MAKE LISTS!  Take an inventory of what you have and what you need more of.  Include shoes, jewelry, coats, sweaters…everything.New Kaelyn Max at Openstock Apparel

The smart thing to do, the frugal and self-respecting thing to do is learn how to shop smart for women’s clothing in the first place.

Start off by knowing what size you ACTUALLY ARE.  Find a measurement chart online and take your measurements to learn your standardized sizes.  You’ll need to take your measurements for bra size, shoe size, waist, hips, inseam length and even head size (if you’re going to buy hats).  Even know what size you really need for rings.  Next, find out what type of body you have.  Are you long-waisted?  Do you have a great chest?  Is your waist thick?  Do you have chunky thighs or a less-than-stellar butt?  You’ll need to know what you want to accentuate or de-emphasize before you head for the stores.

There are several things you’ll really need to nail down before shopping including WHICH of the clothes you love and why.  Is your look consistently casual?  Are you more of a button-down type?  Are you trying to bust out of a rut?  Then look through magazines and find what you’d love to try.  Consider whether you’re really happy with a color you consistently go to, or if you’d like to try something different.  Make sure your current color or one you’re considering is even flattering by holding it up to your face and looking in a mirror.  Do you look washed out, or tired in that color?  Do you have enough clothes for different occasions?  For instance, can you go to the beach and to a church outing on the same weekend?

The most important step to learning to shop smart for women’s clothing is to go to stores and try on every clothing item you’re considering.  Consider bringing along someone whose opinion you value, or learn to be realistic and critical on your own.  Is the item flattering, both in fit and color?  Is it comfortable?  Is it affordable? Will you be able to find shoes to go with it?  Do you already have seven of the same item sitting at home?  Can you afford your look, or do you need to learn how to be a little more sensible?

Kaelyn Max

When acquiring merchandise for your clothing store or boutique, understanding the process of buying women’s clothing wholesale will go a long way to ensuring customer satisfaction in the most cost-efficient way. Here are some smart guidelines when developing a process to create an exciting inventory that will keep your clients coming back for more.

First, you must have a sales tax ID number. This number should have been issued early on in the process. If you are planning to open a clothing store, you will need to bring a letter of intent to do so in lieu of the tax ID number.

Fashions, by their nature, will change frequently. It’s important to develop healthy relationships with your wholesalers. They are the ones on the front lines of these changing fashions. Once you pick the wholesalers you wish to work with, spend some time getting to know them, informing them of your mission and basic style choices so they can be on the lookout for what you need and like.

Finding good wholesalers can be done over the Internet, or, by making regular shopping trips each year to fashion headquarters in various cities around the world. New York City has an entire district that caters to wholesale fashion buyers. On the other hand, local flea markets are places to find other vendors selling the styles you want to carry. Strike up a conversation and see if they will be willing to share their wholesalers with you.

If you are only selling on the Internet, find a wholesaler who will update you often about new styles, sales, and hot sellers.

Be very careful if you choose to do business with foreign wholesalers. They can generally offer a much better deal around quantity and price, but educate yourself on not only tariffs and taxes, but also on customs procedures. Be sure to request that the packing list be attached to the outside of the box for easy access. Otherwise, customs officials may end up opening the packages and searching them before delivering inventory to you.

A-List Women's Multicolor Tiered Maxi Dress

When first establishing relationships with your wholesalers, be sure to place an initial order of some basic wardrobe staples, like wholesale maxi dresses. Once you receive the first order, you can check the actual quality (if you are buying for the first time from a seller you have not met in person). You also need to see how responsive and accurate in their orders they are. Pictures on a website should be excellent depictions of the items that arrive. Plus, remember you are developing a relationship. Do they ship in a timely fashion? Can you reach them over the phone? Get to know them before you invest further.

As fashions are always changing, be sure to buy what works for your store. Choose a variety of sizes and colors that will appeal to your clientele and have fun doing it!

With the ever increasing rise of obesity in the world today, Plus size clothing is becoming a larger share of the fashion market. If you are interested in gaining a part of this ever-increasing market, then be aware that placing plus size clothing on junior size mannequins is not a good way to attract a full figured customer.

