So I started a clothing company...

[bdavro23]

Thanks for posting.

curious to hear your thoughts on this:

Ralph Lauren Purple Label Wool/ Cashmere Blazer Black Mens New $5195 | eBay

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Look at the photos. It looks like they reveal RL’s manufacturing and wholesale costs.

I'm not sure I'm in a position to comment. There is very little relationship between what I do and the Ralph Lauren company. Do you have specific questions?

 

[othertravel]

Ah sorry, should have been a bit clearer.

Was curious to know, based on your own experience, whether the cost of cloth that RL is paying is comparable to your own costs. That is, is RL getting a big price break because they can purchase big volumes.

Also, have you given thought to eventually becoming an SF affiliate? Your finished product pics are outstanding, and I bet there would be decent demand for your services.

 

[dieworkwear]

Ah sorry, should have been a bit clearer.

Was curious to know, based on your own experience, whether the cost of cloth that RL is paying is comparable to your own costs. That is, is RL getting a big price break because they can purchase big volumes.

Also, have you given thought to eventually becoming an SF affiliate? Your finished product pics are outstanding, and I bet there would be decent demand for your services.

RL operates on a scale that I don't think anyone on this board has experience with. That said, I've interviewed a couple of people at big brands and we've talked about their costs. For a suit, their cost is multiples what's listed on that tag.

 

[othertravel]

RL operates on a scale that I don't think anyone on this board has experience with. That said, I've interviewed a couple of people at big brands and we've talked about their costs. For a suit, their cost is multiples what's listed on that tag.

yeah, they definitely benefit from large-volume order pricing.

 

[bdavro23]

Ah sorry, should have been a bit clearer.

Was curious to know, based on your own experience, whether the cost of cloth that RL is paying is comparable to your own costs. That is, is RL getting a big price break because they can purchase big volumes.

Also, have you given thought to eventually becoming an SF affiliate? Your finished product pics are outstanding, and I bet there would be decent demand for your services.

As others have noted, RL is an entirely different ballpark. For reference, and this is very general, the following typically holds true for cloth pricing: Fabric is produced in "Pieces", which are typically 50 meters in length, though this can vary. That cloth is then sold by the meter, and potentially multiple Pieces of said cloth are produced. If someone buys an entire Piece, or commissions their own piece, then the cost drops dramatically due to the volume being purchased. An order from a company the size of RL with the needs of their production would likely be composed of multiple Pieces. If I had to guess, RL probably pays 20% or less of the per meter cost that I and other small companies like me pay.

As for becoming an SF affiliate, I have definitely thought about it and I've spoken to the ownership about it. At this time, it would be hard to justify the costs. I would also have to build out a website (which I should probably do anyway), create an e-commerce platform, etc, etc. I could probably make the time to do these things now in my enforced isolation, but this isnt exactly the economic climate you'd want to start expanding a business in. I do appreciate the compliment about the finished products and its really important to me to get things right for my customers, so thanks.

 

[classicalthunde]

As others have noted, RL is an entirely different ballpark. For reference, and this is very general, the following typically holds true for cloth pricing: Fabric is produced in "Pieces", which are typically 50 meters in length, though this can vary. That cloth is then sold by the meter, and potentially multiple Pieces of said cloth are produced. If someone buys an entire Piece, or commissions their own piece, then the cost drops dramatically due to the volume being purchased. An order from a company the size of RL with the needs of their production would likely be composed of multiple Pieces. If I had to guess, RL probably pays 20% or less of the per meter cost that I and other small companies like me pay.

As for becoming an SF affiliate, I have definitely thought about it and I've spoken to the ownership about it. At this time, it would be hard to justify the costs. I would also have to build out a website (which I should probably do anyway), create an e-commerce platform, etc, etc. I could probably make the time to do these things now in my enforced isolation, but this isnt exactly the economic climate you'd want to start expanding a business in. I do appreciate the compliment about the finished products and its really important to me to get things right for my customers, so thanks.

