If you’ve always dreamt of starting your own clothing business, this guide can help you turn your dream into a reality. You can start your own clothes business from the comfort of your home – no need for a big warehouse or vibrant shopfloor.

Let your creativity flow with your own designs and send them off to your customers with the satisfaction of knowing you’re running a business you love.

Discover how to start a small clothing business from home with the help of Adobe Express.

Why start your own small clothing business?

There are many reasons why you might want to start your own small clothing business, and it can be as simple as just having a passion for the fashion industry. This can give you the drive and inspiration to take the plunge and launch your clothing business.

Clothing is a high-selling e-commerce category, with online sales of fashion items currently accounting for close to a third of e-commerce revenue in the UK, according to data published by Statista. This shows there’s plenty of opportunity and earning potential for entrepreneurs like you to start a successful clothing business from home.

Running your business from your own space also means you don’t have to worry about expensive startup costs. Plus, with business models such as Print on Demand (POD) and dropshipping, sewing skills and equipment aren’t necessary. With the right supplier, creative flair, an effective marketing strategy and commitment to your business, you have a good chance of success.

You can even start by selling clothes you already have through platforms like Depop or Vinted where many have found success.

How to start a clothing business in 10 steps.

Though retail commerce is a thriving and exciting market to get into, it’s also highly competitive. This makes it essential to have a solid business plan. From researching best practices to choosing the right platform to sell your merchandise, every step counts towards the success of your business.

Below we take you through 10 steps that can help you launch a profitable clothing business from the comfort of your own home.

1. Research the market.

Research is key to starting any business, from clothing to food or electronics. Investigate what’s trending in the industry at the moment and identify some of your main competitors. What’s working for them and what isn’t? Who is your target market and what do they respond to best? Social media channels like TikTok and Instagram can help you with this and also allow you to identify any gaps in the market that your clothing business could potentially fill.

You could also look at e-commerce sites to establish price points for your clothing. This will give you an idea of what customers are willing to pay. Free tools like Google Trends can help you discover the type of clothing and fashion brands people are currently searching for the most.

2. Find your niche.

Identifying a gap in the market that your small clothing business can fill could help boost engagement and demand with a specific target audience. This can be anything from a category of clothing like skirts to a specific audience like Harry Potter fans. You could even select a specific material like crochet or satin.

3. Develop a business plan.

Now you’ve got an idea of what to sell and who to sell it to, you can put together your business plan. This should include:

• A business summary/overview – outline your business’ purpose, target audience, products and objectives.
• Market research – This can include findings from your research as well as any additional surveys or interviews you conducted. Highlight your main competitors and take a deeper look into your customers and their needs.
• Sales and marketing strategy – Outline how you plan on selling your products. Will this be on your own e-commerce website or through a fashion marketplace like Depop or Vinted? Also, how will you promote your merchandise? Does your target market respond better to stories or posts? And on what medium – Facebook, Instagram? Is email marketing possible?
• Finance – Consider the costs you’ll incur when running your business – i.e. manufacturing, postage etc. You should also outline how much you expect to make.
• Legal – Will you set up as a sole trader or limited company? What taxes do you need to pay and how will you ensure this is handled correctly? Do you need to hire an accountant? You’ll also need to think about liability or product insurance. Platforms like Vinted and Depop often have protection included for sellers in their policies, so be sure to review this if you decide to sell with them.

4. Build your brand.

Brand identity is a key part of all business models. How else will your audience tell you apart from your competitors? No matter how small your clothing company is, creating a brand identity can help to establish trust with customers and lead to brand loyalty. According to research by Edelman, 81% of consumers need to trust a brand to consider buying.

It’s the fundamental aspects of your brand that can help to establish its identity, these can include:

• The brand logo
• Fonts and typography
• Colours
• Photography and graphics
• Iconography.

5. Choose your products.

Now for the fun part – deciding on your product range. There’s so much to choose from in the clothing industry, from dresses to loungewear and formal attire, the fashion world is your oyster. You could even create print-on-demand t-shirts and hoodies.

Consider some of the findings from your research to determine what you’ll offer. Is your target audience interested in a particular current fashion trend? Do the products fit in with your ideal price point? Let all these factors dictate your product range and don’t forget, you can always develop your offering over time.

6. Design your clothing line.

You can now get to the nitty gritty of your small clothing business – creating your designs. Use your own creativity, with a touch of inspiration from your research, to create fashion items your target audience will love.

