A friend recently started wearing men’s jackets. They were extremely delighted by the discovery of chest height pockets inside the jacket, which really are supremely good ideas. Perfect for phone, wallet, passport, etc. In general, well-designed men’s clothing is fantastic for pockets—my formal pants have buttons for back pockets (safer for my wallet!) and smaller pockets nested inside both front pockets (one for keys, one for coins, now I don’t have keys sitting next to my phone, my keys are more accessible, it’s great).
It might be worth looking through men’s jackets and pants for something that fits you and looks good, regardless of what “gender” of clothing you usually wear.
All women (three) I know who’ve tried men’s briefs have considered them ridiculously superior to women’s underwear and wear them by preference except when their dress-up for an occasion includes fancy underwear. Women’s clothes are just terrible in some regards.
Then perhaps there is some money to be gained by designing superior women’s clothes. (At least this is how it should be. Except for humans not being automatically strategic, and million other things.)
One would think there would be a substantial market for superior women’s clothes, especially for sale in stores (rather than online) but somehow it hasn’t happened. I wonder how much capital it would take.
.. Clothes made by people with any sense of pride in craft? I sew for a hobby, and for the purpose of making gifts. - for example I just finished a nice summer jacket for my brothers birthday, english wool, silk lining. Cost to me: <70 euro. (and time, but eh.) I learned to what to do largely by reading on the internet and taking old clothes apart to see how they were built.
The clothes sold to women is depressing as all hell in that regard. Materials, build, functionality—Lowest bidder doesn’t begin to describe it. “I don’t think you even tried at all” about covers it.
I think this happens because womens clothing stores sell a ridiculously tiny fraction of the stock they purchase. The price tag on a shirt or skirt has to pay not only for that piece of clothes, but also for the 5 to nine other items on that rack nobody buys before they go hopelessly out of style. In order for that to work out to a net profit, the items on selection need to be nearly worthless. And they are.
Men’s Jeans are the perfect opposite clothing item—a store can buy those home in bulk, and be assured that every single item in that consignment will eventually be sold because they are a commodity, so the gap between price and worth is much smaller.
So, in order to make better womens clothes, you need to design something which is as guaranteed a sale as a pair of mens jeans. And to not hate women. Eh.. This really does look like something I could do…
Okay, since we live in the 21st century, I’ll try again:
One sewing machine, and a Kickstarter with viral marketing.
I am kinda serious here. If you know how to make clothes, you should just make one example piece for yourself, and if anyone compliments on them, give them your business card. Make the first few pieces custom tailored (yes, it is okay, if the first few pieces are expensive; those customers also pay extra for being unique), and if the demand grows, start doing it full-time, and later employing other people to do it for you. Just remember from the beginning that you are trying to create a brand: have a website, business cards, etc.
Costs: one sewing machine, one elegant website (without anything interactive, only “send me a message”), hundred business cards, and a few pieces of clothes for you and your friends. That’s what; under $1000?
If you don’t know how to make the clothes, make a sketch, and pay someone else to do this for you. That could be more expensive. On the other hand, if your plan succeeds, you already have a supply line, and time to focus on marketing and management.
Women’s clothes are generally terrible in most regards except, and it is less and less common, to look good. They are designed to look good on very thin women, and maintain a thin line. Most high fashion is just ridiculous, and when it gets passed down it seems most designers have an “idea” of a woman which is far removed from reality. Pockets rarely feature except in jeans, and I have had more than one item of clothing which looked to have pockets, but they were actually fake and rather pointless on all counts.
Men’s clothing is far, far better (often even in appearance), in my opinion.
Well, women also get to carry around large bags / purses without feeling self-conscious. I often wish I could get away with carrying around a purse for my things. It’d be nice to have them all in one place and not scattered among a half dozen pockets and liable to fall out when I reach for something else. The manly alternative of a backpack or satchel / messenger bag is typically overkill and not appropriate to all situations.
If you want a manly equivalent of a purse (and unwilling to be seen wearing a fanny pack / waist pack), look into photo bags. They come in all kinds of sizes including very small.
Be aware, though, that putting heavy things regularly in men’s jacket pockets—especially the inside chest pockets—will tend, over time, to spoil the ‘line’ of the jacket and make it look much less smart.
(Some people may not care about that, but it’s worth considering—see e.g this response to this post.)
Huh. My wallet has never fallen out of my front pocket (except those of a very few sports trousers with very shallow pockets), while it fell out of my back pocket a couple times back when I used to keep it there, and I have witnessed a couple more people’s wallets fall out of their back pockets too.
(Also, I don’t like what sitting onto my wallet feels like.)
Buttons make me a less desirable pickpocket target and give me one more chance to notice. Also I mind sitting on my wallet a lot less since I got a thinner wallet and carried fewer things around in it.
