Sample evaluation
The sample pack is a working document, not a gift box.
It is a paid set: a printed evaluation worksheet, a bound card of swatches in the cloths you shortlisted, and one finished sample garment cut in the silhouette you are considering. The cost of the pack is credited against your first wholesale order. It exists so that a buyer can handle cloth, check a seam and read a fit before committing a season to it.
Wholesale sourcing notes for independent boutiques, cultural performance buyers and retailers — written for people who read a garment before they order it.
What arrives, exactly
A single parcel, packed flat, with the worksheet on top. Nothing else is included, and nothing is implied that is not on this list — a sample pack is a small, deliberate shipment, not a catalog drop.
- Swatch cards
- A bound set of cloth squares in the fabrics you shortlisted, each labelled with its weave name, approximate weight and the dynasty silhouettes it is usually cut in. Enough cloth to fold, drape over a wrist and hold against daylight.
- One finished sample garment
- A single garment cut in the style you are considering, in the fabric you selected for the sample. It is a finished piece, not a toile — seams, closures and hem are as they would arrive in production, so that fit and finish can be judged together.
- A printed evaluation worksheet
- A paper sheet with fields for fabric behaviour, fit notes, care observations and reorder thinking. It is designed to be written on, folded into the parcel and kept with your buying notes for the season.
The pack does not include a full size run, a color card beyond the shortlisted cloths, or a price list. Those follow once a style has been evaluated and an order sheet is being prepared.
Evaluation order
Four stages, in this order
The sequence below mirrors how the studio reviews a new garment before it enters the catalog. Following it in order keeps observations comparable between samples, so that two packs opened a month apart can still be read against each other.
-
01
Unwrap and let the cloth rest
Open the parcel and lay the garment flat for a few hours before judging it. Cloth that has been folded in transit holds creases that read as stiffness; letting it rest removes that false signal.
-
02
Handle the swatch first
Before the garment, work the swatch cards: fold each square, rub it between thumb and forefinger, hold it to a window. Note how the weave behaves at the fold and how the surface catches light.
-
03
Wear the garment, briefly
Put the sample on over the clothes you would wear with it. Move — sit, reach, turn. Fit notes taken while standing still miss the shoulder and hem behaviour that customers notice in a fitting room.
-
04
Record while it is fresh
Write the worksheet entries the same day. Impressions fade into generalities within a week; the worksheet is only useful if it captures the specific fold, the specific seam, the specific drape.
What to record, and what to leave out
A worksheet that records everything records nothing. The signals below are the ones that tend to predict how a garment performs on a retail floor; the second column is the noise that crowds them out.
| Record this | Leave this out |
|---|---|
| How the cloth behaves at the fold | Whether the color matches a photograph on a screen |
| Where the shoulder seam sits when you reach | Whether the garment suits your own personal style |
| How the hem falls when you walk | Whether the sample arrived on the day you expected |
| What the care label actually says | Whether the parcel packaging felt premium |
| Which size range the silhouette flatters | Whether the style is currently trending online |
| How the closure fastens under wear | Whether the sample matches a competitor's sample |
The left column is the material that travels into an order sheet. The right column is real, but it belongs in a conversation, not in a buying record — it changes with the season and does not help the next buyer who opens the same pack.
On cost
The sample pack is paid, and its cost is credited against your first wholesale order. It is not free, and it is not a subscription — it is a single, refundable-against-order evaluation set.
The credit is applied when the first order sheet is confirmed, at the same value as the pack you received. If the sample leads to no order, the pack remains a paid evaluation — the cloth, the garment and the worksheet are yours to keep and to use.
A preview of the printed worksheet
The worksheet is a single sheet, printed on both sides, with four field groups. Below is what each group asks, so that measurements and questions can be prepared before the pack arrives.
Fabric behaviour
- Weave name and approximate weight as labelled
- How the cloth folds and whether it holds a crease
- Surface: matte, lustrous, or somewhere between
- How it reads in daylight against artificial light
Fit notes
- Shoulder seam position when reaching forward
- Sleeve length against the wrist bone
- Hem fall when walking and when standing
- Closure behaviour after a few minutes of wear
Care observations
- What the care label states, verbatim
- Whether the cloth marks easily under handling
- How the surface responds to a light press
- Any seam or finish that would need attention
Reorder thinking
- Which size range the silhouette flatters
- Which season the cloth suits in your market
- What the opening quantity would need to be
- What would make you reorder, or not
The worksheet is printed and shipped with the pack. It is not available as a download — the fields are designed to be written on by hand, folded into the parcel and kept with your buying notes.