That’s when I decided to start the hunt for clothing companies that were striking out on their own and doing something different than the big players.  Since starting iamthetrend.com almost one year ago I have continued to be impressed and surprised with the amount of upcoming clothing brands that continue to sprout up and the high quality that a lot of these brands are bringing to the table.

So i decided for Christmas this year I would try and put together an article on why everyone should buy clothing online from these startups instead of just buying the same bland stuff from mall stores.  If you enjoy this article and believe and support the indie movement please take a second to tweet this to your followers and/or share this with your Facebook friends.

Here goes,

5 reasons why you should buy Indie Clothing

1. Support Individuals They Are Passionate About Their Line

The majority of people that are starting these indie clothing lines deeply care and our passionate about their brand.  They pour every ounce of extra time, money, passion and creativity in their line trying to put out the best product possible.  Dont get me wrong they’re individuals out there that simply think that starting a clothing line is easy and a quick way to make a buck, but those people are quickly proved wrong and usually do not last long. Economies are also built with entrepenuers and small business growth and by supporting up and coming companies it’s a great way to help encourage the entrepreneurial spirit that drives innovation.

2. Indie Brands Usually Have Cheaper Prices

In today’s economy everyone is looking to stretch the dollar further and further.  People are looking for ways to save money and find deals.  Well here is a definite avenue to cut clothing costs and buy cheaper and smarter.  Indie brands tend to have lower prices and offer more deals and incentives for purchase over mall brands found at Zumiez, PacSun, Hot Topic, etc.  Just last month I put together an article showing how you could buy 16 Tee Shirts for only $100, if you can do that at a mall please let me know!

Also indie brands tend to have a ton of really great sales. For Black Friday we complied a list of our over 75 brands that were having sales, some of which were 50% off or more! Even when the brands are not on sale your can typically find high quality items for $20 or less. They’re a ton of t-shirt blog sites as well as iamthetrend.com that promotes these sales, so continually be checking sites such as
iamthetrend, popculturetees and hideyourarms because these sites are an incredible resource for showing who has what on sale.

3. Have Something That No One Else Has!

For me there is nothing worse than rocking your new favorite shirt, jeans, jacket, etc to come across someone else wearing the exact same thing! When you buy from indie clothing startups you are going to greatly diminish the chances of running into someone with the same shirt that you have. Most of the upcoming brands you find online run a very limited amount of shirts per design. Having such limited number of shirts per design is not only awesome because you have something “rare” but you are in a sense “thetrend”. You will be the person all your friends and peers will be asking where did you get that, or who is that made by and let’s face it most of us like to be the ones setting the trend and finding the coolest clothes out there!
Say it with me now “iamthetrend” : ) I cant even count the amount of times that I have been asked by friends and peers where I got a particular shirt, it’s a great feeling when people go out of their way to recognize and appreciate awesome clothing.

4. Greater diversity and selection

Your options in clothing and style are pretty much limitless, this is one of my favorite aspects about the indie clothing world. No matter what you are looking for you can find it, from the most offensive tees, to the most loud colored illustrated tee all the way to a tee that barely has anything on it, there is an indie clothing company that fits your style. You really cant get this sort of diversity by visiting the same mall stores buying what is being spoon fed to you.

Let’s just say that you have a favorite brand that is being solid in malls, for example Obey, Lrg, DC, or Nike, guess what, there is a brand online that has a similar style that in all honesty is probably doing a better and more creative job making eye catching clothing.

For Example:
If you like simple yet effective designs try Ugmonk, 410 BC, Altru Apparel, Rethink, Simplified
If your a huge fan of over the top illustrations and bright colors try: SHRED, Dead!Serious, Kill Brand, Pyknic
If you like that cartoony look and feel try: Linty Fresh, Johnny Cupcakes, Lowdtown Friends and Freaks, Seventh Ink, Omunky, Seibei
If you are into skate/surf/snowboard style clothing try: Future Clothing, Okoto, Wellborn, Assault Clothing
If you like gore and horror try: Zombie Liqourice, Arkaik:Empire, Disturbia, I Came From Nothing
There are also a ton of brands that have a bit of all these categories such as: Electric Zombie, RANDR, Shirtfight, Miles to Go, Cavata

This list could go on forever! The bottom line is their is a company online that is tailored made for your style, you really just have to open your eyes and seek them out!

5. Quite Simply It’s Just More FUN!

Honestly finding new brands that no one knows about is just plain fun! Think of it as a treasure hunt, the deeper you dig the more your going to find and the more rewarding its going to be! I can’t even begin to put a number on the amount of indie clothing companies that are out there, which can be very exciting and very daunting at the same time! If your the type of person that loves to dig around the internet looking for the next greatest thing, searching for indie clothing is right up your alley! Even if your a person that would rather just have people point out to you what’s cool and upcoming we have you covered, because quite simply that’s what we do at IAMTHETREND!

