I have always been a fan of all things DIY (without all of the messiness, that is) so Getwear did not have to work very hard to rodeo my attention. This service allows you to actually design a pair of jeans tailored to fit every aspect of your personal preference: fabric, fit, cut, wash, buttons, and all the other minute yet pertinent accents that go into this garb. Along with obviously purchasing your creation, you have the opportunity to sell it as well. Charming, no?
Designing your own jeans may or may not seem like the most exciting of activities or conveniences in the world, but the C2C dimension to this service adds a nice, nifty layer. Getwear captures the pure essence of a C2C based business model, which works wonders in the way of adding a fresh incentive to buying clothing - as if shopping wasn't already fulfilling enough, you can now potentially capitalize on it.

A Simple Process

After experimenting around with this interactive site, here is what I gathered in terms of how the process goes: once blending your preferences in to the perfect pair of jeans, much like putting a salad together at your favorite deli, hit the "Sell" button and provide an e-mail address. A confirmation from Getwears' support team will be sent over which requires you to solidify your intention to sell - with every purchase of your creation, a 10 percent portion of the jean's subtotal cost goes toward your profits. This is not the most thrilling of numbers but it is still not such a bad little deal considering there are no fees, or seemingly hidden agendas that work against you. In fact, the business model is making a clever use of the reward system, which all C2C services tend to inherently manifest when you use them.

Social Networking 101

The adjective “clever” is imbued here with a very specific meaning, and it has everything to do with the way in which Getwear is managing to take full advantage of knitting a bright, long thread of social networking into its format. Users who create jeans are presented as more than, well, mere “users”; they are considered “designers” and even “top designers” depending on how often they contribute, and how well their jeans sell. One’s Facebook account is even displayed on the same page as one’s creations. This creates a definite sense of a community market place that plays nicely into the appeal of user-recognition and, of course, networking possibilities for those involved. This is most certainly a great way to gain a following and keep visitors engaged. Purchasing a pair of jeans has essentially been turned into a kind of fun little game, built up on a foundation of active consumer participation. In a sense, your social influence swag thrives mutually in accordance to how well the website itself does.

GetWear is one of the 33 start-ups to be showcased at TechCocktail's SXSW event, and the voting races have already begun.