How to Start a Women's Clothing Line
Buying and wearing women’s clothing can be frustrating. Have you ever put on women’s clothes and thought that you could design it better? You know you can make it cheaper and much more durable? Have you ever thought that designing your own clothes would make you a success?
It is not as easy as it sounds. Sure you can design clothes. You have great ideas, ones that might even sell, but there is more to it than making and selling clothing. Fashion is a dog-eat-dog business and if you are not careful, you end up a bone outside the doghouse.
Make a plan. Don’t just keep this dream plan in your head. Write it down. Write out your ideas, thoughts and styles. Keep an organized portfolio of your ideas, drawings and plans.
Make your plan formal. Now you need to collect your ideas and drawings into one basic presentation. This is what you will show to others. Make it as professional as possible. Have it professionally bound and printed. Make several copies so you can leave copies with people you meet.
Once you have a formal plan, you will need to get funding for your clothing line. This takes patience and drive. You will talk to many different people, banks and businesses. Leave copies of your formal plan. Ask for money. Make sure that your plans include the financial outlook of your clothing line. How much money will you need to start your clothing line? How much money will your designs make? Who will buy your clothing line? What projections can you make for your financial future?
Once you get some funding, you can bring your ideas to life. Remember to start with a small quantity of pieces, maybe 6 – 10. When you begin, quality is much more important than quantity.
Now that you have a small line of women’s clothing, you are ready to market your line.
A. Attend trade shows and show off your new clothing line. You may even get some ideas for your next line of clothing. Trade shows are held twice a year in New York City, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and San Francisco.
B. Visit local boutiques. See if they would be will to sell your clothing in their store. Get personal recommendations and references. Start talking to the fashion community.
C. Call boutiques and ask how you can sell a line of clothing in their store.
D. Start a webpage or Facebook page to show off your designs and take orders.
E. Advertise your new line of women’s clothing anywhere you can: Host parties, send coupons and fliers, and put ads in the local paper.
Once you have developed a client base, you will need to manufacture your line of clothing. You may decide to hire several seamstresses or a manufacturing company. Usually, a company will require at least 300 individual pieces of the same product. If you have ten items, that is 3000 pieces of clothing. Be sure you have a solid client base, before you have this many pieces made.
Now, you will need to continue to look for orders and fill orders as they come in. Remember that clothing lines are usually six months ahead. So you should be manufacturing your upcoming spring line during the fall. Be ready for more sales, but don’t be too disappointed if everything is not a success the first time. Successful fashion takes time and patience.