Summary
Hello! I’m Mary Alice, the founder and designer behind the brand Alice Alexander. Alice Alexander is a size-inclusive, ethically-made women’s apparel company. We’ve launched this crowdfunding campaign to fund the next stage of growth in our development! We’re seeking funding to grow our company, expand our reach and open our combined brick and mortar shop/ production studio in Philadelphia.
As a plus-size consumer myself so much of what’s available in my size is either cheap, flimsy, fast-fashion or oversized boxy silhouettes in muted colors—definitely not my style. Furthermore finding garments that were ethically-made and of natural materials felt impossible. I started sewing my own clothes and fell in love (and became just a wee bit obsessed). Simultaneously, I enrolled in design school while working full-time.
We launched our company in September 2017 with a small collection for sizes 12-28. With our newest collection we’ve expanded our size range to be truly size-inclusive including sizes 0-28. And our promise to you is that if our size chart doesn’t work for your body, that’s on us, and we’ll make something just for you at no additional cost.
Unlike most clothing companies, we design, manufacture and retail 100% of our garments. No outsourcing and no wholesale means we’re able to provide a truly superior garment made of natural fibers and constructed using high end finishes at a fair price. It also allows us to build a relationship with our customer, inviting them into our process and cultivating an appreciation for slowed-down fashion.
Campaign contributors will help us bring our message of size-inclusive, ethically-made women’s apparel to the world! We’re offering a variety of perks to backers including 30% off our entire warm weather collection through pre-order. Pre-ordering allows us to control our costs by only ordering bulk fabric and producing garments after they’ve been purchased by the consumer. This means less waste for the planet, and more savings for you.
What We Need & What You Get
Our goal is to raise $20,000 to get our warm weather collection into the hands of 100+ women through PRE-ORDER and take the first step towards opening our combined brick and mortar shop/ production space in Philadelphia. We’re offering supporters a variety of perks in exchange for their contribution!
All of our perks can be viewed in detail in the right hand column (as well as on alicealexander.co) but here are some we’re most excited by (but let’s be serious, they’re all awesome!)
- Commemorative Hand-stamped Copper Plaque- Show everyone your support for the campaign! This hand stamped copper plaque will be proudly displayed in our retail shop/ production studio for years to come. Write your name, well wishes, or inspirational quote.
- The Linen Joggers-comfortable and styish, our linen joggers can go anywhere. Made of 100% 7.5 oz Belgian linen, sturdy enough to last for years to come, but light enough to keep you cool.
- The Moto Jacket/ Jogger Set- Wear it together to look like a total boss, or mix and match these pieces with other items in your wardrobe. Our moto jacket is cropped at the waist, has an asymmetrical zipper, button cuffs and fully functional zip pockets (that are actually big enough for stuff! Trust us, we tested 'em!).
Here is how we plan to spend funds raised:
- Fulfill all our perks! You guessed it, fulfilling the clothing orders will be the bulk of our expenses. Between non-clothing (commemorative plaque, tote bags) and producing the collection (wholesale fabric, hangtags and labor) this accounts for 51% of our expenses.
- Research and development- as a clothing company truly dedicated to size-inclusivity this takes a lot of hard work (and funds!). Working with an experienced pattern maker, fit models in a variety of sizes and customer feedback we plan to further refine the fit of our garments. We plan to invest 18% of our funds into this aspect of our business.
- Branding and marketing- it’s hard to grow a business if no one knows about us! Up until this point all our website, branding, writing, social media has been 100% DIY. It’s time for our visual presence to reflect the quality of our garments and for us to expand our reach connecting with more women who are looking for size-inclusive, ethically-made apparel.
- Upgraded equipment- Faster machines, a larger cutting table, better organizational systems will all contribute to increasing both our efficiency and quality. We plan to invest 10% of our funds into equipment.
- Credit Card and Indiegogo Fees: A portion of funds will go to Indiegogo for hosting the campaign as well as credit card transaction fees.
We’ve elected the flexible funding option. If we do not reach our entire goal, we will still fulfill perk rewards and will seek alternative funding to meet our other goals.
The Impact
Often times when I talk about this company I talk very little about the actual clothes. In fact Alice Alexander is about much more than the garments (although they're amazing). It's about demonstrating that women of all sizes deserve beautifully made, high quality clothing. It's about inclusion and visibility. It's about proving that you don't have to choose between style, ethics and size--you really can have it all.
Risks & Challenges
Launching a clothing company and sustaining that company is no small feat and comes with risk in sourcing, production and retail. We've purposefully designed our business model in such a way that takes on the least amount of risk. By using a pre-order model (instead of producing THEN selling) helps us control our costs. By manufacturing ourselves allows us to ensure quality.
Thankfully we've surrounded ourselves with an amazing team and resources and we are confident we will be able to meet our goals.
Other Ways You Can Help
Beyond contributing to this campaign, absolutely the most important thing you can do is SHARE this campaign. Personal emails are incredibly effective! Email your friends and family and share why you believe size-inclusivity and ethical fashion matter! Sharing on Facebook takes just a second and posting to Instagram is also a great way to share. Indiegogo makes it easy using built-in sharing tools, so don't be shy! :)
Thank you for reading, sharing and contributing! And if you have any questions you can reach us directly at hello@alicealexander.co
Special thank you to Linda Mattice at Aztech Productions aztechproductions.com; Adam Barnard at adambarnardphotos.com; and Sarah Elizabeth FACE https://www.sarahelizabethface.com
