Relabeling & Tagless Neck Labels > Toll Free 1-800-724-0577. Follow us: twitter.com/inkscreens
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