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Custom-Made Womenswear

Join us as we test our production model for U.S.A. custom-made womenswear for our line of wardrobe staples for the active woman.

$15,365
pledged of$15,000 goal
134
0Days Left

Project Description

To view the latest video footage from the beta testing check out our social media links below:

 

Instagram

        

Facebook

        

YouTube

#unlimitedbydesign

 

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We bring together old school tailoring techniques, the highest-quality materials and the latest apparel technology to inform fit and performance.

What makes our clothing beautiful? Well, you do. We believe that apparel is best when it frees us to focus our energy on what is most meaningful: our love, our relationships, our creativity, our life's work.

Our clothing should not limit us.

This means that it fits and flatters our form, it moves and breathes, is high quality and durable, is timeless, requires minimal, eco-friendly maintenance, and has features that meet our basic needs.

We are committed to ethical, environmentally conscious, and U.S.-based production

 

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I am a woman who had a problem with my clothing. After bike commuting for many years I realized that professional clothing was too limiting for the modern women. Professional womenswear lacks basic features (like pockets), does not move and breath with the body, and is not of sufficient quality to withstand our day-to-day activities. I brought my childhood dream of being a fashion designer to bear on this problem and created a line of women’s apparel to address it. I used classic tailoring and naturally high performing materials like Harris tweed to remedy the problem, modeling my designs off of equestrian attire and other old-school sportswear.

 

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Womenswear is currently made in defined sizes to fit the standard production model. This model wants to cut a fixed number of garments in a fixed number of sizes and sew them together as efficiently as possible. We, the customers, then find a size that fits us the least badly. A couple of brands fit, they are hard to find, and you hope to God they don’t change their sizing.

 

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What does it mean for clothing to be made to measure? This is when a garment is cut and sewn to an individual’s measurements. There are no sizes. Jane’s jacket or trousers are made specific to her measurements. They fit her and only her, because we were all born with unique bodies. It is not made to be a certain size and then taken in. The pattern pieces that make up the garment are literally adapted for an individual woman: smaller shoulders, bigger breasts, giant backside, big arms, short torso, you name it.

I happen to be based in Durham, North Carolina, in the middle of the Southeast. I learned that technology solutions for made to measure womenswear exist and that the solutions to this problem were all around me, in the areas of the country most affected by the loss of textile and apparel jobs.

 

how it works

 

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The top tailor in the area–Nighisti Selby–based in Durham, North Carolina, will take each woman’s measurements for the testing, mimicking the first roll-out of our custom-made womenswear. For this initial roll-out we will use a network of top quality tailors throughout the U.S. to take women’s measurements. Advancement in body-scanning and app-based measurement technologies will soon allow us to reach more women with our work.

 

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This group of talented pattern makers, innovators in apparel manufacturing and digital pattern experts is based in Pelzer, South Carolina. Apparel Prototyping & Design Solutions (a.k.a. APADS) is responsible for the crucial innovation in the made to measure production process: digitize the Riding Jacket pattern to allow for real-time adaptation to individual women’s measurements. The result is pattern pieces customized to each woman.

 

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Computerized cutter

Located in Smithville, Tennessee, Omega Apparel is an appropriate name for a company that began in 1994 when other apparel companies were moving offshore. This talented group of apparel pioneers will be responsible for the computerized cutting work for the Riding Jacket. The second step in the process, the pattern pieces, adapted to each woman’s measurement, will be cut side by side using a giant computer cutter

 

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The above efficiencies with the digitized pattern and computer cutter is what will allow us to work with Western North Carolina Sewing Company, a.k.a. Sew Co., who pays the highest quality sewers to hand sew each garment in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Founded by owner and apparel manufacturing innovator, Libby O’Bryan in 2007, Sew Co. pays sewers a living wage and schedules hours that allow them to pick their kids up from school.

 

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Tivi Jones

 

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Marketing Consultant and Director of Marketing Communications for UNC-TV

Lee Moore Crawford

 

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Farmer-florist and founder of Hana Lee @  hanaleenc.com

Alyssa Cherry

 

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Founder of Fillaree @ fillaree.org

Crystal Dreisbach

 

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Founder and Executive Director, Don't Waste Durham @ dontwastedurham.org
 

Laura Fjeld

 

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CEO & Founder of Clear Voice Partners

 

what we need

 

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We need $15,000 to test this production model with the outstanding women above as beta clients to see if it works. They will test whether we have a production system that is ready to go to market with a major solution to make better fitting clothing for women (and bring jobs with it). If we surpass our goal, we can fast-track a made-to-measure blouse for the spring, and bring on more team members and creative collaborators to grow this solution and make it more awesome to better serve women.