A friend recently started wearing men’s jackets. They were extremely delighted by the discovery of chest height pockets inside the jacket, which really are supremely good ideas. Perfect for phone, wallet, passport, etc. In general, well-designed men’s clothing is fantastic for pockets—my formal pants have buttons for back pockets (safer for my wallet!) and smaller pockets nested inside both front pockets (one for keys, one for coins, now I don’t have keys sitting next to my phone, my keys are more accessible, it’s great).
It might be worth looking through men’s jackets and pants for something that fits you and looks good, regardless of what “gender” of clothing you usually wear.
All women (three) I know who’ve tried men’s briefs have considered them ridiculously superior to women’s underwear and wear them by preference except when their dress-up for an occasion includes fancy underwear. Women’s clothes are just terrible in some regards.
Then perhaps there is some money to be gained by designing superior women’s clothes. (At least this is how it should be. Except for humans not being automatically strategic, and million other things.)
One would think there would be a substantial market for superior women’s clothes, especially for sale in stores (rather than online) but somehow it hasn’t happened. I wonder how much capital it would take.
What exactly are superior women’s clothes?
.. Clothes made by people with any sense of pride in craft? I sew for a hobby, and for the purpose of making gifts. - for example I just finished a nice summer jacket for my brothers birthday, english wool, silk lining. Cost to me: <70 euro. (and time, but eh.) I learned to what to do largely by reading on the internet and taking old clothes apart to see how they were built.
The clothes sold to women is depressing as all hell in that regard. Materials, build, functionality—Lowest bidder doesn’t begin to describe it. “I don’t think you even tried at all” about covers it.
I think this happens because womens clothing stores sell a ridiculously tiny fraction of the stock they purchase. The price tag on a shirt or skirt has to pay not only for that piece of clothes, but also for the 5 to nine other items on that rack nobody buys before they go hopelessly out of style. In order for that to work out to a net profit, the items on selection need to be nearly worthless. And they are.
Men’s Jeans are the perfect opposite clothing item—a store can buy those home in bulk, and be assured that every single item in that consignment will eventually be sold because they are a commodity, so the gap between price and worth is much smaller.
So, in order to make better womens clothes, you need to design something which is as guaranteed a sale as a pair of mens jeans. And to not hate women. Eh.. This really does look like something I could do…
One sewing machine.
Okay, since we live in the 21st century, I’ll try again:
One sewing machine, and a Kickstarter with viral marketing.
I am kinda serious here. If you know how to make clothes, you should just make one example piece for yourself, and if anyone compliments on them, give them your business card. Make the first few pieces custom tailored (yes, it is okay, if the first few pieces are expensive; those customers also pay extra for being unique), and if the demand grows, start doing it full-time, and later employing other people to do it for you. Just remember from the beginning that you are trying to create a brand: have a website, business cards, etc.
Costs: one sewing machine, one elegant website (without anything interactive, only “send me a message”), hundred business cards, and a few pieces of clothes for you and your friends. That’s what; under $1000?
If you don’t know how to make the clothes, make a sketch, and pay someone else to do this for you. That could be more expensive. On the other hand, if your plan succeeds, you already have a supply line, and time to focus on marketing and management.
Women’s clothes are generally terrible in most regards except, and it is less and less common, to look good. They are designed to look good on very thin women, and maintain a thin line. Most high fashion is just ridiculous, and when it gets passed down it seems most designers have an “idea” of a woman which is far removed from reality. Pockets rarely feature except in jeans, and I have had more than one item of clothing which looked to have pockets, but they were actually fake and rather pointless on all counts.
Men’s clothing is far, far better (often even in appearance), in my opinion.
Well, women also get to carry around large bags / purses without feeling self-conscious. I often wish I could get away with carrying around a purse for my things. It’d be nice to have them all in one place and not scattered among a half dozen pockets and liable to fall out when I reach for something else. The manly alternative of a backpack or satchel / messenger bag is typically overkill and not appropriate to all situations.
If you want a manly equivalent of a purse (and unwilling to be seen wearing a fanny pack / waist pack), look into photo bags. They come in all kinds of sizes including very small.
Be aware, though, that putting heavy things regularly in men’s jacket pockets—especially the inside chest pockets—will tend, over time, to spoil the ‘line’ of the jacket and make it look much less smart.
(Some people may not care about that, but it’s worth considering—see e.g this response to this post.)
Huh. My wallet has never fallen out of my front pocket (except those of a very few sports trousers with very shallow pockets), while it fell out of my back pocket a couple times back when I used to keep it there, and I have witnessed a couple more people’s wallets fall out of their back pockets too.
(Also, I don’t like what sitting onto my wallet feels like.)
Buttons make me a less desirable pickpocket target and give me one more chance to notice. Also I mind sitting on my wallet a lot less since I got a thinner wallet and carried fewer things around in it.