Blank Label – Make Your Own Shirt in Style
Do you dream of making your own shirts, but without the whole sewing part? Want to look cool without spending all your cash or wasting time in some snooty men’s store?
Well, now there’s Blank-Label.
The site aims for the early 20’s male (college age) who’s concerned about fashion, but not interested in shopping. Like it’s closes competitor, ShirtsMyWay, the site allows you to make customized button-down shirts in several choices of fabric, cut, and style. Unlike ShirtsMyWay, Blank-Label is geared towards a younger crowd who doesn’t have quite as much to spend.
The design tool is a quirky mix of hand-drawn stencils and a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) presentation of your shirt-to-be. Thrown in are some pencil drawings of alluring women tell you they “like the creative type” and such. Definitely a site for men.
Look, ma! No pizza stains!
The styling, copy, and overall design of the site is somewhat edgy, kind of snarky, and definitely made by and for the up-and-coming generation of not-quite-metrosexuals.
Shirt prices start at $45 and go up as you customize. A relatively simple shirt that I created was only $65 (at right).
The site’s about page (labeled “WTF”) says that the site’s goal is to change the way young guys buy clothes. The shirts, they say, are just their first product with others to come.
Blank-Label is in beta and launched into public beta in late October. It was started by “Chief Evangelist” (CEO) Fan Bi in 2008. The startup is self-funded and plans to “grow organically” for the next six months before considering any fund raising.
It has an active blog, great style, and may be poised to go somewhere fast. Definitely a great site worth keeping your eye on.
