Suggestion for a new vintage repro/inspired Clothing Line?

[KittyT]

If you want inexpensive it's best to either make your own or buy vintage. That way you can ensure the people making your clothing and the designers won't be using poor labor standards.

Yes, that's the issue I'd have with almost any repro brand! In order to get these things that people are asking for - nice fabrics, solid construction, no skimping on details, etc - the cost would be just too high. I'm more likely to buy a vintage item that would end up costing me a lot less.

 

[dakotanorth]

vintage-inspired lines, repro clothing

For those who are curious, I finally posted a few pics of stuff I've made under the "Show Us What You Made" thread.
I would show you more of the women's pants I've made, but once they are done, they go to the home of the new owner!

 

[Matt Deckard]

Biggest problem is the small company issue and the cutting corners that takes place to make the clothing profitable especially with an audience that is used to paying vintage shop prices versus high end famous modern brand prices.

The less corners cut on construction, the better I think the sales will be

 

[ShortClara]

I hear you Lauren - I have worked as a seamstress, so I understand. The question was about what we would ideally want in a repro line, so affordable is on my list. But I know it's a long shot I don't want the seamstress to starve!

 

[Last_Chael]

As a seamstress (who is planning on having her own fashion label and store) it's really interested to read what everyone is saying!

I couldn't agree more with everything! I have quite a few cotton prints stashed away with the intentions of becoming cute day dresses. I also want to make a few pairs of pants (as my strangely proportioned body means I can't fit the store ones) and nice blouses. Living in Australia, natural fabrics are my preference - cottons, linens, wools. However, it's so difficult to get a hold of them for decent prices here. Cottons are generally around the $5m mark, and linens are usually upwards of $10! I generally get my fabrics on sale, but sometimes you just want a really nice fabric, and you have to pay for it.

One of the other things I'm really big on is the fitted nature of clothes from the 40's and 50's. It's one of the things I really love abou the clothes from that time, they were really beautifully fitted. I think that's one of the major challenges when it comes to selling repros. I would really much prefer to take the person's measurements and then create the garment for them (preferably with fittings, but that's difficult if the demand is overseas rather than local). Though the difficulty with that is having a dress form that you can easily modify to a person's measurements (which is both difficult and expensive).

There are so manyy challenges, I'd really love to see ideas in how to overcome them

 

[Flitcraft]

Natural Fibers...

Natural Fibers- gotta have 'em. The weak link in most repros is the preponderance of polyester.

 

[Rosie]

Another ditto for pdxvintagette's great post, especially the point about nice fabric.

I'd love to see a broad size range too, although I know that can be difficult for startups. I think there's a market for vintage repros in the 18/20 22/24 size range that isn't really being addressed right now.

I second EVERYTHING everyone else has said and agree totally with Imoldfashioned on this, ladies in the 16 - 28 market (and a TRUE 16 - 28, not a 16 that is really a 12 and a 28 that is really a 16) love vintage too.

 

[SarahLouise]

I don't own any repro clothing apart from two pairs of jeans (Vivien of Holloway and Freddies of Pinewood) and that's because vintage pairs always seem to be in teeny tiny sizes. Generally, I am not much of a fan of repro clothing for a few reasons. I don't like the fact that you could bump into somebody with exactly the same outfit and to be honest most of it looks a bit cheap and cheesy to me.

So on that note, I pretty much agree with what everybody else has said - simple cotton dresses get a huge yes from me as it would be nice to have them to wear to work, as I don't like to wear real vintage to work often. High waisted trousers, blouses with authentic detailing like rhinestone buttons (which accompany for a larger bust unlike modern shirts), jumper/playsuits would be great too. Tailored 1940s style coats and jackets without a real fur collar would be amazing and I would definitely purchase one! Good quality fabrics such as cotton would also be welcomed. I completely agree with the comments made on costs and it would be difficult for a company to make all of this for a cheap price. However considering the cost of a dress from for example, Stop Staring, I would much rather spend that money on a vintage dress which would probably fit better and be an original, special item (and probably cost less!)

 

[Aurora]

Cotton day dresses for me too - But as mentioned before, cost is a big issue. I can't afford a lot of the repro lines, so either buy vintage or make my own.

 

[Vintage Betty]

So, what price WOULD you pay for a simple cotton dress?

VB

 

[SarahLouise]

So, what price WOULD you pay for a simple cotton dress?

VB

I would probably pay about £35 maximum.

 

[pdxvintagette]

So, what price WOULD you pay for a simple cotton dress?

VB

That is a bloody good question. I have a really hard time with spending real money on my clothes, because I estate sale SO much, and get so many things so inexpesively. I know I'd pay about $150 for trousers, as I can't seem to find any on ebay (still in wearable condition) in my size (28-29" waist) at any price. And I certainly don't run into them at garage sales.

If I could get my "yep, that's perfect" cotton dress, I'd say I'd top out at $75, honestly, but I would probably invest in more than one if I could get them at that price.

