How to Start Your Own Clothing Line

Have you ever dreamed of owning a clothing line that becomes the “next” hot new fashion item? Creating your own clothing line is not too difficult, but getting the world to accept your clothes is a whole other matter. This article will detail how to set up your clothing line for optimal sales and visibility. So let’s get started…

First off you’ll need a brand name for your clothing line – this is actually more important than the style of clothes that you choose. Once you create a brand name that name will remain solid, you can always make changes to the clothes, shoes, hats or other items your company will sell. Along with this brand name you will need to create a logo that will be recognized as the symbol of your company. Just like Nike created the swoosh – you will want to have a logo that people will remember. You can use your company name in a specific font as your logo or create a separate symbol that represents your clothing line.

To have this logo made you can hire a graphic designer or artist to create a computer file version of this logo. Once complete, you can give it to the printer, embroiderer or any company that will be placing your logo onto the clothes. Most of these companies will want your logo as a vector which is widely accepted at most printing facilities. If you can’t afford to spend a lot of money on a graphic designer, you can search online for graphic design students or logo designers who may offer you a discounted price for one logo.

Once you have your logo complete, you will want to register this image with a patent or trademark attorney. Ask the attorney how much he or she charges to file a copyright or trademark and inquire as to which one is better for your logo. The attorney should complete a Boolean search with the US patent office to make sure that no other company has reserved your company name or a similar logo. Don’t get disappointed if your logo is already taken, this can happen quite often. Just head back to the drawing board and create another idea.

After you have protected your logo with a trademark or copyright, you can begin making some clothing samples. Many new clothing lines look to purchase blank articles of clothing from manufacturers like American Apparel or Alternative Apparel. These companies will sell you the clothes that you need to get started. If your design is very specific and is not offered by a clothing manufacturer – you may have to get your clothes created uniquely for your company by a clothing designer. This can be very expensive, but in the long run you will be creating clothes to meet your exact specifications. This may be a step that you want to pursue once you have made some sales with standard articles of clothing.

You can actually have these clothing manufacturers ship your items right to your printer where they can complete your request and send you the finished product. You may want to ask your printer if they know of a company that will pull out any manufacturer shirt tags and replace them with personalized tags with your logo or brand name on them. Having a brand name on your shirt tags on really makes your clothes look professional and this is an important step that you may want to consider.

It will be an amazing feeling when you receive your first package of completed clothing. You did it! You have your finished product – now you have to give them away. That may seem strange but many new successful clothing lines got their start by giving their clothes to willing wearers to create a “buzz” about their clothing line. The key is to find the most fashionable people you know or some stylish people that you meet and give them your clothes to don in public. Don’t give all of your clothes away, but little by little you need to get your product onto the public and in plain view of the others around them.

A key step to a successful clothing line is creating a place to obtain online sales. This will open your storefront to the entire world! You will need to build a website for your clothing line that will allow visitors to purchase your products with a credit card via a shopping cart or Paypal. You can photograph your friends in your clothes to get pictures to use for your website, or if you have the money you can pay a photographer and models to get a professional look. You’ll want to offer various sizes and colors on this website and be sure you have enough products to meet any demand that may come from online orders.

How well your product does depends on how hard you market it to the public and how widely accepted it becomes. If you are getting good feedback from your customers and you believe in your clothing line, the sky is the limit for your company. Remember that people tend to do and want what other people have, so if you can create a demand for your product you will have limitless sales. Don’t make the mistake of undervaluing your clothes; in fact in many cases it is better to overprice your items to create the notion that your product is highly desirable. With time, persistence and a little luck you are well on your way to creating the next hot new fashion!