Conclusion

The bottom line is buying indie clothing can be a very fun, rewarding, and even save you a few dollars. When giving the gift of indie clothing this year for the holidays you can now look forward to that person opening their gift and absolutely their unique gift and possibly even turning them into a fan of clothing line that they never heard of before! The indie clothing world is a community and we all need to stick together and support each other to make sure everyone becomes successful at their passion and to make sure the indie clothing world thrives!

1. Made With Awesome – “Red Means Go”
VIEW | BUY $20

2. Design By Humans – “Interstella Astronaut”
VIEW | BUY $19

3. Rockett – “Rainbow Drips”
VIEW | BUY $30

4. GOLD COIN – “Bit Map Bombers”
VIEW | BUY $30

5. SEIBEI – “Mutant Uprising”
VIEW | BUY $22

6. Threadless – “King of the Arctic”
VIEW | BUY $18

7. Linty Fresh – “Davy Bunyan”
VIEW | BUY $20

8. Regal Clothing Co. – “I Love the Weekend”
VIEW | BUY £17.50

9. Tilteed – “Koi Twins”
VIEW | BUY $18

10. Dance Party Massacre – “All Work and No Play”
VIEW | BUY $12.45

11. Shirt Fight – “A Glimpse of the End of Days”
VIEW | BUY $18

12. Assault Shirts – “Fatal Justice”
VIEW | BUY $19.99

13. Lowdtown – “Slipscript”
VIEW | BUY $18

14. Snakes & Suits – “Create New. Destroy Old”
VIEW | BUY $19.99

15. ReThink Clothing – “Fortune Cookie!”
VIEW | BUY $17.99

16. Skullastic – “Plaid to the Bone”
VIEW | BUY $28

17. 2012 Threads – “Corn God”
VIEW | BUY $18

18. The Last Fathom – “Jack Off”
VIEW | BUY $30

19. Suck Clothing – “Don’t Stop”
VIEW | BUY €20

20. Forty Sixty Photo – “Watercolor Crossbones”
VIEW | BUY $15

21. Monsieur Eureka – “Lavosaure”
VIEW | BUY $26.99

22. Paper Root – “The Window”
VIEW | BUY $20

23. Ugmonk – “One Hundred”
VIEW | BUY $24

24. Cavata Clothing – “Audio Maze”
VIEW | BUY $19.99

25. Hello, Brute – “Boy Germs”
VIEW | BUY $19

Do you have a favorite? Leave a comment below for your chance to win a FREE TEE! (free tee winner will be announced on IATT.TV LIVE Monday December 21st at 8PM Central!)

1. Johnny Cupcakes – Crossbones Classic $35.99

2. Electric Zombie – Badge $18

3. Linty Fresh – Rebel Bowels $22.00

4. Holebrian – Pull My Fin(ger)£9.35 GBP

5. Forty Sixty Photo – Crossbones $15.00

6. Sharpshirter – Rhino Hunter Tee $22.00

7. SEIBEI – Make Me a Sandwich – $22

8. Ugmonk – And Then I Woke Up $24.00

9. Omunky – Harry Hippo $21.00

10. Dekay – Predator and Prey – $20

11. Miles To Go – Poison Tree $19.99

12. Hotlife – Crime Dont Pay $20.00

13. The Printed Mind – The Printed Mind $17.99

14. Deez Teez – Team Ramrod $14.99

15. Shirtfight – Beautiful Outlaw $13 On Sale

16. Stheart Clothing – Classic Tee $18.95

17. Akumu Ink – The Ripper $21.99

18. Suffoca – Pops of Tea £ 15.00

19. Shrimp Sauce – Instincts $28.00

20. Rockett – Devil Lock Biggie $24.00

21. 410BC – AD ASTRA $26.00

22. Heroine Clothing – Boats $18.95

23. ReThink Clothing – Super Soaker – $17.99

24. Pandy Cane – Faceless $10

25. Mediocore Clothing – Missing Turtle $20

26. Paint the Stars – Skulls

27. Turn Nocturnal – Exclaim $20.00

28. Chop Shop – WeRobot $20.00

29. Origin 68 – Human Being £18.00

30. Mr Tastees – Knockout $22.00

31. RANDR Tees – Shrine $22.00

32. RetroCampaigns – Abraham Lincoln $29.95

33. Paper Root Clothing – Youth $20.00

34. The Hundreds – Electrical $30

35. Crispy Tees – I Heart Cake $18

36. Make Beats Not Beatdowns – MBNBD $16.00

37. Skilla Fashion – Music $23.00

38. Glamour Kills – Hip To Be Kind Too $26.99

39. Crywolf Clothing – Hipster Werewolf CAD $28.00

40. Threadless – The Last Day of Pegasus $20 on sale for $10

41. Blonde. – The Head Logo $25.00

42. Future Clothing – Grenade $28.00

43. Okoto – On A Limb $15.00

44. AltruApparel- Helvetica> $32

45. Boston Knucklehead – BKH Face Logo $29.00

46. IMU – Logo $20.00

47. Cavata – Breakbeat – $19.99

48. GoFourward – Follow Your Heart $24

49. Arkaik – Mammoth $20

50. Milk & Eggs Co – DIY – $18