The Fashion Designer Survival Guide, Revised and Expanded Edition: Start and Run Your Own Fashion Business Expanded, Revised Edition

I gave this book as a present to one of my best friends. After reading the book he told me that he really loved it and all the information has been very helpful.My friend was planning to study Fashion Design, but this book has changed his mind. Perhaps it gives real experience from professionals in the field and they let you know that "fashion" is not easy nor cheap. You have to work 7 days per week and 12 hours per day.I think this is meaningful as people can make better decisions about their future and have a better idea about what to expect.

interesting and useful

I will admit-- I chose this "how to start a fashion business" guide book over the other ones because it's more famous. And because of the Diane Von Furstenberg foreword, Tim Gunn review, and many little interviews with actual designers. Lets not forget the great price (w/ free shipping if $25 is spent).This book is definitely a good read-- its full of practical information and great advice and real-world examples of situations designers go through (designers going bankrupt, exclusivity of certain production factories, problems with selling to certain stores, etc). Its a very "real" look at fashion from a well thought out point of view.All that said, when I began to create my business plan this book was little help. I mean it certainly gave me a great summarized outline, but it lacks numbers. I just wish it had more number examples, you know more "averages". Like the average or sample amounts of material cost, production, and overhead cost for an emerging designers. How many pieces are recommended for a new designer and if they choose to sell to a store-- whats the average amount of pieces they sell the store and how many of each sizes (ie: 20 dresses? size 2(2) size 4(2) size 6(4) size 8(4) size 10(4) size 12(4))I know averages can greatly differ, but I wish they would have made-up or created a fake fashion line, and created a very modified business plan with numbers, just as a sample. (That alone would have made this book perfect.)It also needed more equations. The only equation was COGS. The book was great, but it seriously lacked numbers and tangibility. As in I was thinking this book would be a onestop shop, but it wasn't. This book gives you direction and an idea of how your mindset should be when creating a line and it gives you alot of pointers and warnings. Making this the perfect book for someone who isn't in the fashion industry. But as a person who's been to business school and studied at a fashion school I just expected a little more, I'm probably asking for too much, but what the hey- why not? lol.I look at this book as a great complementary to a more detailed book. I haven't read these, but from what I can see in Amazon's "look inside" and from some of the reviews: "Fashion Unraveled", "Fashion for Profit", and "How to Setup and Run a Fashion Label" may be great compliments to this book. For my fashion marketing class I had to read "The Business of Fashion, Designing, Manufacturing and Marketing". That's a textbook and does offer great detail as well, but it comes at a much bigger pricetag. I just wish I kept it instead of giving it back after my class was over.As a person in the industry I'll say that this book definitely solidified alot of my own thoughts and gave me many great tidbits that will be helpful and will come to mind as I'm creating my line. Just don't expect "numbers" and financial examples from this book. Just view it as a insiders guide to the business of fashion with accompanying examples and summaries of the experiences of other designers. Because of the low pricetag and solid examples I would definitely recommend purchasing it, but keep in mind that you will still need to find books and search the internet for number and business plan examples. (And, lets just say with all the junk out there its hard to find everything on the internet it takes soooooo much time digging through sites and sites and fake sites that lead you to sites that want you to pay hundreds just for a numerical overview of the women's retail market... oops sorry, I think I'm venting now, lol).This book is great, I recommend buying it. But I suggest Mary Gehlhar make a revised version in a year or two that has numbers because if she did it would be like the Bible for starting a fashion line.PS- This book really is like a wake-up call for people who just say to themselves "I want to start a clothing line", you know, people who aren't in the industry and just think it'll be this fun easy thing to do. It gives those type people ALOT of perspective. For someone who already has an idea for a line, is well-versed in fashion, and aware of the climate of the retail industry and fashion market this book has its shortcomings. But it is still helpful though, so thats why it's a useful book to have around.

Have it for years now and I like it.

I'm part of the shion industry, and let me tell you that with this book I know much much more my industry and I have far more respect for the hard working people who breath and live in that industry! Fashion is one of the hardest industries out there and it is good to see that in that book you get the chance to understand all the pitfulls you can face in the fashion world, but also how to avoid many of themespecially if you want to start your own business! ! I have read this "Fashion Treasure Guide" three time in a row!!! It's so well written too! Bravo!

I AM A SELF-TAUGHT FASHION DESIGNER, FROM THE AGE OF 12 YEARS OLD, AND HAVE BEEN IN THE BUSINESS OF: DESIGNING FOR MY OWN FASHION SHOWS, AND WELL AS FOR PRIVATE CLIENTS, AND FOR MYSELF AND MY DAUGHTER FOR MANY YEARS NOW, AND I CAN HONESTLY STATE: "MOST OF THE THINGS IN THIS BOOK, I FIGURED OUT AND HAD BEEN DOING, ALL EXCEPT THE INFORMATION TO "FORGE AHEAD" WITH THE "BUSINESS SIDE (MONETARY) OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY" WITH A PURPOSE. FROM THE BEGINNING, THE AUTHOR GETS RIGHT TO THE POINT OF THE SERIOUSNESS OF KNOWING EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT THE FASHION INDUSTRY, AS PAINFUL AS IT MAY BE TO DIGEST, AND HOW TO BE A SUCCESS. ALSO, THE TIPS ON IMPROVING ONESSELF IN EVERY AREA. ALOT OF TIMES WE THINK WE ARE ON THE RIGHT PATH, BUT WE'RE NOT, AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT IS HINDERING US, WHICH MOST TIMES IS LACK OF KNOWLEDGE/INFORMATION IN OUR FIELD. OVERALL, THIS IS WHAT I HAVE GOTTEN FROM THIS GREAT The Fashion Designer Survival Guide, Revised and Expanded Edition: Start and Run Your Own Fashion BusinessBOOK.