But it is not an easy task as there is so much of existing competition and choices are many for the customers. It is difficult to draw the attention of customers who have millions of option in front of them which are available at the click of a mouse.

So, how to start a t-shirt company? Many people invest their time and energy in t-shirt making thinking it to be an easy source of cash. But it would be a mistake to venture into this field with that notion as there is no short cut to success in anything. There are a lot of things which should be kept in mind before one wants to start a t-shirt company. One must have a goal and a plan to achieve the goal. Since there is a lot of scope for creation, one must feel passionately about creating designs in funny t-shirts or printing t-shirts.

One has to be very careful about the procedure adopted and remain as far eco-friendly as possible. The materials used to make the products should give a message in that direction.

There should be a target group which would be the main focus for making the product. Depending on their age, likes and dislikes, there should be varied themes on which the range is to be created. These could include topics like Floral, Funny, Western, Sporty, Music, Animals, Politics, Religion, Global Issues, Environmental awareness etc.

Next comes the printing t-shirts which is a very complicated process involving a large no. of people. One has to choose a fabric which would be weather friendly, easy to use and at the same time not too costly.

One will have to keep the product affordable to everyone. The product can be printed in a wide range of hues covering different moods, keeping in mind the seasonality of the product.

One should be observant of the trend as well as the need of the people. The designs should be eye catching and smartly crafted by experts in the field. They should be intelligent enough to spread a message in a very casual and non committal way to the mass.

Lot of importance should be given to cutting and stitching which will go a long way in creating a brand name while selling t-shirts. Much easier in this chain is the selling of the product which could always be put in the net for people to see and order. But one needs to have a set of experts handling that end of the work. Thus T-shirt making requires a bit of research, patience and creativity to run the business.

W Hodgson

http://www.howtostartatshirtcompany.com/

Audigier has several unique fashion lines-not just one. In fact, he has a total of seven different clothing lines–’Ed Hardy,’ ‘Christian Audigier,’ ‘Crystal Rock,’ ‘SMET,’ ‘Chuck Boyd,’ ‘Paco Chicano,’ and ‘C-Bar-A.’ Why so many clothing lines? Well, each is distinctive; each has its own signature styles and specialties. Each allows Audigier to explore a different avenue of the fashion world and to make the Christian Audigier clothing brand appeal to more people.

Christian Audigier did not rise to the top of the fashion world without putting in some time and effort, though. In his case, his time and effort was spent working with several different denim companies. When Audigier was younger, his wishful thinking of what it would be like to be a rock-and-roll star lead him to create a denim collection-based upon his vision of the Rolling Stones. His collection was seen and loved by an executive at ‘MacKeen Jeans,’ and this led him to a career working with several important jeans companies. He worked with ‘Levi’s,’ ‘Diesel,’ ‘Bisou Bisou,’ ‘American Outfitters,’ and ‘Fiorucci’-and became a central force in each company. He even gained the nickname “The King of Jeans” because of his work with denim. The Christian Audigier clothing lines today show Audigier’s great skill with denim.

Once he tired of working with denim, Audigier began working with the company called Von Dutch. The trucker hats he developed and designed are widely believed to have put Von Dutch on the fashion map. Now, Christian Audigier clothing lines still sell hats; however, they are different from the Von Dutch trucker hats. The hats now sold are intricately embroidered with Ed Hardy tattoo designs. The creations are much like those that are on Audigier’s other items of clothing, and they include designs of panthers, hearts, skulls and crossbones, cannabis leaves, Christian Audigier monograms, and other original conceptions.

Upon leaving Von Dutch, Audigier wanted to build a clothing line around the idea of tattoos. He decided to do an internet search for “famous tattoo artist,” and it is through this method that he found Don Ed Hardy. The rest is history-Audigier and Hardy formed a partnership and named the clothing line ‘Ed Hardy.’ Now, Christian Audigier clothing items can be found with many different types of Ed Hardy tattoos on them. People can purchase t-shirts, hoodies, and more with these tattooed designs.

Men and women of nearly any age enjoy wearing Christian Audigier clothing. Not many clothing lines can make this type of statement, that’s for certain. Both famous and non-famous people alike enjoy his designs. Audigier has created more than a brand with his clothing lines-he has created a culture.

Christian Audigier Clothing is created by famed French designer, Christian Audigier. Every Christian Audigier Shirt has multiple prints and tattoo-inspired graphics.

photo credit: sarasgonnagetcha

Nelly hit the charts in early 2000, and has become one of the best selling rappers currently in the game. With over forty million records sold worldwide, Nelly has become a major player in the music industry in only a few years. He has also taken on many different acting roles, and also developed a clothing line for women called Apple Bottoms.

