Recently, a young designer, who is a friend of mine, had his handmade dresses priced at $80, which was significantly underpriced. I asked him why he was selling his designs at a price that would not even pay minimum wage for his labor, let alone the cost of the materials. He explained that he was doing it for exposure.
I will preface by admitting that I am an independent couturier with 20+ years in the fashion business designing my own designer label and creating custom work.
In a market where a ready-made wedding gown can be $3000, you are doing yourself a disservice by charging less! We, as designers and artists must first value our own work before it will be valued by the markets we seek to sell to.
I could talk for days on this subject. Instead, I will tell you about it in a nutshell!
On my first trip to The International Fashion Boutique Show in New York, I spent my first day with my stomach in knots. I sold a grand total of $360 worth of merchandise, which did not even pay my booth rental. At the end of the day, a well-respected fashion designer stopped by and asked how my day was. I told her that I was discouraged and felt that I was wasting my time and losing my wallet. She told me that earlier in the day she had stopped by to look at my dresses. “Wonderful work”, she had said, “however, your prices are doing you no justice”. I told her that if I lowered them any more I would take a loss on them. “Lower them? No, I mean they are 25% of what you should be asking!” she said. She took the time to explain to a young designer that I was basically telling the buyers that my garments were valueless. “Mark everything up and then give discounts for bulk orders!” I raised the prices, a $100 dress became a $400 dress, etc. The end result was a grand total of sales over the rest of the show exceeding $86,000. To this day, I remain thankful for that amazing lady!
The idea of making a name for one’s self by selling fine custom work at a lower price is outrageous. What you are selling is simply the idea that your work is not worth much. Try to tell the lady who bought a corset at $200 that she now needs to pay $600, because the daily paper has written a story about youyou up and now you are somebody! We set the value and price of our work.
3 Tips for Pricing Your Fashion Collection
- My rule of thumb for me is to double the price of materials and charge $40 an hour for my time. Hello darlings! After years in the business, you have a PhD in corsets, gowns or suits!
- Never apologize. Exclusive clients like to purchase exclusivity. It is far better to sell one dress for $5000 than 5 dress atfor $1000. It is fear of failing that causes us to undervalue our work.
- Be frank with family and friends that want a discount:When I am told, “but I am your friend, surely I get a discount”, I reply, “yes you are my friend and as such you know that this is how I make my living, a good friend would offer me double what I have asked, knowing that I have already cut my price for them”. Needless to say my “friends” no longer ask for discounts, and yes they do buy from me often!
I know that this approach may sound over the top, I can understand how it would. Rest assured, I have not made a dress for less than it was worth in 15 years. I am, even now, re-inventing myself. I have taken my web sites offline and am not taking any orders to speak of while I ready a new collection for market. I get stressed about the rent, but I am not going to give anything away for one cent less than it is worth!
In my next article I will be discussing this same subject in reverse. Look out for my articles about “How should a designer price things when they are not being custom made” and “How much should you expect to make per garment after you have gone to market and sold more than you could possibly sew without seeking out a manufacturer”.
I hope that the ramblings of a seasoned fashion designer have, at least, given you food for thought. Follow me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Atelier.Benson.
