Favorite suppliers

[mishoga]

Hey Lilah,
I've purchased from Dharma, American Apparel and retail. I'm really not crazy about the quality of AA or Dharma products.

Dharma has no products that they produce. They get their blanks for scores of different purveyors. You really can't make generalizations about any blanks or fabric they carry--other than being pricey.

Steve, I know that Dharma doesn't manufacture their clothes products. I meant to say that I have ordered several garments from them and I was disappointed with every order. Not so much in cut but in quality. Although I will add that I buy all my dying products from them and they have excellent customer service.

I even tried ordering a Ladies V-neck plus size cotton tee from Dharma (special request for the V-neck) and I wouldn't dream of spending hours of work and then charging someone for it. And they are pricey but those are retail prices. At wholesale, quality material is pricey. Personally I go for quality, not quantity.

I sell to yogis. They want clothes that will hold up to mucho washings and still look and feel good.
I understand we all spend a lot of time creating these beautiful garments and we should be compensated for our time and craft, but there is nothing more disappointing then purchasing something online that looks beautiful, paying top dollar, and receiving it and the quality of the material is poor.

Another mid range clothing line that's not too pricey is Soffe. They have decent yoga pants, boy beater tanks, hoodies, etc....

BTW, thank you for the link for the organic wear.
Namaste 

[steve]

I made it a practice of figuring out from whom Dharma ordered and tried to cut out the middle man. Sometimes you can and sometimes you would need to order by the gross.

Dharma's customer service was never very hot when I expressed extreme disappointment about a few items I ordered. They were very unresponsive.

BTW--you might try Prochem since you live on the East coast. Save on time and shipping! Now prochem has GREAT customer support and their people know what they are talking about. Unsurpassed with technical knowledge.

[lilah]

Mish,

I'd agree with Steve that Prochem has good customer support (admittedly I have not dealt with Dharma's support), and personally I prefer their dyes. On thing I have noticed, however - even though Prochem is on our side of the country, shipping is not any cheaper. At least not for me down here in SC. Obviously, though, it would be faster, especially for you, since they are is Mass and you're in NY. So if you needed something quickly they would be the way to go.

I'm curious about Soffe - not familiar with them at all. How do they measure up to American Apparel? Their yoga pants have the same cotton/spandex content as the AA pants. I would think that the Bella pants would be much higher quality. The yoga studio where I teach has just started selling some of my shirts and have asked about pants but I want to find a good supplier. The TQM stuff is gorgeous, of course, but less easy to obtain. Thoughts about pants in particular?

Shanti,
Lilah

[mishoga]

Lilah,
I orderd several different (1 piece) styles from AA including their yoga pants. I was very disappointed in the quality. Very thin. As a matter of fact I worked so hard on one pair and because the quality of the pants was very thin, they split by the edge bottom seam during the last process. They were complete but  I couldn't sell them.
I won't buy them. I'm unloading any and all AA I have left which isn't much.

Soffe is good but they have their label on the fold over part that shows in back. Not to keen on that. But the quality is good.
I haven't tried Bella yet but would like to. Maybe on my next order. Have to see how my new designs sell. Hubby won't let me keep charging....Hehehe....he knows me too well. He keeps me in check.

I have Prochem's catalog. I thought they were a little more expensive then Dharma on the dyes. I'll have to pull it out and look again. Maybe ProChem has the color "Mustard" that I've been searching for.

Thanks guys.

Isn't this site great Lilah? I learn so much here and love to share as well.
Oh yeah, I also just listed that Brown Mandala set on Etsy. You can check out the end result.

Metta
Mish

[ecilA]

I just wanted to say that I've dyed hundreds (and hundreds) of the american apparel hoodies and only once had a problem with a piece.  It wasn't a huge problem because they stood behind their product (even though I'd washed it and their return policy stipulates that washed goods are not returnable) and were very nice about replacing it for me (it was actually a credit which worked for me because i was ordering more of their goods anyway and had time to replace that item) with only a picture of the damage.  The hoodies are not the only product of theirs that I have dyed and no others have had a problem so I just attributed it to the rare and random human error type of problem.  I also do like supporting them because my understanding is that they are very good to their workers.  Just my 2 cents on AA.  I used them at the customers request and the customer has continued to request their goods.

I found that DT was a little less accomodating about product issues, they would refund with a return but I was a tad unhappy at having wasted my dye and time on goods that fell apart in the processing.

I also wanted to add that I think the thin cotton is popular and that may be why some of these companies use such thin cloth.  My screen printer tells me that there is a line that's basically so thin you can see through it and very very hot these days (as in hip and in demand) so while I personally prefer a more substantial fabric, there is a market that type of thing and it may just be wrong for some of us but intentional.

Article I makes a super thin tee that is very soft and accomodating to intricate folds.  I was shocked when I first used them.  Even though the fabric is thin, the goods seemed to be well made and again, the customer who requested these goods was very happy with them.

So...there's no accounting for taste?

One last thing, I did want to mention that while many of us like to go with goods sewn with cotton thread, I feel that cotton thread will shorten the liftime of the goods.  After going through the process these threads are weakened and so it's a choice we make, dyeable thread over lastability of the clothing.

[lilah]

Alice, you make some excellent points. The "tissue weight" tees and other items are indeed very popular right now. I'm happy to use the thinner fabrics for some items, in fact I think the "sheer" cottons drape beautifully for tanks, etc, but for something like yoga pants I like a heavier weight. They have to stand up to a lot of bending and stretching and the spandex content makes a big difference. Personally, I avoid buying any pants with less than 8% spandex. With that said, I have ordered AA shirts before, and I own several from concerts, etc, and they have held up great. It all depends on what one is looking for!

Mish, thanks for the details on your experiences with other brands. Also, the brown set turned out gorgeous. You must have infinite patience!

Lilah 

[Kevin]

I found http://buyeshirts.com/

Cheapest source I have found.

 

[deb]

I just now got some tees off my porch (after UPS delivery) from Highland Apparel Company. So far everything checks out - got what I ordered!

http://www.highlandapparelcatalog1.com/servlet/StoreFront