Starting an online clothing store?

[hewlett]

My true passion in life has always been fashion, so it would make sense I'd want a career having to do with clothing/accessories. I'm interested in starting my own online clothing store someday, but have a few questions. I need to first learn how to sew, because I'd like to hand-make the clothing I will be selling, I want them to be unique so I don't want to buy from wholesale sites. When people sell handmade clothing though, how do they know how many of each clothing piece to make? It would be very time consuming to make lets say 100 of each clothing piece in different sizes, so how do people make so many pieces at one time? Also, if I buy fabrics from a fabric store, are there any laws against using a fabric someone else designed and selling pieces that are made with that fabric? I'm so lost LOL thanks!

[taryn31]

I would start out small with this business and then when you get a bit more experience you'll be able to open a bigger business. It's not easy like you just wanna open a store suddenly, there are lots of things to consider. And obviously, selling clothes you'd probably want to learn how to sew as soon as possible lol
Starting out small, I would use websites where they have a large audience of people interested in particular things. Such as if you want to do vintage styled stuff, go to etsy. It's basically only items people made, not one company and it's really interesting. You can sell some of your clothes on there and promote it from there. I'm not an expert, but I do know that there are 100,000 things you need to know about business in general before opening a legit business.

Edit: They have big books and college courses dedicated to business. It's not that simple.

[giulio]

I'm going to send you over to http://www.fashion-incubator.com to read. It's one of the most intellectually generous sites on the web; the owner is a patternmaker who specializes in helping tiny clothing manufacturers get up and running (she calls them "designer-entrepreneurs", DEs for short.

You should probably start with the "newbie" pages: http://fashion-incubator.com/category/newbies/ but also don't miss the section on lean manufacturing: http://fashion-incubator.com/category/lean-manufacturing/ and you need her book. Once you've started basic sewing, don't miss the tutorials section -- yes, it looks like fuss and bother to do zippers her way, but the results are so superior it isn't even funny. Oh, and don't miss the posts that are headed "How I got my start" -- they're from a number of people who have done what you do.

Now, to answer your question of how many of what to make: if you're manufacturing in batches, you make a sample, then take it to market and and take orders. If you don't get enough orders, that item is dropped. If you are a lean manufacturer, you go ahead and make the patterns, and then you cut and sew items as they come in. If you get one order for a size M one day, that's what you make. The next day, you may get an order for two size S, one red, one blue, and you make those.

[elkanah1]

Below given steps will help you.

1. Determine what kind of clothing you will sell: Will you be a specialized clothing store, selling to specific sizes or an all-purpose boutique, for men, women and children of all shapes and sizes? This is an important consideration because your specialty is what will set you apart from the competition, and the more specialized your online clothing store is, the more likely it is that you will be able to build a faithful clientele. Some of the more popular options when it comes to online clothing stores are kid's clothing, plus-size apparel and online shoe boutiques. Remember, your entire marketing campaign will be built around the type of clothing you sell, so be sure to make an informed decision based on the size of the market and the demand for such apparel, the money it will take to amass an inventory of items and how large an inventory you plan to offer at first.
2. Acquire and assess your clothing inventory: Depending on your niche, you can get clothing from just about anywhere. You can start by purchasing items from hard-to-find dealers and retailers that will sell to you at a wholesale price and allow you to mark up the items for profit. You can also frequent some of the retail markets, which feature dozens of dealers in one place, selling the latest fashions. Another option is to work directly with up and coming designers, particularly ones in your area, that are new to the fashion scene and have fresh looks to offer. The more creative and fresh your inventory is, the more likely it is to sell and get exposure in a saturated online clothing industry.
3. Put together all of your price points and don't forget to include shipping costs. The most that it costs you to purchase an item wholesale, the more you will have to mark it up. This can drive customers away, so you must try to negotiate the best deal you can when purchasing items from clothing vendors. This is where it helps to work with new or little-known clothing designers, because they are usually hungry for exposure and won't charge you as much as a well-known vendor to sell their clothing.
4. Build your website. Just like a brick-and-mortar shop is the calling card of a traditional clothing retailer, your website is just as important for you. Your online clothing store should be catchy and eye-popping without being overwhelming. The clothing should be prominently featured on the site and checkout should be extremely easy to locate. Moreover, your site should be up to date at all times with an easy to remember--and type--name. If you can afford to have a professional build your site, it may be a worthwhile investment if you are not very technically savvy; otherwise, use a template (preferably Flash-based) with enough bells and whistles to make your site look exciting, but with your clothing front-and-center.
5. Optimize your site so it shows up on lists under your category of search terms. Most often, customers will find your store by typing terms into a search engine. If you specialize in kid's clothing, then "kids clothes" or "kid's clothing" will likely be some of the terms potential customers will use to find you. Because of this, it is important to include search terms in the language of your site so that Web crawlers will pick it up and deliver eyeballs directly to your homepage. Again, if you hire a professional, he should be able to assist you with this as part of your Web design package; if not, search the category you specialize in and check out the language of the competition (particularly the top 20 companies listed). Use some of the same terms in the information on your site to get yourself as high on the list as possible.
6. Spread the word through online advertising, message boards, social media forums and just about anywhere else that you can. Letting people know about your online clothing store is the best way to get inventory selling. Take advantage of every opportunity possible to spread the word about your store. Sign up for a Facebook and/or MySpace page and amass a collection of friends who are privy to special discounts and sales (you won't believe how quickly your friend lists will grow). Offer information about your store to fashion bloggers and/or reporters. Offer to be a resource for future articles. All of this will work in conjunction with traditional forms of advertising/marketing to get your store optimal publicity and enhance your chances for success.