 

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We have the fabric and trim to make 100 jackets for customers. If it works, we can begin selling the Riding Jacket to women. We are also using this testing to gather data to show investors how awesome this solution is and that woman want better fitting clothing, so we can devote the resource women deserve to solving this problem. As you might imagine, it is the women not the men who are aware of the problem, but we only get 6% of investment dollars. Help us change this on iFundWomen.

 

rewards

 

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A sneak peek at the T-shirt.

Organic Cotton, non-GMO, hand-dyed, men's & women's styles

 

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Reid Miller Bicycle-Inspired Bandanna, printed in Durham, North Carolina

 

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We would like to acknowledge the following individuals who contributed their creativity, time and expertise to make this campaign happen: Sydney Sawaya (iFundWomen campaign page designer), Colleen Pesci (videographer), Nathan Clendenin & Ryan Carey (video strategy), Heather Lila (communications & marketing), Maria Brubeck (photography) and the no-nonsense team at iFundWomen.

Social media icons courtesy of:  Vector illustration credit: vecteezy.com

The Campaign FAQs

Though we have a high level of confidence in our made to measure production process and the partners involved, there is always the chance that the testing will reveal challenges that require a much longer path to market than anticipated.

12/01/2017
Monetary Contribution With No Reward
$100
10/30/2017
Monetary Contribution With No Reward
$50
10/30/2017
Monetary Contribution With No Reward
$20
10/26/2017
Monetary Contribution With No Reward
$15
10/26/2017
Monetary Contribution With No Reward
$20
10/25/2017
Postcard of our manufacturing partner signed by Reid
$20
10/25/2017
Monetary Contribution With No Reward
$50
10/25/2017
Postcard of our manufacturing partner signed by Reid
$20
10/25/2017
Monetary Contribution With No Reward
$50
10/25/2017
Monetary Contribution With No Reward
$20
Monetary Contribution With No Reward

Just Because I Care

88 Supporters
Select this reward
20.00 USD
Postcard of our manufacturing partner signed by Reid

A postcard with a photo from one of our 3 production partners from the custom-made womenswear campaign with a signed note from Reid.

8 Supporters
Select this reward
40.00 USD
Collect all 3 postcards

Collect all 3 postcards from each of our production partners

1 Supporter
Select this reward
50.00 USD
Reid Miller bandana + a postcard

Cycling inspired Reid Miller Apparel bandana, printed in Durham, NC

17 Supporters
Select this reward
100.00 USD
Reid Miller Long Sleeve T + postcard

Organic Cotton, non-GMO, hand-dyed, men's & women's styles

12 Supporters
Select this reward
150.00 USD
Super-Fan Kit: Reid Miller Long Sleeve T, Bandana & Collect all 3 postcards

One Reid Miller Long Sleeve T, Bandana and all three postcards

5 Supporters
Select this reward
250.00 USD
Partner’s Fund Women Pack

2 Reid Miller long sleeve tees (you choose the style combination m/f), 2 bandanas, and collect all 3 postcard pack

2 Supporters
Select this reward
500.00 USD
Job Czar & Woman Super-Supporter

All the above gifts. Postcards signed by manufacture

1 Supporter
Select this reward

About the Entrepreneur

Durham, NC
Created 1 Campaign
Lifestyle

Rewards

Monetary Contribution With No Reward

Just Because I Care

88 Supporters
Select this reward
20.00 USD
Postcard of our manufacturing partner signed by Reid

A postcard with a photo from one of our 3 production partners from the custom-made womenswear campaign with a signed note from Reid.

8 Supporters
Select this reward
40.00 USD
Collect all 3 postcards

Collect all 3 postcards from each of our production partners

1 Supporter
Select this reward
50.00 USD
Reid Miller bandana + a postcard

Cycling inspired Reid Miller Apparel bandana, printed in Durham, NC

17 Supporters
Select this reward
100.00 USD
Reid Miller Long Sleeve T + postcard

Organic Cotton, non-GMO, hand-dyed, men's & women's styles

12 Supporters
Select this reward
150.00 USD
Super-Fan Kit: Reid Miller Long Sleeve T, Bandana & Collect all 3 postcards

One Reid Miller Long Sleeve T, Bandana and all three postcards

5 Supporters
Select this reward
250.00 USD
Partner’s Fund Women Pack

2 Reid Miller long sleeve tees (you choose the style combination m/f), 2 bandanas, and collect all 3 postcard pack

2 Supporters
Select this reward
500.00 USD
Job Czar & Woman Super-Supporter

All the above gifts. Postcards signed by manufacture

1 Supporter
Select this reward