THE COST BEHIND YOUR CLOTHES.
KATHARINA LOU wasn’t created to be ‘just another fashion label’.
With a mission to educate my audience on the true cost of creating fashion in todays world, I started KLOU to share and celebrate the craftsmanship & skill that goes into the making of clothing.
With something new available every minute, sales constantly on and social media making anything and everything accessible - The true value behind clothing is getting lost.
There is so much power in your purchase & in who you decide to shop from. The brands you choose to support now, are the brands that will exist and set the standards for our future world. For me personally, I want future labels to be ethical in their practices, consider the environment FIRST as-well as celebrate old art forms to allow them to be carried on into the future of fashion. So these are the standards I want to and will always hold KLOU to.
From sourcing inspiration, pattern making to going through several toiles and samples to get the perfect final product- my personal practice is slow and beautiful and the process is what makes the final product worth every cent.
Being honest and transparent about how create and sell will always be the most important part of my practice as its what I want to build my brand around. I am genuinely in love with creating the clothes that make women feel beautiful and I hope you feel this when you put on a piece of mine. I really hope to connect with so many more amazing women as I grow my brand into a community of LOVE.
SO here is a cost run down of three of my most popular pieces. I hope you can see the labour of love going into each individual garment, and that when you purchase from me, why it's not ‘just another dress’.
THE IT GIRL GOWN
IT TAKES 3 HOURS TO CREATE THE IT GIRL GOWN, FROM START TO FINISH. SO IF I PAY MYSELF $35 AN HOUR IT COMES TO A $105 MAKE.
THE FABRIC IS $28 A METRE… THIS FABRIC IS MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE THAN WHAT MOST FASHION HOUSES WOULD USE AS IT IS HAND PRINTED...THIS ALSO INCLUDES A HEFTY IMPORT AND DUTIES FEE, ASWELL AS SHIPPING IT FROM INDIA TO MELBOURNE.
THIS DRESS TAKES 3.5 M SO THE TOTAL COST IS $98. PLUS $5 TO COVER TRIMS SUCH AS THREAD, INTERFACING, LABELS & CARE TAG.
I FACTOR $49 IN EVERY ITEM TO COVER MY OVERHEADS SUCH AS RENT/WEBSITE FEE PER MONTH/ SQUARESPACE TAKING 2% OF EACH SALE.
$10 FOR MARKETING.. INCLUDES PHOTOSHOOT OVERHEADS/TIME SPENT UPLOADING/EDITING ( WHICH ISN’T A LOT FOR HOW MUCH TIME I DO SPEND!)
PACKAGING/CARD/ECO POST BAG... FOR EACH ORDER COMES TO $8.38.
SO SELLING COSTS $275.38, I SELL FOR $369. PROFIT ON THE SALE: $93.62
ONLY A 25% MARK UP WHICH IS ALOT LESS THAN MOST FASHION HOUSES. … MOST FASHION HOUSES HAVE ATLEAST A 100% MARK UP. THIS MONEY THEN GOES BACK INTO MY BUSINESS SO I CAN CONTINUE ORDERING NEW FABRICS AND EXPERIMENTING FOR THE NEXT COLLECTIONS..
THE I WANNA TALK ABOUT ME MINI
3 HOURS AT $35 AN HOUR- COMES TO A $105 MAKE. (THIS DRESS TAKES 45 TO JUST CUT ALONE AS EACH PANEL IS FROM A DIFFERENT ROLL OF FABRIC)
PER METRE THE FABRIC COSTS $28.
THIS DRESS TAKES 2 M SO THE TOTAL COST IS $56. PLUS $5 TO COVER TRIMS SUCH AS THREAD, INTERFACING, LABELS & CARE TAG.
I FACTOR $49 IN EVERY ITEM TO COVER MY OVERHEADS SUCH AS RENT/WEBSITE FEE PER MONTH/ SQUARESPACE TAKING 2% OF EACH SALE.
$10 FOR MARKETING.. INCLUDES PHOTOSHOOT OVERHEADS/TIME SPENT UPLOADING/EDITING
PACKAGING/CARD/ECO POST BAG... FOR EACH ORDER COMES TO $8.38.
SO SELLING COSTS $233.38, I SELL FOR $299. PROFIT ON THE SALE: $65.62 (ONLY A 22% MARK UP)
