CLOTHING BOUTIQUE Archives - Page 9 of 9

Fashion and Technology with Poshmark

When it comes to the business side of me, there’s two things to know – that I love fashion and I love technology. I’m quite the nerdy fashionista. So, when my girl friend told me about an app called Poshmark in November – I was beyond thrilled to check it out and I’ve been attending daily “Posh Parties” through my iPhone ever since!

Warning: Do not continue if you are trying to keep your shopping addiction in check!

What is Poshmark?

Poshmark is a free app available on iPhone or iPad that allows you to sell items from your closet and shop items from other women’s closets. You can often find great deals on gently used or new items that you’ve always wanted, but never wanted to pay full price for! Poshmark has three “Posh Parties” each day where you can share items from your closet or shop from other women’s closets. Sample parties in the past have been, “Marc Jacobs, Rebecca Minkoff & All Saints Party”, “Date Night Party”, and “Hot Handbags Party” – just to name a few.

What makes Poshmark so great?

For me, what makes Poshmark so great is the Poshmark community. I have only had great experiences with the ladies on Poshmark with whom I’ve bought from and sold to. I also attended a Poshmark meet up here in Los Angeles with my girl friend Winnie and had the opportunity to meet Poshmark’s CEO, Manish and Community Director, LyAnn – who happen to be some of the nicest people I’ve ever met! It was great to chat about Poshmark and meet a few new Poshmarkers as well over a glass of champagne.

How do I join Poshmark?

You can download the app for free on iPhone or iPad – or you can sign up directly from Poshmark’s website. (You will need the app to be able to sell items.) Here is a screen shot of what my profile looks like:

If you are already on Poshmark or are just signing up, please send me message and say “Hello”!

*I do have a few more invites available that I’m willing to share with you guys so you can get a $5 credit for your first purchase and I get a $5 credit too! Just use the code HNAAV when signing up. I only have a few left, so if it doesn’t work for you then it means someone else beat you to it! 😉

My Own Poshmark Closet Challenge:

So while I love fashion and shopping (online that is) – I absolutely cannot stand having a closet overflowing with clothes, shoes, and handbags! I am actually quite the minimalist believe it or not! I know, so ironic right? … The Minimalist Fashionista…. Even I can’t keep a straight face typing that! Ha! Anyway, it got me thinking – why don’t I get rid of almost everything in my closet on Poshmark and then every so often shop for a few new items. At the end of a season, when I’m done wearing the item I can sell it again on Poshmark to buy new items for the next season! That way I’m always recycling what I have and I only really end up spending the difference of what I bought the item for and what I end up selling it for. I already started the first round of cleaning out my closet so I’ll be posting it all in my Poshmark closet soon! Wish me luck and I’ll update you guys on how my plan of closet minimalism goes! 🙂

How to Get the Brands You Want in Your Clothing Boutique

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So, I wrote a previous post on the 5 First Steps to Opening Your Clothing Boutique. In Step 4, I talk a little bit about researching what brands you want to carry in your boutique.

Today, I’m going to go a little bit more in depth on how to contact the brands you want and what information they will need from you.

First things first, by this point you should have your Seller’s Permit and your Business License. The process of obtaining these vary state to state, so check on your own state’s government website for information. After you have your Seller’s Permit and Business License, make a list of brands that you would like to carry. Remember, you may not be able to get every brand that you want.

Depending on what type of boutique you are opening – for example – Junior’s clothing, Contemporary clothing, etc., will make the difference on how fast or easy it is to get certain brands.

If you choose to do Junior’s clothing, shoes, or accessories it will be fairly simple to acquire those junior brands that you want. Most junior brands I have worked with have only required me to provide my Seller’s Permit number, if even that.If you are in Los Angeles, a good place to start for Junior’s Clothing is the San Pedro Mart. The minimum to buy is usually 6 pieces for tops and dresses and 12 pieces for jeans or pants. Here, you will only need your Seller’s Permit number.

If you are more specific on what brands you want for Junior’s clothing, go to that brand’s website, find their wholesale contact information, and send them an e-mail or give them a call to set up an appointment to visit the showroom.

For example, I decide I want to carry the line Pretty Rebellious. I google “Pretty Rebellious” to find their website, click on Contact Information, and there I find the Sales Rep and L.A. and N.Y. Showroom contact information. And don’t worry if you are not in Los Angeles or New York where the showrooms are – once you get in contact with a Sales Rep, they can send you photos of their current line and you can place orders through e-mail.

Now, say you want to carry a more Contemporary brand like Seven For All Mankind. When you contact their Sales Rep, they will have you fill out a questionnaire and you will most likely have to provide pictures of your store (if your store is already open).

