Wetting my feet in the clothing industry

[fleet]

Hey,

I've decided to come up with some shirt ideas and create my own "line," I guess you could call it. We're calling it "fleet clothing" or just "fleet" for short. I don't expect to be big, so I don't have very large expectations.

We come up with stuff that me and my friends think are cool, and keep the stuff in between us for the most part, but I hope to attract a larger audience soon

Here's what our first couple of shirts look like

Any comments are highly appreciated

[minya]

I can't really see those appealing to superfuture members, but I can see them selling well at places like Villains in SF / Revolveclothing.com / Karmaloop.

[Kodak]

No thankyou, try something else besides shirts.

[Lars]

No thankyou, try something else besides shirts.

So what should he try first? Bespoke suits?

[bleedxslow]

I kinda like the 3rd one, but just cuz I box. I probably wouldn't wear it, but I like the illustration.

[Guest Fade to Black]

So what should he try first? Bespoke suits?

hoodies, jeans, button down shirts, thicker outerwear like varsity jackets or parkas...

this could be the next BBC/Ice Cream.

*throws up Star Trak hand sign*

[seenmy]

he should try and do something good,the world is gettin over run with people with half baked dilusional ideas,I hate this current formula of chucking graphics at a tshirt and calling youself a label i mean what are those graphics above even a bout,same goes on the other thread that was started over weekend,im ranting here but it drives me mad.

I dont expect somone to re invent the wheel when doing a tshirt line but atleast do something a bit against the grain opf what everyone else is doing,if your not bringing anything new why bring it at all.

[Kodak]

So what should he try first? Bespoke suits?

Since there already too many t-shirt companies and this doesn't strike me as being his forte, I presume he should start by reading and maybe going into a different area like accessories.

[lindt]

Very threadless.com-esque.

Is the like the safest comment to say to diss a person trying to start a t-shirt line? Yes his shirts are not very original but they are not even close to a threadless shirt. Threadless shirts generally have some sort of cute message they are trying to convey with a cartoony graphic usually with an animal and vibrant colors or something, not a boxer with blood dripping off his gloves.

[chapital]

Bro, I probably wouldn't wear those designs but I'll give you mad props for professionalism. Nice work on the vectors (rather than the threshold filter in photoshop or whatever)! I can definately imagine seeing ur shirts in a real store, unlike, I'm sorry to say, a lot of the other stuff I see posted on SF from aspiring designers.

Actually, the first design looks pretty fly... maybe a little too grungy for my taste, but I would consider wearing it! (And I definately know people who would wear stuff like this).

I dig what other dudes like seenmy are saying about the difference between sopmeone who designs graphics for t-shirts and a fashion label, but I think you gotta start somewhere!

Keep up the good work bro!

[cheapmuthafukr]

ok... the way to seperate yourself from the other 09873298712987019857134987 tee shirt companies is to....... cut and sew.

yeah... it means you have to actually know about the construction of your product. it means you have to work alot harder. it also means you have something no one else does.

its the difference between a tee co. and real design.

[chris_n]

cut+sew means you have to have a lot of startup money. (unless you're cutting and sewing the garments by yourself)

i like the quality of design, but that isn't everything. work on your ideas, and think about the screenprinting process.

a lot of new "tshirt designers" just think they can pirate a copy of illustrator, trace a photo, use the live paint bucket and go to town. if you think about it from a consumer perspective it's all good.

from a designer perspective you run into all kinds of shit. inks, registration, show-through, overlapping vs tight registration etc.

you can have amazing designs with a lot fewer colors. all these colors and overlapping will present registration/ problems. it can be done, but depending on how good of a printer you are, or who you pay, results can be great to nasty.

[fleet]

Hey,

Thanks for the comments everyone. Like I said, I'm not trying to be the next big thing, so shirts is really all I'm doing for now .. these are just for us. I have no professional fashion background so cut & sew and other accesories isn't even a choice. I don't have money for that kind of thing.

[chapital]

Yeah chris_n is right, less colours will be better if you're just starting up. Apart from registration issues, it'll be a lot cheaper as you'll only have to produce one or two screens per shirt design rather than like three or four or whatever (it can be quite expensive if you're not prepared to make the screens yourself).

The main thing that's stopped me from making my own hoodies and shirts is the start up costs (I'd prefer to cut and sew my own shit, and just buying all the screens and emulsion and setting up a darkroom, etc).

[mono14]

This looks much better than the other t-shirt thing though...

[Cameland]

miles ahead of that other stuff posted....

[C.R.E.A.M]

Im a screenprinter

So i can screenprint whatevs..

I usually do shit inspired by O.G movies or hiphop.

Heres some shit ive done

www.myspace.com/creamclothing

Peace

[englandmj7]

I dunno. Cheers for the effort, but Bob Marley / Reggae t-shirts have been done so many times by so many brands it's ridiculous. If you are going to put the imagery in at least put a twist on it........and the gorilla thing.....what is the significance?

[Guest bikesearcher]

a lot of shit makes money and makes it to mainstream, but that doesn't mean its good.

i don't know you're audience really, but i could see this in urban outfitters or something.

karmloop too

[freshdipt]

this would've been at union 4 years ago, so dont be all dismayed by the criticism given this is your first effort and you're just doing it for friends. that being said, this genre has been mad co-opted and people, especially those familiar with the streetwear industry, want something fresh (i.e. something other than grimy graphics with music references).

if you made the graphic with stitching that would be dope. but whatever makes you happy dog.

[Thorns]

Designing two t-shirts does not = entering the clothing industry. Sorry.