I’ll be honest - one of the big reasons I got into sewing to begin with was this idea that it would be cheaper to make my own clothes. Man, how wrong I was!
Sewing is nothing if not an expensive hobby when you get into it. There are tons of different machines and gadgets and gizmos involved in making clothes. And that’s to say nothing of the fabric itself! The more I got into my new hobby, the more I learned about all the moving parts and pieces involved in garment construction. Even something as simple as a basic linen shirt involves at least a dozen steps. And when produced at scale, it often involves as many people too.
Let’s be honest - fashion is fundamentally a business. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But I couldn’t help but wonder about the mark up when it came to brands I personally liked. Brands like Jenni Kayne, Christy Dawn, Ulla Johnson, and Sezane. What were their margins like? And how much of it actually went into the clothes themselves? In essence, what was I actually buying when I spent money on something at one of their stores?
I did some homework and quickly sussed out that most of my favorite brands are venture-backed. I knew a thing or two about that, having raised venture capital for a business once before. And so I knew that these brands were required to grow. It’s the nature of venture capital - if you can’t get something out of an investment, why would you make it? Again, nothing inherently wrong with any of this. It’s just reality.
But it’s also reality that growth means more. You either need more new customers, or established customers buying more. And if you can’t find more in either of those, you need to find a way to wring more out of each unit sold. Which is usually by spending less making it.
I have noticed, lately, that even if a piece costs hundreds of dollars, that doesn’t necessarily translate into better construction or higher quality materials. I’m perplexed when I find polyester and shoddy sewing in pieces from luxury brands built on quality. But growth has to come from somewhere, and the same enshittification that’s come for digital products is now coming for physical ones too.
I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. And you might be wondering…ok cool, but what does this have to do with your pricing model exactly? Because this business is clearly not venture-backed (which is true, unless you count the fact that my sewing machine was a Christmas gift). I bring all this up to emphasize that pricing and quality in fashion is complicated and frankly, pretty fucked up.
Pricing and merchandising is subjective. But objectively, every piece of clothing you own was sewn by someone. We haven’t cracked fully automated manufacturing of garments at scale. And truly high quality materials are shockingly expensive. A yard of “fine linen” for less than $20 is…not “fine” linen.
So on the one hand, I know they’re not charging enough for this. But on the other hand, I know they’re overcharging for this. (To be fair, Doen only just raised their first real round of capital and it’s still led by the two sisters who founded it, but I stand by my assessment that that particular piece is egregiously marked up).
The point is - I want Sultry Peasant to be different. I don’t want to pull punches but I also don’t want to work for nothing. So I decided to do a cost plus model. Which just means I tell you everything it costs to make the piece and then I add a % upcharge, which is my profit before operating expenses. So here’s my cost plus model for the Everything top -
So. Now you know. Why they cost $79.95. As you can see, I've landed on a 30% upcharge for each piece. That feels fair to me. But if it doesn't to you, you can use code ATCOST for 30% off, which will get you the piece "at cost," as they say. Think of it as a thank you for reading this lengthy essay about why I charge what I charge! And as you can also see, I'm paying myself $30/hour to actually sit there and sew these things because that also seemed reasonable to me based on my skill level and the market rates I'm finding out there for other sewists and seamstresses at my level.
Pricing is so emotional to me. Probably because money is so emotional. And the question of what has value has defined my career. Which, up until this point in my journey, has basically defined my life. I think as we grapple with AI and the impact it will have on work and the economy, we will find ourselves discussing the question of value more. What kinds of work create value? Value for whom? Value created by whom?
This question - the question of who gets what, and why? - is a question I find infinitely interesting. Because we always think we know until suddenly we don't. Labor markets change. Kings rise and fall and peasants toil endlessly until they revolt. History in a nutshell. I have no illusions that Sultry Peasant will become an empire, and that's not even the goal. The goal is simply to make something I am proud to sell and then sell it for a price I think is fair. This grand plan will probably never make me a king of anything. But that's ok, because I happen to really like being a Sultry Peasant.