What's in a Name? Naming your brand / line / store.

The_Jones

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Boutique Names!

Hey everyone,

Newbie here! Well I was just wondering if anybody had any ideas of cool boutique names. What makes a good boutique name and what are some no-no's? I am soon going to be opening a boutique soon and im brainstorming, im sort of having a brain fart:lol:


thanks in advance:flower:
 
This is a really good question, I hope some of the professionals here answer. I really like one word names, words that are provacative and kinda edgy like Tryst.

Lol, in my town (which has very few boutiques) there's a Bella, a Bellisima and a Jezzebelle's. When I open my boutique I'll try to stay away frome anything w/ "belle" in it.
 
I know belle is a very popular name. I was experimenting with some names with Belle in them, but now not so much:lol: I hope this gets some great replys too!
 
kimberwyn said:
This is a really good question, I hope some of the professionals here answer. I really like one word names, words that are provacative and kinda edgy like Tryst.

.

Theres a bar near where i live called Tryst lol :D
 
Boutique names are like fashion line names... most people who've come up with have good ones, aren't too keen to give them away.

Some general tips though:

Boutique names are more like night club names than hair salon names.

Random one word names seem to be hot now.

Look for names that convey the mood or theme of the boutique. For example: Stylepost may work for western wear, but not for evening wear, where a name like Glitter may be better.

Note that both of those names were intentionally horrible, but you get the idea. :-)
 
True, people might be a lil iffy about sharing their ideas, i was asking people who dont have intentions on using their ideas. And yes the nightclub thing is hot right now!
 
The_Jones said:
True, people might be a lil iffy about sharing their ideas, i was asking people who dont have intentions on using their ideas. And yes the nightclub thing is hot right now!

I have no intention of using my ideas so here they are. (This is my first post, so bear with me).

They reflect my general philosophy that it is not a good thing to go chasing after trends as by the time they are "caught" the proverbially river has moved on. Also, I agree with the belle-ban. I am living in SLC now as I save money for grad school and the “fashion-forward” boutique (think Robertson Ave three years ago, or Jessica Simpson before Zoë) here is Lola-Bella. Enough said.

I always have liked POPCORN (I don’t know what you are selling, but this is a good animation, 80’s through back, borderline Lolita reference. Bright, colors. Clean lines. Gen-Y. You could not sell boho in this store, or hopefully any store :smile: Also fast consonants sell, they are manic, but fun.

BAGUNCA (great name for a bar as well. Soft “c”. This means “crazy, mess, but in a good way” in Portuguese).

What kind of boutique were you planning?
 
beijafleure said:
BAGUNCA (great name for a bar as well. Soft “c”. This means “crazy, mess, but in a good way” in Portuguese).

Good one. Spell it with the required cedilla ç and then it takes on the "obviously elite foreign flair".

Bagunça.

Or you could name it:

Opa! <-- The universial brasilian interjection.
 
beijafleure said:
I have no intention of using my ideas so here they are. (This is my first post, so bear with me).

They reflect my general philosophy that it is not a good thing to go chasing after trends as by the time they are "caught" the proverbially river has moved on. Also, I agree with the belle-ban. I am living in SLC now as I save money for grad school and the “fashion-forward” boutique (think Robertson Ave three years ago, or Jessica Simpson before Zoë) here is Lola-Bella. Enough said.

I always have liked POPCORN (I don’t know what you are selling, but this is a good animation, 80’s through back, borderline Lolita reference. Bright, colors. Clean lines. Gen-Y. You could not sell boho in this store, or hopefully any store :smile: Also fast consonants sell, they are manic, but fun.

BAGUNCA (great name for a bar as well. Soft “c”. This means “crazy, mess, but in a good way” in Portuguese).

What kind of boutique were you planning?


oooo Good ones!

I am opening a womens clothing boutique...its gonna be young, fresh, and hip. Im hoping to carry top designers or up and coming designers of the same quality. Something you might see on Melrose or Robertson.

What do you guys think of Amare?
I heard it means fashion in some language
 
On futher review, Bagunça is NOT a good boutique name.

I asked my Brasileira friend... and this is the response:

Question:
So.. bagunça would never be a good thing... like referring to clothing?

Answer:
não nunca! (No Never)
bagunça numa roupa (bagnuça in clothing)
means it's bad sewed or cut or tailored
 
JohnPaulMiller said:
On futher review, Bagunça is NOT a good boutique name.

I asked my Brasileira friend... and this is the response:

Question:
So.. bagunça would never be a good thing... like referring to clothing?

Answer:
não nunca! (No Never)
bagunça numa roupa (bagnuça in clothing)
means it's bad sewed or cut or tailored

Yeah, so scratch that! Sorry. Once again reminded that my little knowledge of Portuguese can be very dangerous.

It could be kind of funny, like a boutique named Caveat Emptor. However, irony is so over :smile:, and I wouldn't base a business on people not getting it. Maybe still could be a bar.
 
Ok. My way of thinking is it has to be hot. Noone wants to go to somewhere with a sh*tty name, unless it is sooo f***ing hot that the name doesnt matter, which is rare. Im using clubs...I.E. Play, Nobu (not a club), Bungalow 8, it has to sound cool. You want people to want to say it, on that note, I have no ideas.