Here are the types of questions that they might ask:

How many years in have you been in business?
What is the size of your store?
What percentage of your store is Women’s?/Men’s?
What other denim brands are carried in your store?
What other clothing lines do you have in your store?
What stores in your area are considered competition for your store?

They will also have you fill out a credit application. Once they have reviewed all your information, they will either approve you and you can start ordering, or they can also deny your application.

There are also brands that you will not be able to carry at all. For example, the Kardashian Kollection was designed ONLY for Sears. It is not made available to anyone else to carry. You must go to Sears to buy that brand.

So, I hope that this post has been helpful and as always, leave me a comment if you have any other questions I didn’t answer. 🙂

5 First Steps To Opening Your Clothing Boutique

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It may seem like a daunting task to open your own clothing boutique. And while it doesn’t come without a lot of hard work, I know that anyone can do it!

At the age of 23, I decided to pursue opening my own store and am proud of what I accomplished in the end.

When I first started – I had no one to guide me and no one that I could ask questions to see if I was doing something correctly or not. All in all it was a lot of trial and error.

I decided to go ahead and put together 5 steps that will help you get started. This is for those of you that have the idea in your head, but haven’t started anything yet because maybe you just don’t know where to begin.

1) Create Your Vision

The very first thing I did when I decided to open my clothing boutique was to create my vision. If you have no vision, you have no end result. What I did that I found very helpful was to create my boutique’s vision book. I found pictures (from magazines and online) of the colors I liked for the inside of the store, what my target customer liked or looked like, different merchandising ideas, etc. Basically anything and everything that helped me to see my vision clearer. If you know exactly what the final look and feel of your boutique should be, it will be easier to make decisions throughout the process of opening your store because you will know exactly what you want the final product to be.

2) Develop Your Boutique’s Brand

When thinking of your boutique’s brand, keep in mind how you will stand out next to all the other clothing boutiques or stores. Have this in mind when choosing a name for your store and when designing your logo. When developing my store’s brand, I wanted to center around the fact that all the clothes and items I was going to be selling would be from Los Angeles based brands and designers. I wanted to offer Wisconsin all that Los Angeles had offered me in the shopping experience. I then developed everything from that idea, including my store name, look, and ambiance.

3) Begin Your Business Plan

My business plan was probably the most difficult thing about opening a boutique for me. I bought a book on how to write a business plan and in the end I had barely looked at the thing. What I found most helpful was finding examples online of business plans. BPlans.com is a great site that has a lot of information on business plans. You can create your business plan there and they even have very specific business plan examples for clothing boutiques. When I thought my business plan was complete I took it to the bank to ask for a loan, only to be sent back home a few different times to revise it. 🙂 So, no need to get discouraged if you have to revise it a few times! In the end, you’ll have a beautiful blueprint for your business.

4) Research Which Lines You Will Carry

It’s probably easiest to shop stores similar to your boutique and see what lines they have when deciding what merchandise to carry. Compile a list of brands that you’re interested in carrying and begin to contact the sales reps for these lines. Sometimes it takes a little while to be approved to carry certain brands or some you won’t be able to get at all. It just depends how selective the brand is when choosing what stores will carry their line. You could also visit a place like the Cal Mart in Los Angeles to get ideas and see the styles of different lines that you may want to carry in your boutique.

5) Start Your Website

I ended up starting my website before I opened the doors to my physical location. I started with a store on E-bay and then designed an e-commerce site through Yahoo. Yahoo has a site builder that once you learn the basics – you can develop a pretty nice e-commerce site on your own. I was trying to do everything at as low of cost as possible. I have a friend that just spent almost $5,000 on their e-commerce site which I think is completely unnecessary. Even once I wanted a better designed site I only paid $400. I put an ad on Craigslist and the person I found was looking to add to their portfolio and experience and did an excellent job on my site. Starting your website, Facebook page, and Twitter can help you get your name out there even before you open!

***UPDATE: Since I wrote this post, I have switched my boutique’s website over to Shopify. I absolutely LOVE Shopify. It is by far the easiest e-commerce platform I have used. What do you guys think of Shopify?

*****UPDATE: By popular request, I wrote a tutorial on How to Open an Online Boutique with Shopify!

Do you have any other questions about getting started on your clothing boutique? Leave me a comment! 🙂

5 First Steps to Start Your Online Boutique

10 Things I’ve Learned From Working in the Fashion Industry for Ten Years

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In July 2002, I headed out to Los Angeles from Wisconsin with plans of a fashion career. I arrived with my two suitcases in downtown L.A. at my new apartment having never visited L.A. before in my life.

