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When thinking of launching a line we sometimes overlook the fact that most retailers don’t buy items year round. They usually follow a specific buying schedule, so it’s best to get to the buyers early in the season to see what they are looking for or to find out the deadline for line sheets and showings. The spring sales schedule usually begins around late june and july, and lasts until around october, with the delivery dates being late january and february. The fall sales schedule starts while the spring delivery dates are wrapping up and lasts until beginning to mid june and july, with the delivery dates being between august and september. It’s best to try and get to the buyers a little early instead of waiting until the last minute because their budget may be eaten up by the time you get there, leaving you haggling to try and get in on the season which could put you at a major disadvantage.

Ace of All Trades

I was reading the hundreds blog and came across their new slim fit white skinny classic denim about a week or so ago…I can’t remember exactly. First thing that came to my mind was (….hmm is white denim really “in” or popular). To me not really, but I guess it really all depends on the lifestyle and trends your brand is catering too.

Today I once again took a glance at the blog to find that the white denim jeans were made so that you can change the color with RIT dye. I think the idea in is kind of a spin-off of their ever popular bandanna printed hoodies/shirts with the color changing dye capabilities. On the blog they show pics of the finished product after the dye has been applied. The blue and the purple look the best so far…the green is kind’ve blotchy, but I guess the final results are in the hands of the consumer. I think this is a way of using creativity and cutting cost. They could’ve easily creating the denim in different colors, but instead they left it in the hands of the consumer and best of the consumer can choose whatever color best suits their needs.

I was reading a book online and it mentioned insurance for clothing lines and how it is a great way to cover damage to your inventory or property (In case you were to open a retail store for your brand). I don’t see too many small start up brands taking this into account when starting a clothing line, but insuring your garments is a great way to cover loss from theft, water damage, fires, or whatever the case might be. I know not too many new clothing companies would have the money to pay a manufacturer to restock all their goods and besides who would want to.

Fashion Industry Ceo

Popularity: 1% [?]

Once your clothing brand is more established you might make the decision to move production of your clothing line over seas. When processing orders make sure and know what currency you’re dealing with because exchange rates affect your cost of production.

Fashion Industry Ceo

Popularity: 1% [?]

Whats the point of having a business if you have no goals or anything that you set out to accomplish in the first place. Otherwise your just putting your blood, sweat, and tears into a company for what??? Exactly. By setting goals you will know if your hardwork is paying off or if your just working and not going anywhere fast.

Goals you can set:

• Certain amount of garments sold
• Response to an advertising campaign
• Certain number of visitors to your online store
• Reach a certain amount of $’s revenue in sales
• Orders placed at trade shows
• Increase quantity per orders
• Increase stores in a certain targeted area
• Set goals for publicity. Feature in your favorite magazine, newspaper headline, talk to students about entrepreneurship at schools, college, and it’s promoting at the same time

Those are just some goals your business can set and have time limits on each goal so that you will push yourself to finish on a specific date.

Fashion Industry Ceo

I hate making an example out of someone, but sometimes they can be a complete ass and deserve it. A note I received from a clothing line while promoting on myspace. Here is the note below:

?Thanks for the request and mad respect for yall info. and links but jaya jani doesn’t let competition into their network. Peace and prosperity.?

My reply:

?Don’t burn your bridges before their built…anyway much success to you and yours…there is room for us all only the strong will survive…being defensive to me is a weak trait.?

This is one of the reasons it?s so hard to get information on starting a fashion brand and working with other people in the industry. Everyone is so afraid of competition and there is room for most of us. Notice I said most because some brands will sell and some will flop. As long as you come out creative and invent your own lane, never give up and eventually you will be successful.

Your own custom labels or a hangtag goes a long way in building brand awareness. I notice most brands make the mistake of leaving manufacturers tags on their blank goods (At least take them out!) or custom clothing lines decide to save a little money and leave the garment with no label. A small thing like a custom label or hangtag that can really WOW the customer you are selling too and it makes your brand look that much more established. Some retailers will not accept brands without labels from my earlier experiences, being that some think it?s just not acceptable for their retail store. Such a small thing can go a long way and your customer want mind spending their hard earned money if the garment is giving quality for what its worth.

