In Pursuit of Perfection
Does the endless pursuit of perfection drive you, consume you, or make you question every decision? The urge is understandable. Afterall, it’s your vision, your brand and you are the one that must answer to customers that may find something lacking.
I think the search for perfection goes hand in hand with creativity. We are all looking to express and represent that flawless image that exists in our heads. Just the act of birthing that idea into something tangible can lead one down a road of obsessive perfectionism as you try over and over again because something is just not right. And how can you possibly stop when social media drills into our heads that everything must look 1000% aesthetically beautiful and always be “on brand” to achieve the social recognition that you want, and frankly need to succeed in the fashion industry.
You know what though? I want to remind you that it’s ok to stop, hit pause or pivot. Perfectionism can cost you a lot- sanity, production delays, employee retention, collaborations, etc.. If you are stuck too long it makes it hard to move forward.
Who cares about that tiny ⅛”, or a seam that is just a little puckered, or a tiny fold at the armhole? I don’t. Chances are your customers don’t. Your employees or co-collaborators probably think you are overdoing it, and they are probably right.
Now let’s be clear. I’m not advocating sloppiness, uncaring, or a laissez faire attitude towards your product. Definitely not. You should always strive for excellence. This is instead a reminder of how far the search for excellence should go and to give yourself a little grace.
Remember this: No one is looking as close as you are
You are deep up in your project. It could be the microscopic analysis of the sewing quality of a garment, the pursuit of the perfect shade of pink in a print you have designed, or micromanaging others on how your garment should be folded for shipment. All details speak to your dedication and your brand identity.
But let me just reassure you that no one will be scrutinizing your product more than you do. Your eye is trained to see all the flaws and compare yourself to others. People who are truly your customers will not judge on minor details, because they are just that- details. A customer in a store wouldn’t choose to not buy your garment because the topstitching on the back is a little wobbly (they don’t even know what topstitching is necessarily). They also wouldn’t care if the shade of pink is not exactly your vision, because they aren’t comparing it to anything. They just know that they like it. And the way your garment is folded will not impact whether or not your customer chooses to return the product or not.
Remember this: The critics are always out there
No matter how hard you try to present your absolute best foot forward, there will always be critics. Just like there will always be mistakes that happen and of course it will be found out by someone who isn’t even a customer, that just wants to light you up online or prove how smart they are in disguise of a PSA.
I operate a home sewing pattern brand that I’ve had for over a decade now. I can assure you that I have made so many mistakes along the way and I’ve accepted that even more will happen despite my best efforts. People love to email me about typos or something that is obviously wrong that just didn’t get spotted. But I hear about it, despite the fact that the whistle blower could absolutely figure out the way forward on their own. I’m to the point where I appreciate constructive criticism or a heads up about an issue, but I will fix it and move on and not completely stress about what else I overlooked and if they will tell the world on their social media feed.
Then there will always be people with unreasonable expectations. If someone truly loves your product, they won’t give you a hard time about it. Energy spent trying to quell the flames of people who won’t buy from you just isn't worth it. (I just want to know who these people are that have the time to complain or bash someone online).
Remember this: The fit will never be perfect
This could apply to just about any element in your design, but since this is my wheelhouse I want to address it because I’ve lived it so many, many, many times over. A former boss that I worked with, who I’ve probably mentioned before and her habits, would micromanage the fit of everything when business was bad. Fittings were not exempt from this. She would have to personally adjust the patterns for that ⅛” that was not right because that would make or break if the customer would buy it.
The same situation proves true for a lot of startup designers who feel that their patterns are just not 100% perfect. The fit should be flawless so they make 10 samples until they feel that they can get it right. Just don’t do this to yourself!
Here’s another example for you: I once worked with a startup designer who wanted me to make her a single pattern. She submitted a tech pack and I followed it exactly. After the first fit, the same tech pack came back with revised specs. Ok, not a problem. But when we got into third and fourth fits for ¼” changes on essentially a knit tshirt, I had to put my foot down and say “good enough” because the pattern measured perfectly to spec and she was spending so much time making samples and updating this tech pack, that there was no forward movement.
As a fit obsessed pattern maker, I understand where designers are coming from, but I’m also at a point in my career where I recognize that you will never fit any single person perfectly. Bodies are different. There will always be something that you would want to adjust when you see your garment on an actual customer. But the thing is, they love it regardless of what I see are glaring imperfections. This is where you as a designer also need to find a good place to say “enough”. Additionally, stressing over ¼” increments will get you nowhere. ¼” is nothing in the grand scheme of tolerances.
Perfectionism costs you time
If your indecisions or putzing around with tiny elements that are “just not there yet” are keeping you from launching your product or brand, then it’s time to reevaluate your workflow. The thing is, you aren’t going to be making any money off of your investments of time and money until your product is for sale. Chances are, by the time you get to a point where you are satisfied, the style is no longer seasonably relevant or just not what your customer is looking for anymore.
It’s important to remember that the people that you are working with to bring your project to life have their own workflows in place. Perhaps your fabric supplier no longer has your fabric in stock that you’ve been sampling from because it was bought up and they are not waiting for a new shipment. Or the factory that you thought was going to be a good fit is no longer an option because they don’t have the production capacity for your project because you got stuck in the sampling phase for too long. Fashion moves fast, and you just need to ride the wave.
People may not want to work with you
As a service provider, I can assure you that there is nothing more agonizing than a client that can’t get any forward momentum. The thing is, we (pattern makers, graders, factories, technical designers, etc) make money when you make money because you give us repeat work. Yes, it’s completely understandable that you need time to sit with the output and make decisions, or you are not producing all of the time, or delays are happening. However, when we are in conversation for 6 months prior to actually starting your project, or you have been sent swatches 2 years ago, chances are that you have been forgotten about.
Personally, I can say that I’ve made patterns for people that want to give me feedback a year later and I’m like, “ok…where were we….” I have no recollection.
But it’s not just service providers that may not want to work with you, it can also be the people you hire. When people take on a job it’s because they want to be useful and accomplish something. Yes, a paycheck is a definite part of the motivation, but days drag on extra long when work is not supplied because decisions were not made. Maybe you hired someone because you thought they were super talented and perfectly qualified. Well, it does them no professional good to wait for orders all the time. Give them space to let them do their part of the group effort.
Price volatility
As I write this in the spring of 2025, I can say with certainty that prices for everything are all over the place. Who knows what they will be six months from now. That perfect fabric could be the same price or it could be 10x more. Who even knows? Maybe China can make your garments, but then again, maybe not so your production costs could increase significantly.
One thing is for certain, the longer that you wait to pull the trigger on buying materials and services, the greater the chances are that you won't be locked in at the initial rates that you were quoted.
I have complete sympathy for anyone buying fabric and securing production under these extreme circumstances. It’s hard to even know how to price your goods with so much fluctuation. I think the faster you can make decisions and move, the better off you will be.
Just get it out there already!
I think we’ve all heard the saying before that done is better than perfect. It’s not to say that something should be done in a sloppy way, but you could realistically spend forever working towards absolute perfection. This was me in fashion school. I wanted it to be perfect so I would spend all day and my evenings getting my final garments ready to show. I was satisfied at the time, but looking back now, I laugh at how amateur my attempts were and what was I even thinking!?! I’m willing to bet that even a few years from now you will be looking back and saying the exact same thing to yourself about what you are agonizing over today.
It’s time to put perfection aside and get it done, get your feedback, and then move on to even more exciting ideas!