Alamode Fashion Jewelry Guides
Learn how to start your own fashion brand
Easter is the time of new beginnings with nature showing its beauty again after the winter. Go ahead and celebrate with our collection of beautiful flower and butterfly jewelry! Nature and butterfly jewelry aside, our Easter collection also features crosses and more. Stock up on our Easter themed jewelry today! We’re sure that shoppers will love to buy them for themselves, family, and friends.
Even though our company Alamode Fashion Jewelry primary sells fashion jewelry (we also carry a vast selection of 925 sterling silver and semi-precious stones — BTW), it may come as a surprise when you hear our answer. Can fashion jewelry make the wearer look cheap? Yes, yes it can. BUT so can flawless diamonds, rubies, and 24k gold. It all depends on how you wear it!
“Cheap” when talking about jewelry can mean inexpensive and economical or it can also mean tacky and tasteless. Both versions of “cheap” can be possible when talking about costume or fashion jewelry so we will tackle each category one at a time.
Well made fashion and costume jewelry will be indistinguishable from jewelry made from genuine precious metals and stones. In fact, cubic zirconias (CZ), the most common diamond simulant, only differs from real diamonds because they often had TOO much fire and sparkle. The industry has since dialed in the fire as to be indistinguishable from diamonds to the naked eye. Generally speaking, the easiest way to quickly spot a cubic zirconia is if it is too large and flawless to be found outside of a safety deposit box. The problem, though, is that cheaply and inexpensively made jewelry is common, especially at high volume fast fashion retailers such as H&M and Zara. Take these earrings from H&M for example.
These earrings look cheap because they are. They were probably stamped out of sheet metal and use a gold colored alloy instead of plating it with 18k gold and probably cost around $0.20 to produce. This type of accessory has its place but know that for probably two or three dollars more, you can buy similar earrings at retail that was cast, instead of stamped, and gold plated instead of using a gold tinted alloy.
Even more obvious than cheap base metals are cheap stones. Again, take these rings from H&M for example.
Even when photographed well, it is apparent that these rings are faceted plastic and only even remotely reflective because of the mirrored foil backing. Alternatively, take a well-made fashion ring such as this:
This ring also costs under $5 each and is made with stainless steel and cubic zirconia which are also not defined as precious materials but there would be no way to conclusively distinguish this from a platinum and diamond ring just by using the naked eye.
The key takeaway is yes, costume and fashion jewelry can look cheap but it can also look indistinguishable from the real thing. There will be a price difference between the costume jewelry you can spot from across the store isle versus ones that require a jeweler’s loupe to determine its authenticity but the price difference is often only a few dollars, not ten or twenty.
Tacky is usually described as ostentatious and vulgar and usually designated for jewelry that is explicitly designed to be pretentious to attract attention. Take for example this ring with a giant center stone encircled by smaller stones around the whole circumference.
If you were to see someone wearing this on the street, you would most likely assume this is fake and probably in poor taste. In fact, this particular ring is made of real diamonds and likely costs over $200k just in the raw cost of the stones alone. Even if this was made using cubic zirconias, it would likely cost $20 or $30 just to produce and would likely look indistinguishable to the naked eye compared to the original. The takeaway here is that you can use all genuine precious materials and still look tacky!
It’s great to have a passion and a dream. The only problem is when everyone else has the same passion or dream! If Instagram hashtags are any indicator, jewelry and fashion design are very popular interests and aspirations. And why not? What can be more exciting than not just being able to make a living off of your passion but also thrive and be celebrated for your own designs? While competition is fierce, all is not lost.
Here at Alamode Fashion Jewelry, we have been behind the scenes for over 30 years supplying, designing and manufacturing fashion jewelry for customers ranging from the largest department stores to small mom and pop boutiques. While not nearly as many startups rocket to success as ones that quietly wither away, here are the three initial questions that all successful fashion jewelry startup brands have to answer before they can find their way.
Do you want people to follow you or do you want to be a follower? While this may seem like an obvious and loaded question, there is no right answer here. In fact, it could be argued that fashion brands that aggregate and can communicate the latest trends are more likely to be financially successful that brands are completely forging new ground. The reason for this difference is simple: a brand that condenses the latest and greatest has a preexisting, built-in audience, while the alternative will have to start from scratch. Of course, an aggregator rarely reaches the heights of notoriety of a unique fashion brand built from the ground up. The good news is you are not locked into one strategy. Many successful small brands have reached success after switching from one strategy to another. The risk is trying to do both and splitting your focus at being the best in your category.
2. Who is your customer?
Your answer to question #1 will help you determine this next question: who is your customer? The most common fallacy is that the bigger the market, the bigger the likelihood of success. In reality, the only thing you will find from a big market is immense competition. Instead, think small. Be the best (and ideally, only) choice that the potential customer will have when looking in your specific niche. Are you an animal lover? Be the brand with the cutest and most luxurious jewelry that matches your puppy’s collar and leash. Into CrossFit? Be the only jewelry that’s safe to wear during an intense training session. The key takeaway here is that the more focused the brand, the less competition and the better the likelihood of success.
3. What is your sales channel?
Another seemingly obvious question: where will you sell your merchandise? Well, it’s the internet of course!
Not so fast, are you going to start your own store? Are you going to build it yourself with Shopify or Squarespace or hire a developer? Are you going to list on an existing marketplace like Amazon or Walmart? There have been many brands that started small on eBay or Esty. Even Nasty Gal famously started as an eBay shop. The problem with these channels is the same as all of the other difficulties listed above: competition. The old mentality of “make a great product and put it out there” no longer works. There is simply too much noise on the internet and you as a small startup will be quickly buried.
Our advice is that while you have to be on the Internet no matter what, think of it as a means to reach your community rather than the other way around. Find your community first. For best results, start small and in the real world. Do people in your church love your tasteful accessories? Offer a coupon code to your congregation. Does your friend run the local farmer’s market? See if you can get a small table to sell your merchandise while promoting your site and brand.
Maybe your community is online. That’s even better! If you’re influential in an online forum or run a popular Instagram account then you’re set. But just remember, your online store should serve your community, not the other way around.
And that’s it! You have a long and fulfilling journey ahead of you. These are just the first few questions that you will have to answer on your path to success and Alamode Fashion Jewelry is always available to supply you beautiful products from our over 10,000 item catalog. We can also model, cast and prototype your existing designs or even just a sketch or image with our DNA Custom Design service. Drop us a line any time at service@alamodeonline.com. We would love to hear from you!