If you're comfortable answering, I have a couple of tangentially related questions for you:

1. I'm curious how much you pay per meter of fabric based upon the retail price that some merchants have (i.e. The Merchant Fox fabric costs vs. having account with Fox Bros direct, or buying Fresco from the HFW website vs. through your account). I'm particular interested in fabric these days and it seems that there is an increase in B2C sales from the standard B2B model (for instance, I think the new Drapers site lets you purchase cut lengths on their website, albeit at a pretty high price tag)

2. How much yardage do you have to buy from a merchant/mill in order to open up an account? at what point do you see price drops based upon volume?

3. What is the minimum order at your factory to keep an account open with them?

 

[bdavro23]

If you're comfortable answering, I have a couple of tangentially related questions for you:

1. I'm curious how much you pay per meter of fabric based upon the retail price that some merchants have (i.e. The Merchant Fox fabric costs vs. having account with Fox Bros direct, or buying Fresco from the HFW website vs. through your account). I'm particular interested in fabric these days and it seems that there is an increase in B2C sales from the standard B2B model (for instance, I think the new Drapers site lets you purchase cut lengths on their website, albeit at a pretty high price tag)

2. How much yardage do you have to buy from a merchant/mill in order to open up an account? at what point do you see price drops based upon volume?

3. What is the minimum order at your factory to keep an account open with them?

I can answer these questions generally, though would prefer to keep specifics to the trade...

1) The cost of cloth is like any other product, really. The more you buy of one thing, the less it will cost per unit. The more you buy from a single supplier, the better terms they will give you. For someone not in the trade, you will almost always be paying the most out of any buyer class per meter of cloth, at least generally.

2) Opening an account with a mill is relatively easy if you are a tailor/ clothing store/ other trade entity. There is no minimum to buy, though you need to be placing orders to get books/ samples, etc. If you arent sending orders, you arent going to get next season's books as you are costing them money at that point. In this way there are incentives on both ends to build relationships and work together.

3) I dont know of a minimum, but again, if you arent sending orders you wont get materials.

 

[induere_to]

I have a couple questions about your process. As some people may know, I did have some made to measure experience at my former company, Spier and Mackay. Informally, I have since been messing around a bit with my own manufacturer (probably will not start my own company, please don't tell my fabric suppliers). Made to Measure can be a massive headache, but extremely satisfying when you get good results.

- Does your manufacturer let you play around with specific detail requests or do they have their own templates you can't adjust (say, someone wants exactly 4 1/4" lapel width or a 3 3/4" gorge height) or is it whatever comes standard from the factory?

- When it comes to measurements, do you have your own mathematic algorithm that you have come up with to adjust by body type or preference when applying to the finished measurements or does your manufacturer just go by 'slim, regular, or classic'; OR are you making adjustments to the finished measurements from the trial garments?

- Do you have pictures of finished garments being worn by the people you made them for? What are the most common alterations, besides hems, do you find your finished garments need, if you're making garments for someone that isn't local and they still need alterations, do you give them a credit back for the cost of the alterations?

- When you do these fittings over video/skype/facetime, how to do you figure out the exact measurements needed for adjustments; whether it's sloping, rolling, sleeve pitch, rise, or even chest/waist/hip measurements?

 

[bdavro23]

I have a couple questions about your process. As some people may know, I did have some made to measure experience at my former company, Spier and Mackay. Informally, I have since been messing around a bit with my own manufacturer (probably will not start my own company, please don't tell my fabric suppliers). Made to Measure can be a massive headache, but extremely satisfying when you get good results.

- Does your manufacturer let you play around with specific detail requests or do they have their own templates you can't adjust (say, someone wants exactly 4 1/4" lapel width or a 3 3/4" gorge height) or is it whatever comes standard from the factory?
There are ranges for most things, including lapel width. This obviously varies by manufacturer, so take this with a grain of salt. Some factories have stock patterns, some will let you modify or create your own, it just depends on the producer.

- When it comes to measurements, do you have your own mathematic algorithm that you have come up with to adjust by body type or preference when applying to the finished measurements or does your manufacturer just go by 'slim, regular, or classic'; OR are you making adjustments to the finished measurements from the trial garments?
I use fit garments because I think it just makes sense. Its basically like a basted fitting and helps you to understand a lot about the client and their needs. I have a couple sets that are a little different shape and have different ease built into them to account for different body types and shape.

