Official step-by-step guide to starting a clothing line.

3180 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by kathleen f, Mar 22, 2012

LYFE9

Discussion Starter · Mar 19, 2012

Hey! Has anyone read this book?

Design Your Clothing Line | How Do I Start My Own Fashion Business

The description is great and looks like a good book to have handy but I am wondering if this is good for a streetwear brand like myself or if it is more for designing the actual clothing, or both? If anyone has read this book, please enlighten me on if it could really be THAT helpful for someone starting a streetwear brand.
Thanks!!

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kathleen f

· #2 · Mar 20, 2012

Caveat: I wrote a book that some would think competes with this one altho I don't agree.

I haven't read or purchased this book but I've thumbed through it which says something because I buy nearly all competing titles (if you have half a brain, you buy all the "competing" books). I don't recall right now why it didn't appeal to me.

The T-shirt forum is a really great resource, please don't overlook the value of it just because it's free. In my professional opinion (3 decades of experience) I don't think you can pay money for a book (even mine) and get something better than what you'll find here if your goal is printing and selling tees. Put it this way, I sell a book I wrote but if someone comes to me wanting to produce tees, I send them to this forum. They don't need my book or any other that I've seen.

Again, this is a great forum, don't overlook the value of it just because it's free and I don't think you can spend money and get better value than what you'll find here.

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Enrique

· #3 · Mar 20, 2012

I agree, this forums is a tremendous resource. I have a copy of "Threads Not Dead" and I honestly learned almost nothing from it that I didn't already know from browsing this forum. The only thing these books have going for them is that they consolidate the info into one place, so if anything it'd be a great resource for those allergic to the "search" function

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LYFE9

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 21, 2012

Yeah, i also have a copy of threads not dead and i agree that most of information i had already learned from the forum. Thanks for the advice!

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hutch82

· #5 · Mar 21, 2012

I agree with Kathleen. Quite resourceful here with experienced folks willing to spread their wealth of knowledge.

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Unik Ink

· #6 · Mar 21, 2012

I read these bullet points and was taken aback:

How to get manufacturers to work on your terms
The Key to getting manufacturers to do small quantities

They are pretty much telling you to manipulate your supplier. As a printer, there is nothing more frustrating than trying to deal with a customer that wants you to break your terms and conditions to accommodate them. Asking a supplier to take a loss on a small order, or make other exceptions to terms/conditions that are in place for good reason, is unprofessional, and not a winning strategy to build a long term buyer/supplier relationship. If they are giving that kind of advice, I'm sure the rest of the book is filled with other bad advice. I wouldn't shell out close to $100 for something that you can find here for free.

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kathleen f

· #7 · Mar 22, 2012

Unik Ink said:
I read these bullet points and was taken aback:

How to get manufacturers to work on your terms

The Key to getting manufacturers to do small quantities

eek! If this was in reference to cut & sew of tees, the author is saying more than he realizes -and it's not good. Legally, you are the manufacturer. The other party is the sewing contractor; it's a Federal legal designation and has everything to do with liability (cpsia anyone?). I would have reservations about the caliber of advice contained therein considering such a common laymen's error...

But yes, I also agree about positioning. You can get sewing contractors to do smaller quantities but only if you're 100% on the ball, painless and have a referral. Problem is, most small customers haven't learned the ropes yet so small orders often mean a larger hassle. Not because of economies of scale so much as it is all the hand holding they need.

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