Ten years and 6 jobs and 2 clothing boutiques later, I’ve accumulated my fair share of knowledge in the fashion industry.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned…

1) Fashion School is full of idiots.

There, I said it.

Ok, so obviously not everyone in fashion school is an idiot. But, what I did learn is that there tends to be a lot of folks in fashion school that only like the idea of being in the fashion industry. They are not interested in investing the actual work that goes along with it. Usually these are the people that end up not working in the fashion industry all together. I would suggest identifying the ones in your classes that are taking school seriously and keep in contact with them throughout your school experience. These will ultimately be your co-workers once you enter the job market and prove to be valuable contacts in the long run. I can’t tell you how many jobs I have been offered from people that are working in the industry that I knew from school. Networking starts your first day of class! So, show up and perform at your best!

2) Internships are key to landing your first job.

Without a doubt, finding an internship before you graduate will be imperative to finding work after graduation. Your internship may even lead to a full-time position! You can find internships through your counselor at school or online postings from your school website. If you have a particular company that you would like to intern for, contact them directly and see if they have any internships available. This works especially well with smaller companies or designers that are just starting out. They are looking for the extra help and what you can learn from them is often priceless.

3) Experience, experience, experience.

Experience will most likely get you further than your degree. My first job was mainly from my internship work I did while in school. I was able to build a great portfolio at my internship and was one step ahead of those who didn’t intern. There were times that I accepted certain positions because I knew that I would be gaining invaluable experience and knowledge in that position even if it wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do. Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone!

4) Be ready to wear more than one hat in your new position. (More like 132 different hats.)

I would say nine out of ten jobs you take in the fashion industry you will be doing significantly more than what is first described to you in your interview. You have to be ready and willing to pick up the slack wherever it is needed. You may have been hired as a Technical Designer, but you may also be required to help check the patterns, adjust the grading, run to the wash house and pick up samples… the list goes on and on. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, its just adding to your experience. 🙂

5) The fashion industry is not glamorous.

I know everyone would love to believe that we work in fabulous buildings with fabulous interiors and dress up every day like we’re ready to walk the runway. Unfortunately, that’s usually not the case. The fashion industry isn’t as glamorous as it is made out to be on television. Usually the buildings and areas (especially in Los Angeles) are less than desirable and most employees choose comfort over fashion in the work place. You definitely don’t want to be caught in 5 inch heels having to run around all day to the sewers, patternmakers, etc. Unless you have an important meeting that day, it is easier to get around in flats, jeans, and a tank.

6) It is easier than you think to start your own business.

Working as a Technical Designer for most of my career in the fashion industry, I have met countless numbers of people that want to start their own business. After opening two clothing boutiques, I found that while its a lot of work, it is definitely attainable for anyone. You just have to start somewhere. Once you finish the first step, it leads you to the second step and then the third step. The idea is to be persistent and keep moving forward until you have reached your goal!

7) Great perks.

Ahhh yes… the perks. Some of the best things about working in the fashion industry are these type of benefits. More often than not you get a great discount on the clothes your company produces. This discount can be anywhere from 35%-75% off retail. You will probably also end up with many free samples to add to your closet. I myself have upwards of 75 pairs of jeans from working at a denim company! (Yes, I know that is completely a ridiculous amount of jeans for any one person to have.) You may also find yourself invited to fashion shows and special events or parties sponsored by your company. This all makes the hard work and often long hours worth it!

8 ) Recruiters are the way to go.

Recruiters will help you find a job. Plain and simple. They’re rooting for you and will find jobs fitting your experience, guide you through the interview process and negotiate a salary and benefits on your behalf. My recruiters have helped me immensely when I’m job hunting. Here are a few fashion recruiting companies to get you started:

24 Seven

Fourth Floor Fashion

JBCStyle

9) Expect to be laid off at some point in your career.

The fashion industry is a very unstable industry to work in. One day something’s hot, the next its not. So, don’t take it personally or get too upset if you get laid off. There’s always another job with a company that has the next hottest item. It is not uncommon to work for a dozen different companies in your career.

10) There will be opportunities to travel.

Whether you are a designer, a boutique owner, or in quality control there may be opportunities for travel. You may have to go to China or Mexico and check on production or speed the design process along to make sure deliveries are met. If you own a boutique you’ll want to travel to Vegas for the Magic Show or New York during market week to buy the latest styles for your store. So, if travel is your thing, there are many opportunities to be found in fashion!

As always if you have any questions or need any advice that I didn’t answer, leave a comment! I’m here to help!