Since the release of Apple Bottoms they have become one of the hottest urban clothing line that caters to females of all shapes and sizes who are trendy and fashion forward. Fueled in popularity by the recent smash single “Low” by T-Pain ft Flo Rida and beloved by celebrities including Oprah, Alicia Keys, and Ciara.

Nelly developed Apple Bottoms jeans because of his believe that not every woman in the world should have a supermodel body, so even full-figured women should look and feel sexy in their clothes. His line was named after the body part they target, so even those with “thick” thighs and lower body curves can look great in what they wear. Once Apple Bottom Jeans became as popular as they are today, Nelly developed an entire clothing line targeting women of all shapes and sizes.

With the success Nelly achieved with the Apple Bottoms line, he has been able to create a non-profit organization called 4sho4kids in response to his little sister’s fight against leukemia.

Apple Bottoms is now a full clothing line for women, containing jeans, skirts, shorts, shirts, and even jackets. There are both casual and dressy looks in his line, so his customers are offered a wide variety of choices of flattering clothes that can fit comfortably. His signature logo is the apple, which resembles the area of the body Nelly believes all women should be proud of. His jeans from the line contained apple shaped pockets, and are flattering on women who have curvy figures to be proud of.

Apple Bottoms were sold out within the first two weeks of hitting the shelves, and even sparked a nationwide model search that was televised on VH1. The line is still one of the most popular lines found in urban clothing stores in both the United States and Europe, and fashion shows still continue to feature pieces from Nelly’s line. Apple Bottom jeans have even been featured in the new hit song Low by Flo-Rida, five years after they first hit the shelves.

The new line of Apple Bottoms Clothing features the hottest urban apparel of the new year. Nelly’s motto is that “the clothes should fit a woman, not a woman fit the clothes”, and this is exactly what he has achieved by making his clothing line. Try visiting http://www.Apple-Bottoms-Jeans.com for all the latest fashions.

Nelly sends out the message that women of all shapes and sizes can be beautiful, and look and feel beautiful in what they are wearing. Nelly is still continuing to expand his line to dresses, denim jumpsuits, and accessories, and this line should be around for years and years to come.

Believe me, I asked myself these questions a lot when I first started out in the industry. Like many of us, I also harbored a secret desire to one day design my own range of swimwear. In fact, I still do. But, like anything, it takes a lot of hard work, and timing can be key. Designer swimwear is a niche market, and simply stated, only the best of the best survive. So while you may have a brilliant idea, this doesn’t necessarily equal success.

Starting out

The first step is to learn as much as you can. Like any profession, the more you know, the more valuable you are. I may not be a swimwear designer yet, but I certainly know a lot about swimwear. Be diverse in your knowledge base – knowing what’s hot in swimwear this season isn’t going to get you far. If you’re really serious about becoming a swimwear designer, research and familiarize yourself with all aspects of the swimwear business. Learn how to design, learn about swimsuit fabrics, understand the financial aspects of swimwear design. The opportunities and the wealth of knowledge at your fingertips is limitless, all you need is a little creativity and determination.

Getting a little heavy sounding? Well it is. But you needn’t get put off yet. Starting small, working on one element at a time and taking each part as it comes is the best way to go. All swimwear designers, including the most talented in the industry, all started somewhere, and bar a few, they usually started out small. My advice? Start by nominating a goal, like knowing all the American swimwear designers, then work towards it. Once you have achieved this, choose another one, like knowing all the European swimwear designers, and work towards this one. Becoming a swimwear designer is a process, and what you’ll be surprised at, even after a short period of time, is how much progress you’ve made. By breaking the task into small parts, you make the job of becoming a swimwear designer much more manageable and much less daunting.

Could you be the next women’s swimwear industry success?

I’ve had a lot of contact with a whole range of swimwear designers over the years, and they all say, no matter what their beginnings have been, that perseverance and patience is paramount.

Like the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you can’t expect to be the hottest new swimwear designer just because you want to be. That being said, a healthy amount of self-confidence will take you a long way – and believe me, if you’re truly serious about becoming a swimwear designer, you’re going to take a couple of blows. A thick skin is also a must – you’re going to endure a lot of criticism, not matter how good a swimwear designer you are.

Constructive Criticism & Networking

Whether it’s constructive criticism or caused by jealousy, learning to distinguish between the two is skill you’ll need to quickly develop. But if you can do this, and all the best swimwear designers mastered this early in their careers, then you’ll be the better for it. Maximize the situation and take advantage of the advice you’re being offered by other, more experienced swimwear designers.

Networking is also really important. While the designer swimwear and fashion industry is highly competitive, you’ll be surprised how willing some swimwear designers are to share their advice and give you some swimwear tips in the right direction. Try finding a mentor, or do an internship with an established swimwear designer. The skills you’ll develop under their guidance will be invaluable and also, priceless.