- Do you have pictures of finished garments being worn by the people you made them for? What are the most common alterations, besides hems, do you find your finished garments need, if you're making garments for someone that isn't local and they still need alterations, do you give them a credit back for the cost of the alterations?
Honestly, I do very few alterations. Thats sort of the point of investing in fit garments because the cloth doesnt lie and you can see what needs to be adjusted. Learning how to interpret what you are seeing and learning how to correct the issues takes time and effort obviously.

- When you do these fittings over video/skype/facetime, how to do you figure out the exact measurements needed for adjustments; whether it's sloping, rolling, sleeve pitch, rise, or even chest/waist/hip measurements?
Again, I use fit garments, so the measurements are known to me. At that point, I am already working from a garment that is close to fitting, so the margin of error is reduced. You can still get it wrong, but you have some guard rails so to speak. Doing fittings over video is more challenging, but I'm not trying to get an exact chest measurement. I'm trying to see what adjustments I need ot make to the fit garment the client is wearing. I'm also trying to listen to the client and ask questions that help him tell me how to meet his goals and what he feels.

I have a couple questions about your process. As some people may know, I did have some made to measure experience at my former company, Spier and Mackay. Informally, I have since been messing around a bit with my own manufacturer (probably will not start my own company, please don't tell my fabric suppliers). Made to Measure can be a massive headache, but extremely satisfying when you get good results.

- Does your manufacturer let you play around with specific detail requests or do they have their own templates you can't adjust (say, someone wants exactly 4 1/4" lapel width or a 3 3/4" gorge height) or is it whatever comes standard from the factory?
There are ranges for most things, including lapel width. This obviously varies by manufacturer, so take this with a grain of salt. Some factories have stock patterns, some will let you modify or create your own, it just depends on the producer.

- When it comes to measurements, do you have your own mathematic algorithm that you have come up with to adjust by body type or preference when applying to the finished measurements or does your manufacturer just go by 'slim, regular, or classic'; OR are you making adjustments to the finished measurements from the trial garments?
I use fit garments because I think it just makes sense. Its basically like a basted fitting and helps you to understand a lot about the client and their needs. I have a couple sets that are a little different shape and have different ease built into them to account for different body types and shape.

- Do you have pictures of finished garments being worn by the people you made them for? What are the most common alterations, besides hems, do you find your finished garments need, if you're making garments for someone that isn't local and they still need alterations, do you give them a credit back for the cost of the alterations?
Honestly, I do very few alterations. Thats sort of the point of investing in fit garments because the cloth doesnt lie and you can see what needs to be adjusted. Learning how to interpret what you are seeing and learning how to correct the issues takes time and effort obviously.

- When you do these fittings over video/skype/facetime, how to do you figure out the exact measurements needed for adjustments; whether it's sloping, rolling, sleeve pitch, rise, or even chest/waist/hip measurements?
Again, I use fit garments, so the measurements are known to me. At that point, I am already working from a garment that is close to fitting, so the margin of error is reduced. You can still get it wrong, but you have some guard rails so to speak. Doing fittings over video is more challenging, but I'm not trying to get an exact chest measurement. I'm trying to see what adjustments I need ot make to the fit garment the client is wearing. I'm also trying to listen to the client and ask questions that help him tell me how to meet his goals and what he feels.

 

[sid11111]

How have you been faring since the pandemic?

 

[patliean1]

Aye Flanigan!

 

[PhilKenSebben]

In my experience, larger companies like RL can definitely negotiate better prices due to their higher volume of purchases. Still, it also depends on the fabric quality they are purchasing. As for becoming an SF affiliate, it's definitely worth considering if it aligns with your business goals. Your product pics look great, and there is always a demand for quality clothing services. Speaking of starting a business, have you checked out https://www.ogscapital.com/tag/fast-food-business-plans/ for some helpful tips and resources? I know it seems about fast food, but you an also find some tips for any business.

This is very helpful. Thank you for your guidance!