Enter new clothing company Pink Sushi, a clothing brand that has embraced sushi and turned it into a solid looking line. Off the bat Pink Sushi reminds me of Johnny Cupcakes and well… Pyknic. Is there room for another food based brand? Well Pink Sushi hopes so.

Overall the Pink Sushi line is comprised of five tees all complete with silk screened tee tags and a woven hem tag, which are both nice touches. Everything these guys have put together so far from their website, photos, and designs look very polished and pro. I’m just a bit worried they are a bit too similar to existing clothing lines. Hopefully as they progress they will carve a little bit more unique niche to help the stand out amongst it’s competition.

Check out the site at: www.pinksushiraw.com

As with almost everything in life presentation is the key to success. Many wise men have once said “you only have one chance to make a good first impression” and those wise men were right. Presentation of your product to your customer can be a make or break situation that results in a sale or a missed opportunity.

What exactly makes up the “presentation” when it comes to t-shirts?

In the previous three segments we have talked about packaging, printing and price these undoubtedly make up the core layers of your t-shirt presentation, but there is always more to think about.

Website
Most indie clothing lines are strictly based online and that online only atmosphere comes with a HUGE disadvantage, not being able to touch, feel and try anything on. So the question then becomes how do we turn those negatives into positives?

The key here is creating an online experience for your brand. You must think of your online store just as if you were building a bricks and mortar store for your brand. One of the biggest turn offs and mistakes a clothing company can make is cutting corners when it comes to developing their online store. When a customer comes to your site the first thing they are going to take note of is your website. In the first two seconds a customer is going to decide if they can trust you and if they want to buy from you. The key here is coming off looking as a reputable company and not a fly by night operation. It is completely okay if your working out of your parents basement or do this in your part time with every bit of extra change you can gather, but by no means come across looking like that.

Keys to making your website the best it can be.
BRANDING! Another huge pitfall that indie clothing companies fall into is not creating a recognizable branding image. Quite simply there are just way to many clothing lines out there to do just a mediocre job and succeed. The brands such as Johnny Cupcakes, Ugmonk, Electric Zombie, Glamour Kills and Pyknic all have one thing in common, they are instantly recognizable. Take a second and visit those sites if you haven’t already, those website clearly and effectively reflect a brand image that their shirts portray.

Take quality photographs
A picture is worth a thousand words, and when you are trying to sell products online a picture could be the difference between making money and losing money. As stated before it’s just not possible for a customer to pick up and feel your product through the internet but they can visualize what it would like on them through good pictures. Pictures along with your website can tell a story and create a brand image, so make sure to take that into consideration when you are doing your photo shoot.

I also HIGHLY recommend taking two different sets of product pictures, pictures for your look book and pictures for your store. Look book pictures show your tees or clothing “in the wild” or in everyday situations while shots for your store should be straight on shots that really show the detail of the shirts. Photos for your store should be done against a plain background (I prefer white), as to not distract a customer from what you are trying to sell, the product.

Functionality
This sounds like a no brainer, but make sure customers can EASILY navigate your site. There is nothing more frustrating for a customer then trying to jump through hoops when making a purchase. Quite simply they wont, if you make something difficult on them they are gone. BigCartel and Storenvy both offer very simple, cheap and customizable solutions for setting up a web store.

BUT ISN’T THAT EXPENSIVE?
You have to spend money to make money, but you also don’t have to be stupid about how you spend your money. Ask around, use social avenues such as Twitter and Facebook to help strike deals. Maybe you aren’t a pro photographer but ask some of your friends. Chances are that if you ask around someone is bound to know someone that can take decent pictures and most likely for free or on the cheap just for recognition.

Also using storefronts such as BigCartel and Storenvy can be done for extremely cheap or nothing at all. But by no means just sign up for a cart, slap your logo on it and call it a day. If you cant afford someone to design you a custom theme there are several sites that offer pre-created themes for $150 and under.

As I started this out article out with, you only have one chance to make a good first impression. I get several emails everyday from clothing companies asking me to check them out and their website and presentation is usually what makes me run for safety or investigate further and there is no reason not to think customers aren’t the same way.

If you missed any of the first three segments make sure to check them out below:
Part 1: Packaging
Part 2: Printing
Part 3: PricePrice

Pyknic needs all of our votes, so please take a second to vote Pyknic!

VOTE HERE!

There are zero affiliate links in this list, and Iamthetrend.com is getting nothing for posting this, but in return we would greatly appreciate it if you took just a second to hit the RETWEET button or Facebook Share button in the right hand column!

Lastly feel free to let us know what tanks are your favorite on the list by leaving a comment below, we have been known to give away tees to random commentors!