Be sure to look into current trends and see how you can create something that fits in but stands out at the same time. Then, sketch out your designs and create digital mock-ups, or you could hire a designer to bring your ideas to life. Before you launch your items, order a few samples to see how they look in person – and make any necessary alterations from there.

Happy with your final products? Take a few high-resolution snapshots to upload to your online store later.

7. Select a selling platform.

Next, you’ll need to choose where you’d like to sell your clothing. There are a few options, mainly:

• Your own website – You could boost your brand identity by creating your own website. You don’t need to be a technical wizard to do this either, with free tools and templates to help you build your webpages. Just bear in mind that you’ll have to invest more in marketing for the site to perform.
• Fashion marketplaces – As mentioned before, platforms like Depop and Vinted are popular places to sell pre-loved clothing. You can benefit from a system that’s already established to make reaching customers easy, not to mention its protection policies for both sellers and buyers.
• Social media – You could opt to create a storefront on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. These sites can help reach a large following quickly and allow you to build an online community for your brand and generate customer loyalty.

8. Promote your business on social media.

Promotion is essential for any business, so how much effort you put into your social media marketing will make a real difference to the success of your clothing business. Your research should highlight the kind of promotion that works for your audience, but don’t be afraid to try new things.

Using a mix of social media approaches to generate sales can be effective. Examples include:

• Dedicated social media pages on sites like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
• Influencer marketing
• Paid advertising
• Interactive posts – such as giveaways, polls and more.

9. Look out for relatable promotions.

Creating a promotion calendar to organise marketing campaigns for your clothing brand and items can help to generate more interest with audiences. Look out for opportunities to link your business to trending events.

For example, you could design some rose-themed matching hoodies for Valentine’s Day or Christmas pyjamas during the festive season. This strategy can help to keep you up to date with trends and allow customers to identify with your brand.

10. Monitor performance.

Monitoring performance is key – not only to check performance but also to see how you can improve. Track factors like:

• Enquires
• Website visits
• Sales
• Bounce rates
• Social media engagement
• Email click-through rate.

When monitoring the above metrics, be sure to consider them in relation to each other too. For example, has a social media post with high engagement contributed to an uplift in sales?

How much does it cost to start a small clothing business from home?

It could be cheaper than you think to start your own small clothing business, especially from home. Julie Deane (CBE) started the Cambridge Satchel Co from her kitchen table in 2008 with just £600. By 2021, when Julie was named in the LDC Top 50, her company was exporting its bags to more than 100 countries.

The cost of starting a clothing business will vary depending on its purpose, niche and scale. There are a few things that can impact the overall costs, like:

• Website creation
• Price of materials
• Manufacturing costs
• Marketing
• Postage and packaging.

How can Adobe Express help you start a clothing business from home?

Want to start your own clothing business from home? Adobe Express can help you in several ways. Our helpful tools are designed to make it easier for entrepreneurs like you to start and promote their businesses.

Here’s how Adobe Express can help:

1. Use the clothing logo maker.

Create a unique logo that reflects your business and its offering with our easy-to-use logo maker. Sample some of our ready-made logo templates and personalise it to suit your brand.

2. Make the most of print-on-demand t-shirt templates.

If you’re offering includes printed t-shirts, Adobe Express can even help with that. Use any of the free t-shirt design templates and customise them with your choice of colour and graphics. Or start from scratch to make a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

3. Design branded clothing labels for each product.

Add to your brand identity by creating branded clothing labels for each of the clothing items in your range. This is sure to set you apart from your competition, and your customers will love this signature touch.

4. Launch your small clothing business on social media.

Create Instagram reels, Facebook stories and more with the help of Adobe Express. You can even schedule your posts to suit your target audience’s habits with our content scheduler.

5. Host a pop-up event to sell your designs.

Pop-up events can work wonders for your brand by providing you with an opportunity to get up close and personal with your target audience. Adobe Express can help you come up with some exciting pop-up ideas.

Try Adobe Express for free now

Good to know.

Do I need a licence to sell clothes in the UK?

No, you don’t need a specific licence to sell clothes in the UK, unless you plan to sell clothing from a market stall – in which case you’ll need to get a valid market stall licence.

How do I name my clothing brand?

Try to make your clothing brand name as unique and memorable as possible. You don’t have to overthink it, it can be as simple as an object or concept you like yourself, or that you think would appeal to your target audience.

Is Adobe Express free?

Yes, our free plan offers many core features including thousands of templates, photo editing and effects, animation, and 5GB of storage. See our pricing page for details and to compare plans.