What about...Post? Haute?
 
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Does the name help with the success of it? I mean, some lines have stupid names and are doing well...some just have the name of the designer..

what do you guys think?
 
Definitely important
as much as the design of the logo ...

Maybe not exactly the cause of success
but rather in identifying the market, the style of the brand

ie -Chloe and Marni have more of a youthful, playful air
as compared to let's say Dries van Noten or Proenza Schouler
 
ah...well, im thinking of a name and im so confused with all the options...should i use my name? a nickname? initials? wording? ..the line im working on (going to work on) is light,fun and airy...breezyy......
 
We can suggest names but since we are not experts, we might do more harm than good, actually.

I think that to be really effective, you need to study marketing or find someone who is a marketing expert to determine how any particular name might affect your image and sales. Big companies do market studies to find out things like this ... it's probably one of the most important things in marketing any brand.

It will depend on your market ... who you are marketing to, who your competition is, what will draw the customers that you want.

Then there is the issue of trademark violations ... you can't use a name that is the same as someone else in your "area" ... but I have no idea how that works. Then there is the issue of using a DBA (doing buisness as) which might be a consideration in the county you live in .... generally you can use your full name on a business (like Mary Smith Designs) but anything else (like Sweet Dreams Designs) might need to be cleared with your county to make sure that no one else is using the name and you might need to publish a public notice that it is you who owns the business, if it's not your own name.

So, you can see that it's very important ... and needs to be done right. You don't want to start a business with a name that doesn't work for you or that you must change later because of legal considerations.

Do you have any friends that study or work in either marketing/branding/market research or have taken entreprenurial studies in school? The might know a bit of the basic guidlines for selecting a brand name and logo that would be effective. Maybe they might be able to direct you to what the legal requirements are ... or at least direct you the the appropriate agencies to find out.
 
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I recommend you go to www.sba.gov Here you will find tons of resources (including tutorials) in regards to starting and operating a small business, from marketing/branding information to accounting to setup, and the list goes on.

Then check out www.score.org Here you can actually send emails to counselors who have worked in various industries. They volunteer for SCORE and will respond to your email pretty promptly (I have used them many times.) You can search for professionals that are in certain industries (marketing, etc.) and send a question and they will respond to you. Depending on what area you live in, you may have a local SBA office/SCORE office near you. They are VERY helpful and even offer inexpensive business courses.

In the meantime, there are many articles online and books in the bookstore that talk about how to design a logo. Many of them emphasize the importance of knowing who your target market is, what the mission of your company is, and how the design of certain images will reflect your company's mission and help communicate your brand to your audience.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out! :D
 
I agree completely with what has been said. You've been given good advice already IMO. Since I am in school studying to be a designer (not for apparel, the kind of designer clients hire to solve problems and create identities for them and make visual messages, etc.), I thought I would share some of the ways we are taught to come up with things such as brand names or marks, or ideas for a project, etc. Usually you start with a brief from the client, but since you are your own client, you have to do it yourself. So write yourself a brief. That is like the story of your company. Who is it for, what is the essence or tag-line, who would be the face of your brand, what is your brand's personality, what section of the market do you hope to attract, include any other research in the brief (other research might be about your inspirations, target consumer, fabrics featured, anything). One suggestion I found was to write a story as if you are giving an interview to the Wall Street Journal (or in this case maybe Vogue, W?) one or two years from now. this might help you visualize and articulate what you want your brand to be.

So then once you know what mood and personality you want to portray, just brainstorm madly and quickly and divergently (like try to think out of the box). Don't judge any idea even if it seems completely lame or already done or horrible or impossible or crazy. Just write it down on a post-it note and go through like a whole pad of post-its in as little time as possible. Like at least a hundred. Then pick maybe three ideas that stand out and communicate the brief or story you wrote the best. Develop those by trying different variations, combinations, etc. You can even go through another pad of post-its using those best 3 ideas as a point to diverge from. It's probably similar to how you come up with ideas for garments, but I wouldn't know.

I think in a nutshell, the key to coming up with good ideas is to diverge a LOT. ANd then converge to find the best ideas and develop those.

This works for finding a name, a logo, elements for a mood board for your next line, solution to problems that may arise in your business, anything really. I think the key is that a good brand will have a cohesive name, typeface, logo, and product. They will all reflect a common attitude, so what is the attitude you want to reflect?

Sites that have good tools for idea generation:
http://www.mindtools.com/brainstm.html
http://www.mycoted.com/Main_Page

I know you were only asking about the name, but in order to decide on a name, you need to have a strong identity for your brand. Even if you don't physical have everything made, you ned a strong visualization of what your brand means in your head at least. So you know what you are trying to communicate. Also, branding is sooo important since today's market is so competitive and volatile. Without a strong clear identity, the consumer will forget you or be confused and you'll be lost in the shuffle.

eta: I hope I didn't come off as trying to be a know-it-all. I am still a student and no expert but just wanted to share things I find helpful that I'm learning in school.:flower: :wink:
 
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