HELP!? Fashion Question!!! I want to design clothes and sell then in an online store. I need to know …?
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 at
8:33 pm
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Filed under: Designer Baby Clothes
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It is hard to find grants to start a business. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for a for-profit business. And yes, grants mean PAPERWORK – lots and lots of it, that is why a cottage industry of grant writers was born.
Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov – these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.
Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html
On starting your clothing business, I suggest you start by reading the article "Starting a Clothing Line or Apparel Manufacturing Business" http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol66/clothing.htm . The for more in-depth information, read the following books:
- The Official Step by Step Guide to Starting a Clothing Line
- Start Your Own Clothing Store (Entrepreneur Magazine’s Start Up)
- The Business of Fashion: Designing Manufacturing, and Marketing
- The World of Fashion Merchandising
- So You Want to Work in the Fashion Business? A Practical Look at Apparel Product Development and Global Manufacturing
- The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing
- Fashion: From Concept to Consumer
No, of course it’s not too old, but you do have a lot to learn. Any advice people give you right now might not matter, because it all depends on your own vision. You need to learn everything you can about fabrics and patterns, about sewing techniques and tailoring and anything else you can.
The best thing you can do right now is to find any sewing maching you can and try to make something, for yourself, for a friend, for your children, whoever. Go to a fabric store and ask a lot of questions, buy some fabric, get a pattern, and go for it. See if you find it difficult or rewarding, then go back to the fabric store with some books from the library and try again.
The real question here is if you love it enough to spend the next few years of your life learning how. Don’t expect to be an expert right away, but do take pride each time you succeed. If you’re good enough — if other people tell you that they like what you make — then you can turn your attention to marketing online. That will be a very different kind of challenge.
And good luck!
Go on Project Runway after you learn how to sow
You should definitely go for it, no way are you too young. People in their 80′s have started new things, you can too. I’d recommend going to night school if you can, not necessarily for how to design clothes, but for how to make them. Or at the very least a sewing class. Good Luck!
no you’re not to old ofcourse not anyways-try to by fabrics you like a don’t you may find something that would be perfect to sell ya but you can do it by the way e-mail me at- doodlebugs46237@yahoo.com i have some more good tips
Singers are good machines to start with. I think you should go for it. Start small and maybe sell some stuff on ebay to make enough money to open up your own store one day. It takes practice and discipline, but you can make it.
Good luck!!
well they usually have classes to take to help people with their dreams. If that doesnt work then their are also web pages that can help. i am glad that you are willing to learn new stuff.
Glad to help
from megan
it is not to old to be a designer.if you want to be designer, buy a pattern from a rag shop or walmart. then buy some cool pattern and try to learn. it it really easy to learn. if you have trouble learning rent a book at a library. also a good sewing machine is a "brother". I just got my sewing machine last year when i was 12. and I sew a ton with friends. i also have a "brother" sewing machine and i have no problems, only in the begging when i couldn’t figure out where the thread went underneath it. if you want to make a website to sell clothes, try ebay first, then when you make enough make a real website. they have a link on yahoo, under edit ID or go to a search bar like yahoo’s and type in make a website. Good luck with your dreams!!!