Enjoy!

1. Miles To Go $21.99

2.Wear Subeco $25

3.Dekay $20

4. RANDR $25

5. Umbrella Clothing $13

6. Stheart $19.95

7. Pyknic $20

8. We Are Alchemy TBA

9. Rockett $20

10. To Write Love On Her Arms $18

11. Masked Clothing $23.99

12. Glamour Kills $24.99

13. I Love Antix $18

14. Kill Brand $20

15. Iron Fist $25

16. Dance Party Massacre $23.95

17. Snakes & Suits $19.99

18. Shrimp Sauce $28

19. Electric Zombie $18

20. Miles To Go $21.99

21. To Die For $23

22. Simplified Clothing $18.99

23. Stheart$19.95

24. Pig Cloth $22

25. Live To Love $20

26.I Came From Nothing

26. Agape $19.99

27. The Names Brand $23

28. KKBB $24

29. Shrimp Sauce $28

30. Snakes & Suits $19.99

31.Wickvilla $14

32.Pyknic $20

33. Joshua Clothing $20

34. I Love Antix $18

35. Honour Over Glory £11.99

36. Rockett $20

37. Regan Smith Clarke $22

38. Masked Clothing $22.99

39. Alive & Well

40. Miles To Go $21.99

41. Electric Zombie $18

42. Glamour Kills $24.99

43. Stheart $18.95

44.I Came From Nothing £20.00

45. Masked Clothing $23.99

46. Pyknic $18

47. Big Deal £14.99

48. Shatterproof $18

49. Live To Love $20

50. CXCITY $22.95

51. I Love Antix $18

52. Dance Party Massacre $19.95

53. Agape $19.99

54. Revert Fashion $19.99

55. Arkaik $20

56. Take Notice $12

57. TopShelf Records $20

58. Tokyo Hardcore $20

59. Arkaik $20

60. To Die For $23

This time around Pyknic has opted for a bit of a more toned down approach with most tees consisting of one to three colors rather than 7+ colors per shirt that we have come to expect. Cutting back on colors has definitely not meant cutting back on some killer designs. Personally I am getting a bit worn out on the over the top as many bright colors as you can pile on to a shirt look, so when I saw the new line I was definitely excited.

New additions to the line also include some new tanks for summer. I said it on Iamthetrend TV the other night tanks are the trend this summer. 90% of the brands that I have seen put out a summer line have included at least one tank which I am actually digging.

The only let down of the line for me was in my opinion a bit of a overuse of the new Pyknic Mascot Hippo. With all the different variations there are 15 items using the Hippo, while I am really digging the Hippo mascot it was just a bit of overkill for me while thumbing through their store.

Overall this is a very solid release that will be sure to have you looking styling for summer. Also if you have a few bucks laying around pick up their “Butcher’s Cut Offs”. These shorts are pure awesome! I picked them up along with their jeans during a Pyknic Flash sale and honestly are in love with the shorts and jeans. The fit and wear awesome!

Check out the entire line at: www.pyknicwear.com

1. The Printed Mind
“The Kid” $14.99

2. The Printed Mind
“I Heart TPM” $14.99

3. Electric Zombie
“Takeover” $18

4. Arkaik
“Baseball Tee” $10

5. Pyknic
“Splatter Raglan”

This is a great time to pickup some amazing threads from their Pre-Spring Release as well as some classics!

www.pyknicwear.com

Aside from their first Vinyl toy this mid-season line includes a two new hoodies, a crew neck, jacket, jumper, tote bag and new necklaces! Noticeably absent from this line are Tees! This makes sense because of right now I am still looking out my window at 8 inches of snow! I think it’s great when companies like Pyknic are able to do some smaller releases to get some new product out there and hold over the masses in between season releases.

Everything in this mid-season release is really strong. I am especially loving the Kiss the Cook Hoodie and Varsity Cuisine Jacket/Sweater. The Jacket/Sweater is truly an amazing cut and sew piece. At first glance it looks like your typical lameball varsity jacket, but with simple additions such as a hood, ipod pocket and the fact that it’s not made out of leather but rather more of a sweatshirt, I LOVE IT! You can pick up the Varsity Cuisine Jacket/Sweater for $45 which is a pretty killer price for such a cool and unique item.

Check out the full line at: www.pyknicwear.com

Band of the Week: Bad Rabbits

Internet Tee Finds of the Week:
Beau: Once in a Blue Moon $25 from Design By Humans
Bo M.: Never Sleep $24.95 from Dance Party Massacre
Adam: Iron Chef $26.98 from Pyknic Clothing