It's hard! A good 60% of my wardrobe is estate sale and thrift shop finds that cost $15 or less. Another 25% is things I've traded estate and thrift finds to acquire, and the other small amount that is left are the few items I actually shelled out real money for - but I am unsure if I've ever actually paid more than $100 for anything. Maybe a pair of shoes? Or possibly one of my 50's hawaiians. $150 would be the max, for sure.

 

[Aurora]

So, what price WOULD you pay for a simple cotton dress?

VB

£25-30 or for one that was a really good fit, £35, maybe even £40 (but it'd have to be really fab)

 

[Miss Neecerie]

and the fact that most of us wouldn't pay more for a dress....is -why- its so hard to have repro lines using good quality fabrics...and actual vintage patterns made in a 'meant to last' quality level.

It's a giant catch 22...we want great stuff...but we are so used to paying cheap retail level prices that we can't see paying more for things that are a step up in quality.

 

[volatile]

£25-30 or for one that was a really good fit, £35, maybe even £40 (but it'd have to be really fab)

Is it just me, or is that a little unreasonable? I mean, of course you can find vintage things in that price range, but even average quality high street dresses with huge production runs come in at there or even a little more. For someone to be making small runs of good-quality niche items, charging so little for a dress seems impossible...

The Stop Staring! dresses, with all their polyester nastiness, are up to double that already!

 

[Miss 1929]

Solid color 30s days dresses!

Something with interesting seams (on the diagonal is most flattering to us larger gals), not print, no contrasting trim, in interesting textured fabric (silk pebble crepe, rayon crepe, fuzzy wool). That's what I crave...
Also a coat and matching skirt, otherwise known as a swagger suit.
And no polyester of course! Natural fibers and rayon as it doesn't feel icky and is period appropriate.
Colors - Green! Purple! Burgundy! Brown! The ones that tend to be faded when you find them in vintage.
And I agree about the cherries ad nauseum. I'd like to see some clever prints like the Schiaparelli film strips, like the cigarette and matches, like little books and spectacles, musical motifs - the kind of prints that are for grownups and make the dress a fun theme to wear.
And definitely, LARGE sizes. There are more large girls in the vintage world that would spend the money - we can't find stuff to buy a lot of the time.

 

[Lauren]

I'm in the same boat as pdxvintagette. Most of my clothing I either make, but at estate or thrift stores, or hold out until there's a super huge sale somewhere. I simply can't afford the prices charged by retail clothing in the styling I want, of the quality I want.

Now, from the perspective of an entrepreneur in California I can not only see why my attempt at reproduction clothing would fail, but what the expectation of the market is. The prices expected for the quality is JUST NOT POSSIBLE for a small business. Unless you want the clothing to be made overseas by a larger corporation with no regard for worker's condition or quality control or can live with the knowledge your clothing is made by seamstresses working for less than minimum wage domestically it's not going to happen.

In our fantasy world we can wish for all those things at a price point we want, but in the real world someone is going to be denied a working wage in order to get the quality desired at the price desired.

 

[ShortClara]

Totally fftopic: , but SarahLouise your avatar is FIERCE! Meow kitty! OK, I'm done!

 

[Aurora]

Is it just me, or is that a little unreasonable? I mean, of course you can find vintage things in that price range, but even average quality high street dresses with huge production runs come in at there or even a little more. For someone to be making small runs of good-quality niche items, charging so little for a dress seems impossible...

The Stop Staring! dresses, with all their polyester nastiness, are up to double that already!

It may be unreasonable, but that's how much I can afford - I don't shop on the high street very often because the clothes are not only too big for me, but also because I don't like polyester in everything and I can't afford the items.
If I could afford it, I would certainly pay Stop Staring! prices, for a good quality item.

If someone could pull this off and build a business to cater to our demands and price-range, it'd be a miracle!

 

[Snookie]

Hurrah for a new company! I'm sure you'll keep us posted as soon as she's up and running - looking forward to it!

So I know this thread is supposed to be about what we want, not about giving advice, but I've given this topic a fair amount of thought over the last couple years. Hope you don't mind -- it's actually how I'd like to see a repro company run, not just what I'd like to buy.

I'd start with a selection of basics that provide for the main income - a pencil skirt and a circle skirt for the rockabilly crowd, a 6-gore skirt for swing dancers, possibly a gab shirt or generic "retro" pant for men, and t-shirts with great retro graphics for all the above plus selling to local boutiques, or possibly trying to get bigger buyers interested. Add or subtract as your market demands. These would be basic pieces with no styling details in order to keep the cost down, offered in lots of colors, every season.

Then I'd offer a real collection - maybe SP/SU and FA/HOL to start, rather than 4 per year. These would be true limited edition pieces, would cost more, and would be where the design juices flow. I believe that customers would get really really excited waiting for the next collection to come out, would be willing to plunk down their money if they know these pieces won't be available once sold out, and more likely to buy if they know only X # are produced and therefore less likely anyone they know will own the same garment.

There's also the mass customization route, where you offer a basic piece with an upgrade charge if the customer wants to add piping, or button options, or a different color besides black. Without knowing your friend's business model, it's hard to know if this could work.

Lastly, I won't go near a repro dress with a CB zipper.