10 Niche Clothing Brands With Fewer (& Better) Products
by Jharna Pariani
These niche clothing brands are proving that doing one thing — and doing it well — can actually help you tread a sustainable path.
In today’s ever-growing and increasingly saturated fashion market, consumers are often faced with a common conundrum known as the “paradox of choice”. A concept suggesting that an abundance of options requires more effort to choose from and can (counterintuitively) leave us feeling dissatisfied with our ultimate choice.
Perusing through numerous styles while shopping online can often send you tumbling down a digital rabbit hole, leaving you with multiple tabs open full of clothing styles that end up making you forget what you logged on to find in the first place. Or worse, this frustrating conundrum could leave you with a bunch of impulsive purchases you didn’t even want to begin with.
The choice paradox almost seems like a tact fashion brands cash in on to keep consumers coming back for more.
On the flip side of all this exist slower, niche fashion brands that aren’t interested in offering a plenitude of options, but are instead honing in on a sole product or category of clothing to offer better quality and inimitable style.
What makes niche brands more sustainable?
As opposed to brands offering a broad assortment of styles in every possible category (we'll call them “generalists”), niche brands zero in on a product category that’s bound to be a mainstay or necessity in most wardrobes (we'll call these brands “specialists").
Think denim jeans, jackets, technical outerwear, and even underwear. In doing so, these brands reinforce the sustainable sentiment of buying only what you need as opposed to toying with the consumer mind to bank on frivolous purchases.
From a business standpoint, selling just a single product category could restrict a niche brand from growing or limit them from expanding or cross-selling complementary items to their existing customers, but these brands are proving that reinventing and improving on the same has its benefits.
After all, minimal offerings tend to demand a level of timelessness and quality to them. And more than that, these niche brands aren’t overproducing or setting themselves up for heaps of unsold inventory, but are in fact reducing waste in the process.
If you’re wondering what these brands and their clothes look like, just take a look below.
It’s time to bid adieu to endless scrolling through hundreds of pages of indistinguishable clothes and start finding the items you're actually looking for.
We’ve rounded up 10 of the best niche clothing brands that prove there really is something to being a sartorial master of one as opposed to a jack-of-all-trades.
Note that this guide includes affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission through some links in this guide (at no additional cost to you) which helps us continue this website!
Where to find high-quality niche fashion brands
1. Paynter
Paynter is a London-based brand that produces only four jackets a year on a made-to-order basis by releasing them in limited-edition batches. A look through their archive of launches to date will show you just why their jackets are highly sought after by their fanbase of over 50K Instagram followers.
It’s almost as if the brand was taking a page out of the “limited-edition sneaker” playbook to garner hype around every jacket release, and with good reason.
With a high focus on quality, each jacket is designed to last decades and not just seasons. Using hardwearing materials like denim, tightly woven wool, and corduroy to name a few, their jackets have a unisex fit that’s just the right level of boxy with an impressive history of previous batches selling out in minutes.
Through its unique business model, the brand has proven that going against the grain can actually help the fashion industry be less wasteful.
Paynter announces its releases only on a Saturday at 9 AM UK Time. So, if you wish to stay in the know, you can sign up for the newsletter on their website.
Price: $$$
2. Early Majority
Another brand that believes in doing things differently, Early Majority creates genderless technical clothing that’ll help you seamlessly transition your look from your bus ride to the boardroom and even take you to the bar after work.
Their modular and multifunctional clothing kits have you covered with practical everyday pieces that can be layered and unlayered to suit your needs and work around all eventualities.
But what makes them even more unique is their membership model. Instead of overproducing countless styles spanning several clothing categories, Early Majority works with its members to meet their needs. And since they only produce in small batches, members get first access to everything they make before it sells out.
What’s more? The brand offers a lifetime guarantee on all of its products, ensuring its clothes aren’t designed with planned obsolescence in mind but are in fact high-quality.
They also have a return, repair, and resale program in place to integrate circularity and further their anti-waste mission.
Price: $$-$$$ (for members) $$-$$$$ (for non-members)
3. GRAMMAR
The tailored shirt just might be the most underrated piece of clothing in any wardrobe. Shirts are a go-to for many — whether your work attire demands it or if your sense of style simply skews classic, there’s simply no denying that a quality shirt can be a true wardrobe workhorse.
And GRAMMAR is a brand that understands the power of the classic shirt. So much so, that they went on to establish themselves as a woman’s shirting specialist.
Forget leaning on that basic white button-down — GRAMMAR produces gorgeous iterations based on this classic piece to suit any occasion, and not just work. Think tuxedo shirts with a bow, peplum shirts, shirt dresses, and the works.
Their shirts primarily consist of 100% organic cotton sourced from an ethical producer in India and are fairly produced by minority-owned businesses in small batches.
With names like “the split infinitive”, “the superlative”, or “the gerund”, every shirt produced by GRAMMAR is inspired by foundational elements of the language, just like its style of garment.
Price: $$-$$$
4. BAXTER WOOD
BAXTER WOOD is a brand that wants you to keep a raincoat handy to ward off inclement weather for years to come. And you might want to throw in a pair of the brand's rain boots to make sure you’re doubly prepared for the dreary and perpetually confused autumn climate.
