There’s a lot that we can all learn from this approach. Sophia listed the fabrics, the measurements (everything from shoulder-to-shoulder and armpit-to-armpit measurements) and even the damaged spots on every item she sold. Each vintage garment was described in painstaking detail so that the seller had as much information as possible prior to making their purchase. Her logic was that buyers would be scrolling through hundreds of listings online, so her clothes would have to catch the eye at any resolution if she were to reach the widest audience.ĭetailed Descriptions were another cornerstone of Nasty Gal’s success. Sophia recognised this, and picked her product photos based on how striking an image was when it was shrunk down to thumbnail size. Sophia arranged the locations, styling and makeup herself too, keeping costs to a bare minimum.Įvery product photo has one purpose and that is to sell clothes to an online buyer. This didn’t always cost anything in the early days of Nasty Gal, Sophia recruited volunteer models and photographers willing to give their time in exchange for portfolio shots. Every garment was worn by a model and professionally photographed in a stylish setting. One of the ways in which Nasty Gal differentiated itself from its competitors was in the way it presented clothes for sale.īeautiful Photographs were a key part of Nasty Gal’s sales strategy.

So if, like Sophia in 2006, you’re an online fashion retailer who’s still handling every job yourself, what can you do to grow your business as rapidly as she did? Obsess Over Product Presentation!

It’s an approach that paid off not only did the Nasty Gal business achieve astronomical sales growth in six short years, but Sophia’s rags-to-riches story was turned into a best-selling book and Netflix series. In an era when most garments for sale were hung loosely on mannequins and photographed in poorly-lit environments (if they had photos at all), Sophia was using models to show off the best finds and went to extreme lengths to deliver the highest standard of customer service. Sophia ran an Ebay store unlike any other. When she was just 22 years old, she set up a small Ebay shop called Nasty Gal Vintage, selling second-hand clothes that she had found at garage sales and second-hand shops. Sophia Amoruso is the founder of the Nasty Gal fashion brand.

Nasty gal vintage founder