Designing your own range

Here it is, the moment you’ve been waiting for. It’s now time to design your very own range of women’s swimwear. But will all the hard work and time waiting pay off? Well if you’ve put in the effort, there’s a good chance you’ll see the results. But that’s no guarantee. Unfortunately, starting your own line of designer swimwear involves a fair amount of capital. Designing swimwear may be fun, but at the end of the day it is a business and it needs to make money. At a basic level, there’s the production costs of actually making the swimwear, for example, the price of fabric and the labor to produce the swimwear. Then, if you’re really serious, you’re going to need money to market your women’s swimwear label. Whether we’d like to admit it or not, swimwear design is a hype, marketing and promo-driven world, and even the best swimwear designers rely on a bit of good ol’ fashioned advertising.

Finding a business partner, or an investor, is a good way of raising capital to start your swimwear label. To be taken seriously, it’s probably best if you put together a business plan, and even design and make a small collection of swimwear. If you’ve been working towards the goal of becoming a swimwear designer for some time now, you’ve most likely already been designing swimwear for friends and colleagues. If not, it’s something you might like to consider. As I mentioned earlier, you have to start somewhere when designing swimwear, and small is often best – there’s less risk involved and it gives you the time you need to develop your skills.

Taking out a personal loan is another way you can tackle the money situation. Similarly, you’ll need to have a business plan. Either way, a business plan is a must and will help you throughout the process of launching your women’s swimwear label.

Ready to go?

Becoming a swimwear designer sounds like a daunting task, particularly if you plan to launch your own designer swimwear label. But while difficulties and challenges lie ahead, being a swimwear designer is extremely rewarding, and a whole lot of fun! And when designing swimwear is your passion in life, there’s nothing better.

© Azura Swimwear 2008,
Amber Neumann, Swimwear Buyer, Azura Swimwear

http://www.azuraswimwear.com

Previously a magazine editor, Amber Neumann has written for magazines worldwide on topics ranging from food to fashion to the environment.

These days however, Amber focuses her attention on her true love–designer swimwear–working as a swimwear buyer for Azura Swimwear (http://www.azuraswimwear.com).

Azura Swimwear is a boutique, online retailer of designer swimwear, but it’s also a fantastic industry resource. Amber, along with the other swimwear experts at Azura, publish regular articles about the latest trends in designer swimwear (which can be found at numerous portals accross the web), as well as offering tips, recommendations and inspiration for swimwear lovers in Azura Swimwear’s very own blog ‘Lifstyle Azura’ (http://www.azuraswimwear.com/blog).

This year alone, Azura Swimwear has been mentioned in some of the world’s most respected fashion magazines, including Canadian fashion magazine Naked Eye and U.S. Vogue.

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Get a logo design

You can draw a logo design on paper or you can hire a graphic designer to create a logo for you. There are websites where you can work on a custom design for your custom clothing. Once you have a logo that you like, you should incorporate it so that it appears on all of your custom clothing. You can get the logo copyrighted if you are concerned with theft. The United States Copyright Office has a website where you can take care of this and create your own trademark so that no one else can steal your logo. After you have the basic logo, you are ready for the design.

Create an original design

Your design should be attractive and original. Make sure that you put your creative juices into overtime when you are doing this as it will be the first design that you will wear that will bear your creative label. Think of designs and colors that you like and come up with several different ideas that you can blend together.

Sketch out the design on paper

Take a piece of paper and sketch out the design so that you can see what it looks like on paper. The trick is, during this step, to get the design out of your head and onto a piece of paper. Once you see what it looks like on paper, you can then make any changes that you want to the design itself. After you are satisfied with the sketches, you are then able to start creating the actual original clothing.

Make sure it is professional

You do not want to premier your new designer original that you created looking like something that you created on your computer, do you? You are better off to have the item professionally created. This never used to be possible as you had to place a massive order years ago in order to get customized clothes that you designed yourself. Today, however, there are online websites where you can pay for items that you get printed as you get them created. This makes for a professional creation of your design. When people ask you where you got your new look, you can truthfully say that it is your own designer label!

http://www.sonicshack.com

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Learn from my mistakes how you could start selling clothing with an upfront cost less than that of a PS3 game!! No hype, just the facts. Before I get to how that’s possible, let me walk you through having your own full fledge clothing line. I am by no means an expert, but I do know that what I’ve learned through blood, sweat, and tears can benefit any one interested in the same dream I had. I’m not selling anything, so the information I present is yours to use and assimilate as you wish.

