We're having some trouble picking a name for our vintage clothing business; lend a hand!
December 9, 2012 1:59 PM Subscribe
Help us name our vintage clothing business!
A couple friends and I are starting up a vintage boutique (etsy for now) that will carry both men's and women's clothing. Though we're not confined to a specific era, the majority of our merchandise is from the 1940-late 1960s. We need your help deciding on a name. We don't mind being a little campy or witty, but we're trying to avoid being too cutesy. We're also trying to avoid alienating certain customers by being too gender/era/subculture specific.
Which of these names do you like the best? If none of them strike your fancy, feel free to make suggestions!
1. Milk Money Vintage
2. Rockabetty Vintage
3. Penny Candy Vintage
4. Beehive Vintage
5. Do-Re-Mi Vintage
6. Nose Dive Vintage
A couple friends and I are starting up a vintage boutique (etsy for now) that will carry both men's and women's clothing. Though we're not confined to a specific era, the majority of our merchandise is from the 1940-late 1960s. We need your help deciding on a name. We don't mind being a little campy or witty, but we're trying to avoid being too cutesy. We're also trying to avoid alienating certain customers by being too gender/era/subculture specific.
Which of these names do you like the best? If none of them strike your fancy, feel free to make suggestions!
1. Milk Money Vintage
2. Rockabetty Vintage
3. Penny Candy Vintage
4. Beehive Vintage
5. Do-Re-Mi Vintage
6. Nose Dive Vintage
A couple of thoughts.
1) Company name should indicate what the company sells. So xyx vintage clothing is better than xyz vintage
2) Avoid company names where spelling can be a question. Rockabetty is easily misspelled, the do re mi with hyphens might not be as easy to locate via search as you might hope
3) DEFINITELY NOT Nose Dive. One interpretation would be the clothes smell poorly.
I am not coming up with anything in particular. What I would do is go to local search directories in places that are demographically similar to where you live (but not NEAR where you live) and look at the names that are there. Grab one you like! No need to reinvent the wheel. For some reason "Best of Times Vintage Clothing" is coming to mind, but that might be too long.
Good luck!
posted by jcworth at 2:21 PM on December 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
1) Company name should indicate what the company sells. So xyx vintage clothing is better than xyz vintage
2) Avoid company names where spelling can be a question. Rockabetty is easily misspelled, the do re mi with hyphens might not be as easy to locate via search as you might hope
3) DEFINITELY NOT Nose Dive. One interpretation would be the clothes smell poorly.
I am not coming up with anything in particular. What I would do is go to local search directories in places that are demographically similar to where you live (but not NEAR where you live) and look at the names that are there. Grab one you like! No need to reinvent the wheel. For some reason "Best of Times Vintage Clothing" is coming to mind, but that might be too long.
Good luck!
posted by jcworth at 2:21 PM on December 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
Beehive is great. Rockabetty sounds like it's rockabilly styles only, and the others just aren't as evocative.
posted by scody at 2:37 PM on December 9, 2012
posted by scody at 2:37 PM on December 9, 2012
The Bee's Knees Vintage Clothing Co.
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:47 PM on December 9, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:47 PM on December 9, 2012 [5 favorites]
Vintage Vestments
posted by TristanPK at 3:00 PM on December 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by TristanPK at 3:00 PM on December 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
I like Milk Money and Beehive. Beehive bonus: You'll come up earlier in alphabetical listings of vintage clothing businesses.
Plus you get to say things like Beehive bonus.
posted by topoisomerase at 3:00 PM on December 9, 2012
Plus you get to say things like Beehive bonus.
posted by topoisomerase at 3:00 PM on December 9, 2012
Numbers 1, 3 and 5 sound like you would sell children's items. Nose Dive has negative connotations. Rockabetty sounds like the love child of Jerry Lee Lewis and June Carter.
Which leaves Beehive.
posted by cat_link at 3:23 PM on December 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
Which leaves Beehive.
posted by cat_link at 3:23 PM on December 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
I love Beehive Vintage but you're going to have a lot of competition as many, MANY Beehive Vintages already exist in the world and on social networking sites.
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 4:03 PM on December 9, 2012
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 4:03 PM on December 9, 2012
Boulangerie de la Mode
Yes, it's French, but easyish to spell and easy to remember.
