How to Start a Clothing Line

It's not easy to start a clothing line from scratch, but if you are passionate about the clothing and design business, you can certainly do it. If this is your first time starting a business, there are many important facts that you should know because starting a clothing line isn't just about the clothes. There are all kinds of legal, financial and logistical hurdles to overcome.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Business plan
• Funding
• Contractor/manufacturer

1. Choose a name for your clothing line, trademark it and buy the Web domain name for it. Domain names on the internet are being sold quickly, so make sure you buy one with the name of your clothing line right away. Also, you should do a trademark search for the name you have chosen to make sure there are no other business or companies already using that name. If the name is available, register it with the United States Patent office. Furthermore, register your business as a D.B.A. or LLC with your city clerk, and then get a bank account under your new business's name. These are all important steps to take before you begin to actually design and produce clothes.

2. Decide what type of clothing you want to make. Also, decide whether you want to mass produce or start by making a few key items. You can start by making casual apparel or sportswear such as T-shirts, sweatpants, jeans and other related products. Start out small until you begin to establish your name. Moreover, find a contractor who can help you launch your clothing line. Producing locally is your best bet when starting a clothing line.

3. Obtain funding. You may already have the necessary funds or you may have to take out a business loan. To get a loan from a bank you may have to put up collateral because, traditionally, banks do not consider clothing lines a safe investment.

4. Prepare your designs and pick out fabrics and materials that you will need. Give all of your completed and professional sketches to a manufacturer, seamstress, tailor or screen printer. Also, match each fabric to a particular design to make sure that the manufacturer knows what the final product should look like.

5. Supervise the manufacturing of your clothing line to make sure that the manufacturer/contractor will have your apparel ready and delivered on time. The best way to do this is to stay in touch with your contractor during the entire process and make sure that things are going smoothly. Once your merchandise is ready, start taking orders from clients. In addition to personal orders, visit local shops and boutiques and meet with the buyer to try and get your merchandise into their stores.

6. Have a professional-looking Web site before you spread the word about your clothing line. The site will be the first thing people look at to familiarize themselves with your company and products so it must reflect your clothing line. Issue a press release about your line and send it to newspapers and magazines in your area. Contact local radio stations and ask if they would like to interview you. Anything you can do to build buzz about your brand will be to your advantage.

7. Advertise your new line in local newspapers and magazines that are aimed at consumers in your immediate area. You can also put up a billboard or direct a small commercial to be broadcast on the local cable channel. As your business grows, your marketing plan will also expand to include other cities, states or even countries. Another important factor is to manage your money, costs and production to the last detail.

[rascojenkins]

on 9/11/2009 Yup it will be good to have an idea of how much is needed to start up a clothing line.

[katarina47]

on 7/30/2009 If you want to start your own clothing line,check out
www.creativebusinesshouse.com
they take care of everything:From registering your comapny to manufacturing your designs

[katarina47]

on 5/4/2009 When starting a clothing line there are 2 part to distinguish:The business part and the fashion part.It is important to know that getting into the fashion industry requires you to protect your business and your clothing’s line name.To do so,register your business:Most of the time ,designers opt for a LLC.Also ,you need to get a trademark:You dont want to work on a line that you do not own.At the same time ,the fashion procedure is on:All you need is a concept/sketches in order to have few samples made.Once its done ,which can take few weeks ,(It all depends on how many you want and how detailed are your designs),you can start looking for buyers.To sum up:2 procedures-Fashion -BusinessCreative Business House does all that !Hope this help…And if you are still confused contact me:[e-mail]

[mikaelap]

on 4/10/2009 check out www.creativebusinesshouse.comFrom a happy designer.Good luck 2 all the designers!

[lilian13]

on 11/7/2008 Check

http://www.ellen-clothing-manufacturer.com/Create-Clothing-Line/


It's an article from the Official website of Ellen Clothing Manufacturer, a French company with a sewing factory in Vietnam.

Business: made to order clothes.
Deliver to USA, UK, Australia and more.

You can also contact Ellen Clothing Manufacturer at:

Washington DC / USA
001 202 470 2665

London / UK / England
[phone]

Sydney / Australia
[phone]