1. Know your Market- Any business book or self-help guru will tell you this, but in the fashion industry this is especially important. Your market determines how much you can sell your clothing for, what style of clothing, what colors, even your clothing line name. It’s important to do research, which doesn’t always have to be in the form of sitting behind a computer looking up boring statistical data. Get out into the market, check out malls, movie theaters, and anywhere else your ideal market goes. Look at magazines that focus on your demographics, TV shows, even your own closet. Ask yourself why you spent the money you did on your clothing items.

2. Meet your Peers- This step has personally saved me countless hours of agony by allowing me to learn from others mistakes. A simple search engine query of Fashion Forums will pull up some indispensable information on websites where other clothing line owners, both successful and not, meet to discuss the fashion industry, techniques to use on clothing, even vendors to use for printing and apparel.

3. Name It- This is one of the most time consuming yet rewarding parts. Name your clothing. Come up with a catchy clothing line name that really displays what your line is about. Ask yourself what perception you want your market to have about your clothing line, and name it accordingly. This is the most important step, you have to have a name worth mentioning, if not why would a store take a chance on your line, and why would a consumer want to wear your clothing if you name doesn’t fit the market?

4. Inc it- You know your market, you have peers in forums who are willing to answer any questions, you have a catchy name, now it’s time to put it in the record books. Incorporating can be an entire article by itself, but let me forewarn you, it’s not as difficult as it may seem. You could always pay a lawyer a couple hundred bucks to do it for you, or you can do a little research and save a lot of money. The government wants small business, they love us!! So it only makes sense that they would help us form, which they do. Go to your local state government homepage, do a search for starting a business in the state, and you’ll have all you need. Period!

5. Designs- If you’re a graphic designer you’re ahead of the game, however for the average person including myself, you’ll need someone to design your shirts. Since the invent of the internet this step is easy! Write an ad on any of the countless classified ads advertising a graphic designer for a clothing line project, then watch your inbox blow up. Graphic artist can charge by the hour or project, although I suggest only going with those who charge by the project. The basic prices can be anywhere from $30 – $1,000.00, it just depends on what you want done and who you talk to. Shop around and you’ll be glad you did. Added in this step, if you want a full blown clothing line, as opposed to just a shirt with a design, you would want to also look into getting a graphic designer to do a logo for you. Again the cost can be nominal $50 up to $800.

6. Wear 2?- You have your design but no clothes, now what? Well again doing a simple search online of wholesale dealers can pull up some great sources of blank T-shirts, Jackets and Jeans. Here is where your incorporating comes in handy. One of the forms you are going to want to fill out is the Sales & Use Tax License Number (Form names may differ from state to state). This number will allow you to purchase goods at wholesale prices instead of retail. If you don’t want to go this route, another great source is your local flea markets. They can sell at bulk rates and have some excellent quality clothing.

7. Print It- Once you have your design together and your clothing, next is the printer. This is typically the most costly part of your clothing line, and for a good reason. If you just go for the cheapest, that’s what you’ll get. Research printers in your area, ask to see their work and ask for references. This is where the forum mentioned in Step 2 is helpful. Talk to the forum about printers in your area and see if anyone has had experience with them. Word of mouth is important. The more clothing you are printing, the cheaper the cost will be per clothing.

8. Now the Fun Begins- Here is where it gets the most exciting and scary! You have your clothing, it looks good, well not that good since it’s just sitting in your living room collecting dust. Market your clothing. There are so many ways and avenues that this could be it’s own article. But keep in mind, this has to be treated like your baby, and if you put due diligence and work into your clothing, show it! Go to trade shows, open up a table at the flea market, sell out of your trunk, go to retail stores and offer wholesale prices, rent a kiosk at the local mall, give away a lot of clothes for free to create a buzz, pester your family to buy your clothing and show to all of their friends. There are enough books and resources on how to market that you should be fine by this point. Just do whatever it takes to get your clothing in front of consumers.

I said at the onset that you could start selling clothing for cost a less than the price of a PS3 game. Obviously that would be lies if you included the cost of incorporating, purchasing t-shirts, graphic designers and printing, but let me show you how. If you do a search for Opening up a free online shop, it will display companies who will allow you to open up a clothing store for free. Yes free, you don’t have to ever pay anything. So the PS3 game cost would just be the price you pay for your design. Keep in mind you can get a design for $30 depending on which artist you use.

So there you have it, by no means exhaustive, but hopefully helpful. You can start selling your own clothing on just about any budget. If you don’t have money saved for a starting a company, try opening up the online store, and use the profit from that to incorporate and start printing your clothing, or if you prefer to not have to deal with that hassle, just market your website and get paid while not having any of the overhead associated with a clothing line. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Travis L. is a young entrepreneur. He incorporated his first company at the age of 17 and has not looked back. He is also an actor, and is actively pursuing a career in theater and music. His newest venture is an urban themed clothing line with a positive message of paying homage to the past, present, and future.

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