Inspired by your user name.
posted by amtho at 4:48 PM on December 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yes, it's French, but easyish to spell and easy to remember.
Inspired by your user name.
posted by amtho at 4:48 PM on December 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
How about Mad Money Vintage Clothing?
posted by thebrokedown at 4:57 PM on December 9, 2012
posted by thebrokedown at 4:57 PM on December 9, 2012
Encore Vintage Clothing
Second Time Around Vintage Clothing
Wear it again Sam Vintage clothing
posted by JujuB at 5:03 PM on December 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
Second Time Around Vintage Clothing
Wear it again Sam Vintage clothing
posted by JujuB at 5:03 PM on December 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
I really, really like Rockabetty Vintage, but it suggests a women's only store. I can't see men stopping for a look with that name.
Beehive Vintage is probably overall the best fit.
posted by tenaciousmoon at 5:22 PM on December 9, 2012
Beehive Vintage is probably overall the best fit.
posted by tenaciousmoon at 5:22 PM on December 9, 2012
Just as a side note, I loathe stores that are "blank vintage". There's so, so many of them out there. Not to mention that it's not a normal naming convention for stores outside of the etsy sphere, which makes them sound amateurish. I prefer stores that are "Blank: vintage clothing". Where, in conversation or ads or whatever, it's referred to just as "Blank".
I really like Beehive.
posted by FirstMateKate at 5:38 PM on December 9, 2012
I really like Beehive.
posted by FirstMateKate at 5:38 PM on December 9, 2012
You might want to consider going beyond what jcworth said about the name indicating what the business does and instead have a name that indicates how it feels to do business with you, i.e., describes or evokes the experience of doing business with you. For example, if your name were something like "We Love Vintage Clothing", people who love vintage clothing would immediately presume that doing business with you is going to be fun, interesting, and satisfying because you are the same kind of folks as them. I don't think a name like Beehive describes either what the business does or evokes what the experience is like doing business with you (being your customer).
posted by Dansaman at 9:28 PM on December 9, 2012
posted by Dansaman at 9:28 PM on December 9, 2012
Timeless Threads
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:31 AM on December 10, 2012
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:31 AM on December 10, 2012
I'd vote against using a French name (you want people to be able to spell and pronounce the name of your store without difficulty) and avoid using a name like Second Time Around, which is already in use by a chain of consignment stores.
Also please, please don't use a name with special characters (like accented characters). You want people to be able to type the name of your store into a search engine without trying to remember the key combination for an umlaut or whatever.
posted by topoisomerase at 11:52 AM on December 10, 2012
Also please, please don't use a name with special characters (like accented characters). You want people to be able to type the name of your store into a search engine without trying to remember the key combination for an umlaut or whatever.
posted by topoisomerase at 11:52 AM on December 10, 2012
As I was reading through the answers, I was leaning towards Beehive too, then someone on the tv in the background said "beehive hairdo." How often do you hear that in conversation? It must be a sign!
posted by platinum at 1:36 AM on December 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by platinum at 1:36 AM on December 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Bad news: Beehive is all over etsy, and even though it is by far the favorite, we've decided against it since it isn't distinctive enough. Sadface.
What do y'all think of Et Tu, Vintage? (If anyone is still reading this post, that is.)
posted by faeuboulanger at 8:16 AM on December 11, 2012
What do y'all think of Et Tu, Vintage? (If anyone is still reading this post, that is.)
posted by faeuboulanger at 8:16 AM on December 11, 2012
If it came with a logo of a retro-styled woman wearing a toga and holding a dagger, I'd laugh hysterically. But otherwise I guess I wouldn't quite get the connection between Julius Caesar's dying words and vintage clothes.
posted by scody at 1:02 PM on December 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by scody at 1:02 PM on December 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
Rag Top Threads
Blast! Vintage Gear
Rave On Vintage Wear
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:21 PM on December 11, 2012
Blast! Vintage Gear
Rave On Vintage Wear
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:21 PM on December 11, 2012
« Older Polyester-friendly way to remove/dissolve Oasis... | Help me and my husband and I get our finances... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by scratch at 2:08 PM on December 9, 2012 [1 favorite]