Sunday, March 15, 2009

Issues in designing clothing

Just quickly, I've made my Etsy clothing shop a bit more Aussie buyer friendly:
  • There is free shipping within Australia, for the forseeable future. I'm able to offer this because when Australians pay by direct debit, it cuts out the Paypal fees for me. Aussies can still pay by Paypal if they need to.
  • Each listing now has the Australian price in the text of the listing, so you can see exactly what the damage is without having to contact me.
I'm having a bit of a design direction problem. I've been making clothing for Heidi & Seek regularly since about August of last year. This is the first piece I sold, though, back in April on Made It.


This is a fresh new piece I just listed.


Although I've come a long way, I feel like haven't quite worked out my 'style' yet. I experiment with varying techniques and looks. Then again, maybe my style comes subconsciously and most of my clothing fits within a certain look anyway. What do you think?

I guess I'm trying to work out what's both uniquely mine, and that people also want to buy and wear, not just think is pretty in a picture. I guess that comes down to market research, which I've never quite gotten a handle on. Maybe you could help me out a little by answering a question or two.
  • What do you look for in clothing?
  • Do you avoid certain colours or styles?
  • Are there pieces in my Heidi & Seek shop which particularly stand out to you? Ideas you'd like to see expanded upon?
  • Any that fail to appeal?
Thanks guys! Hope you're having a great weekend.

7 comments:

Penny said...

Hi Hayley! I like answering things:

What do you look for in clothing?
Pretty, natural fibres, nothing too raunchy, size L to XL.

Do you avoid certain colours or styles?
I avoid too short skirts (I usually wear about knee length). Avoid fluro colours, tshirt with the neck too tight, anything kinda toooo revealing, no skorts, no shorts (again the L - XL thing).

Are there pieces in my shop?
You have lots of pretty pastely kinda things like in S, tabitha, angelica, hannah. In M, spunky librarian, taking flight, & also tracie.

Any that fail to appeal?
I just wish the pretty pastely ones were in the L - XL sizes too? Also the boobs on your dress form dummy things are a bit... not that flattering.

Ooh I really like little laneway in your sold section.

Carolyn said...

Hey Hayley, I wanna help!

-What do you look for in clothing?
Comfortable materials; cotton, jersey, modal...things i'm familiar with.

-Do you avoid certain colours or styles?
Yes i do. I know what suits me and what doesn't. They say you should try out clothes that you don't normally go for, because they may turn out nice. But i think with online shopping, people may be less reluctant to do that.

-Pieces that stand out:
1)The fire piece top (sold)
2)Friend of the sea dress (sold)
3)Iceo vest (sold)
4)Reinforce dress (sold)
5)Spare-ohs dress
6)Mojo love dress

-Less appealing:
Most of the t-shirts and tank tops (not all!)

Hmmm i seem to prefer those with nice colour combinations and those with bolder colours.

-Ideas to expand on:

Hmm...i really liked the fire piece top (it's gone boohoo..), the bold red strap (great pop of colour) and fold in the other strap. Understated with a kick. Does that make sense? The iceo vest too..maybe you could try making some denim stuff?

Keep exploring!

Hope that helps..

Carolyn said...

Duh. I just realised my 2nd answer was no help at all.

-Do you avoid certain colours or styles?
Low-cut tops, empire lines, tops with words/embellishments across the chest, faux fur and other furry materials. Colours? I seem to have an aversion to olive in large blocks.

J said...

What I look for: easy care fabrics, smart casual

What I avoid: anything too short or low-cut, scoop necks ('cos I'm flat-chested!), anything too clingy around the belly (really must cut back on wine and chocolate!), too bright or too pastel colours.

In your shop: *loved* the dusty pink/chocolate dress from a little while ago, the feather dress there now, and the Inara tunic dress.

Generally, I love your colour choices and embellishments. They're fresh and unique.

Unknown said...

your welcome!!

this is gorgeous!
xo

Jen said...

I love your designs!! I'm doing the preparation work to open up my etsy shop at the end of May and I'm very excited :)

Hayley Sarah said...

Thanks so much for your feedback, guys.

Pretty Little Pictures - Thank you! It's always exciting, starting a project like this afresh. Best of luck!