Made from recycled plastic bottles (22 of them for each coat, to be exact), their minimalist raincoats are fully waterproof, durable, and breathable. Equally uncompromising on style and comfort, their boots are constructed from 100% natural hevea rubber that’s nontoxic, and biodegradable, but no less protective.
In an effort to keep its materials in circulation, the brand encourages its customers to send in their old BAXTER WOOD boots and coats for recycling in exchange for $30 worth of store credit.
Price: $$$
5. Benevento
Inspired by the belief that trousers are a base of a man's closet, Benevento is a Polish label that’s giving trousers the tailored attention they so rightly deserve.
Trousers are those one-and-done pieces of tailoring that get lost in a sea of shirts, owing to the number of variations available for its complementing top half.
But Benevento wants to give trousers the same treatment and importance as shirts with their range of well-tailored trousers that take every pleat, pocket, and rise into consideration.
One look at their range of trousers and you won’t be surprised to learn the fact they are a family-run company who’ve been sewing men’s pants for over 30 years now.
Every trouser is created using a made-to-order model with the option to personalize your length, but if you’d really like to prioritize a good fit, the brand also offers the option to customize it from scratch. The brand also creates a small range of trouser styles for women who enjoy wearing tailored pieces.
Price: $$$
6. Citizen Wolf
T-shirts are those wardrobe perennials that stand the test of time, especially if they're made well. A sentiment echoed by Sydney-based Citizen Wolf who wants to help you get a custom t-shirt that fits like a dream — with a little help from technology.
Using a Magic Fit® algorithm, which the brand refers to as “the love child of statistics, natural language processing (NLP), their experience, and machine learning,” Citizen Wolf can produce a 94% accurate model of your body using only your height + weight + age (+ bra).
Consider them your t-shirt fairy godmother. Whether short-sleeved, full-sleeved, polo, or sweatshirt, Citizen Wolf will do it all while offering you a range of colors to choose from.
The brand only produces on a made-to-order basis and further mitigates waste by recycling the hundreds of pounds worth of factory off-cuts every month into its Zero Waste collection. Additionally, they also offer free alterations and a take-back program where you can send your loved-to-death Citizen Wolf tees back in exchange for store credit.
Price: $$-$$$
7. Reclaim Creative
A brand that’s solely dedicated to repurposing forgotten textiles, Reclaim Creative is on a mission to make quilts chic again. Crafted from deadstock and vintage textiles — most often vintage quilts — the brand uses these materials to create a range of jackets, coats, sweatshirts, pillow covers, and even artworks.
Their passion for keeping materials in circulation and quilting is reflected through many offerings, most of which encourage you to learn the art of mending for yourself. Whether it’s through their tutorials, patterns, or quilt scrap bundles, Reclaim Creative offers itself up as a refreshing reminder that fashion can be a force for good.
What’s more? You can also supply your grandmother’s quilt to have them create a top or chore coat for yourself.
Price: $$-$$$
8. Bombay Shirt Company
Tired of looking at men’s shirts in the same old patterns, indistinguishable prints, and colorways? We are too! Enter, Bombay Shirt Company, a men’s shirting specialist that lets you play designer to custom create a shirt of your liking while offering an impeccable fit owing to their fit-smart technology.
From the color, pattern, buttons, collar, cut, to cuffs, you can customize your shirt any way you’d like or keep your choices simple with just a change of fabric or pattern on their existing range of shirt styles — which are pretty solid options to work with. Every shirt is created on a made-to-order basis with the added benefit of a lifetime of free alterations should you fluctuate in size.
If you prefer a personally tailored experience, you can walk on over to their store in Midtown Manhattan and get yourself kitted out.
Price: $$-$$$
9. KENT
Everyday underwear is easily the most crucial part of any wardrobe — and the first thing you put on before you dress up. California-based KENT is here to make sure you aren’t compromising on quality or the planet when it comes to your most foundational layer.
Made from naturally-dyed 100% GOTS-certified organic pima cotton, using plant-based thread, and bio-based elastics, the brand has worked with LA Compost to verify that their underwear will return to the soil in a matter of three months.
For $5 only you can buy their recycle club shipping label and pack a bunch of old and worn-out underwear (from any brand) and send it over to their recycling facility in exchange for $10 towards your next KENT purchase. You can also take their fit quiz to ensure you’re picking the right size when you make a purchase.
Price: $$
10. unspun
When you enter into a sartorial relationship with a pair of denim jeans, you know you’re in it for the long haul. Pretty much till death do you part. So why compromise on fit or quality?
This is where unspun steps in as your denim matchmaker to help you create a pair of custom-made jeans online that are not only designed by you but crafted to fit you like a dream.
The brand helps you get the right fit by taking a 3D scan of your body, which takes about five minutes and allows them to collect over 100,000 data points from your scan to sculpt a fit that’s unique to you and your body.
Your days of trying on 10 pairs of jeans in a tiny fitting room can finally be put behind you!
Price: $$$
About the Author:
Jharna Pariani is a fashion writer and creative strategist whose work is rooted in honesty and deep observation of the world around her. When she isn’t busy penning down her thoughts, she moonlights as a video editor creating fashion and food reels on Instagram for several brands and influencers.