Using appropriate sized mannequins to display the clothing will give your potential customers a chance to imagine how the clothing will appear on themselves. It also speaks out to them that here is a retailer that is dedicated to the well being of their plus size customers and not just as an afterthought.

Another helpful consideration to keep in mind is that plus size apparel needs plus size accessories to compliment them. As a plus size person myself, one of my biggest complaints in the past has been that when I find clothing that fits me, often one part of it doesn’t fit properly. If I am getting an outfit to wear to a party and the accessories to go with it are made for a smaller person, then they will look tiny on me and I will not be happy.

Carrying large sized accessories like scarves and jewelry will help to cement into the thoughts of your full figured customers as the retailer that understands their needs and wants. They will be sure to tell all their friends about this great retailer they found and that is one of the goals of any retailer.

With the advancement in styles, trends and technology, there is a development in making the clothes size-comfortable for ladies. As the size from person to person varies, therefore, keeping this in mind, the wholesalers and manufacturers have come up with clothes in various sizes ranging from missy-size to normal and plus-size.

There are different sizes available for different measurements. A girl of 16 years cannot fit into the dress of 30-year old woman and vice-versa. So, proportions matter a lot in making clothes for matter. Size of the clothes are determined and fixed on basis of the bust, waist, and hips measurement. There are commonly two types of sizes worn by women. They are missy size and plus size.

Missy size clothes are for women who are of average height. This is a size which is larger than the junior size. Ahead of this size comes plus-size clothing for over-weight women.

Unfortunately, many young women experience difficulty finding women’s suits that cater to younger women. Traditionally, the pant suit is associated with maturity and professional status. But young women don’t have to look like twice their age in order to look and feel important.

A lot of retailers enjoy shopping for wholesale pant suits from Open Stock Apparel, because there’s a selection for every woman–young, mature, short, tall, thin, athletic, and full-figured.

If you have a retail business that caters to young professional women, than browse through our fashionable modern women’s suits for great deals and bargains.

The best items in Ladies clothing are not always named brands. That’s what is so interesting about the apparel business and at the same time makes it tough to market on the Web.

The same item can be available in many different price points. Take a basic V-Neck top.

We are born with five senses, six in my wife’s case. Not all of these can be used when buying on the Web. For the moment anyway, we can’t smell, taste, or touch the garment, so we are left with hearing and seeing.

Hearing is a viable sense on the Web, but for apparel purchases it is mostly useless.

Seeing is the main “Sense” used for apparel purchases.

In order to build a successful online apparel business we must keep this in mind.

How does the consumer know the quality and value of an apparel item that looks the same?

It is easy to see the difference in a music player or computer online. You look at the description and see the different capacities, processor speeds etc. There is no need for a picture, just the brand and the specs.

First we judge an item by the store that carries it. So reputation is important. If you see a v-neck top at Walmart and a v-neck top at Neimans or Nordstroms, you know there is a quality and fabric difference and that is the reason for the price difference. ( I am of course assuming that Walmart will be cheaper than the department or better specialty store).

It is hard to see quality on a Web Site, so the consumer has to look at the fabric content, and has to know a little about fabrics to disseminate the info.

It is really the reputation of the supplier, the brand and website, as well as detailed pictures,  and views that the consumer will use to determine value.

An example is the new Metric long sleeve tops from Open Stock Apparel. They are new tops, that just came in, available in 2 styles and over 10 colors.

They are basic tops, that is the style is basic. That is all that can be said about these Spring blouses that make them basic.

They come in a V-Neck blouse style, and a Surplus Blouse Style. Of course our retailers can sell these for half of that and still double their money, plus some.

What makes these worth more? The Fabric. They are 94% Rayon and 6% Elastine, or Lycra. This blend gives the fabric a luscious feel and fit. Better than cotton blends, or poly blends, available in less expensive versions.

We are betting on our reputation and Metric’s, that our customer will be able to recognize the incredible value in these new tops, available in long sleeve blouses also.

We have incredibly detailed pictures on our Site including different views, and all 23 colors.

This alone is not enough to build a successful online business. We (you), must build a reputation that says that you (we) value quality and value over cheap prices.

Value and customer service is our best asset..and reputation proves this better than words!

Happy Retailing!