Taffeta labels:

Leather Labels:

If you don?t have the money in the beginning stages of your line try an alternative like tag less printed or transferred labels some are just as good, if not better and are definitely comfortable we spoke on these earlier here. In the end your customer will appreciate the effort.

The reason I titled it ?Life or Death? because the name of your clothing brand can be the difference between a buyer taking a look at your booth (the name catches their eye), standing out among an already crowded industry, and having a memorable name that makes a lasting impression on the fashion industry. It has the potential to bring you to the forefront of the apparel industry or leave your brand in the clothing line startup graveyard.

Choosing your clothing line name is one of the most important decisions you should make when starting your clothing brand. Picking a name for your clothing line should start by figuring out what type of clothing line it is that u want? Ask yourself that question. What market do I want to target? Urban, Street wear, Juniors, Children?s, etc…All these things and more should play in creating a name for your clothing line. Also what age group of people are you targeting? 16-34 or 30-45 or what? Once you choose a name you should stick with it! Whatever names you choose make it easy to remember and it supports the lifestyle or image you are trying to portray in your clothing line. Some designers take an easier option and choose to use their own name for their clothing line, while this is a viable option not all government names will do. Get the opinions of potential customers and narrow it down to a few options, but let the ultimate decision be up to you and your partners.

Don’t just show up to the trade show empty handed or you will most likely leave empty handed.

Setting appointments before hand plays an important role in landing accounts at trade shows. Most buyers have set appointments with their main clients (major clothing lines) and have time slots while attending shows to spend with each manufacturer. Most new lines are not going to be their main priority (buyers walk right past your booth) and if they never heard of you a nice postcard (most trade shows offer a certain amount free as an incentive to buy more) inviting them to your booth followed by a call and setting an appointment is a sure way to get their attention and hopefully their business!

I’m probably going to make this a series and actually write an article to give more on the process of setting an appointment.

Fashion Industry Ceo

Popularity: 1% [?]

I was going to post a pic along with the title, but first I wanted to see who was familiar with the use of a UPC (Universal Product Code) code in the apparel industry and what one looks like?…If anyone knows leave a comment with your answer.

Fashion Industry Ceo

Popularity: 1% [?]

I have learned from experience that when starting out in the apparel business it is hard enough trying to stay afloat season to season, so saving money when it is possible is a must.

Graphic designing can get very expensive depending on the size of your line and other matters come into factor also. If you outsource your graphic work a designer may charge anywhere from $25-$75 an hour for their work. Believe me it can add up really quick from the original concept, to the final adjustments to the graphic, and then separating the color and making it ready for printing or digitizing the artwork for embroidery, which can really be expensive depending on the final stitch count of the artwork. When outsourcing your artwork make sure and get a quote from the designer, because some people will take advantage of newcomers being that you don?t know the going rate for a designer and u should get an estimated time on the project so you can have an idea of what your final cost will be for your artwork on a particular garment, which will come in handy just in case you have to cut back cost on the garment to make it profitable.

Cutting cost can be the difference between your business profiting or breaking even (not losing or gaining money). Choosing where to have your clothing produced can save your business money in the start up phase by simply staying local?that?s it?STAY LOCAL!…Producing overseas or in another state is not the most logical choice being most startups don?t have the necessary resources to have a quality control person to oversee your production run and also shipping charges occur during the manufacturing process?approving samples and shipping your production run back and forth to an out-of-state company or overseas $$. Staying local allows you to over see the production run quality with each piece and to stay on top of the process to make sure everything is running smoothly. Ultimately it can save you money on shipping, damaged production run (wasted goods), and hiring staff to oversee quality control and a headache. Ask CEO of Ecko ($6million in debt because of overseas production)

Tip of the day (new category in the How to start a clothing line from scratch family)