One brand to look out for this Winter on campus is Dirty South Stitches owned and operated by Laura Floyd. They are most known for their Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss crewneck which is always sold out on their website. It’s the essential Bulldawg Winter sweatshirt featuring the Georgia G at the beginning of each word.
To prep for a fresh batch of hoodies she alerts customers a few days ahead on her Instagram stories to create excitement and hype around the drop, this technique showing the power that social media can have on limited drops by creating hype and exclusivity around the item. While Dirty South’s drops are for now limited by production size, larger companies like Supreme and Essentials purposefully do this to ensure their items sell out. While still using social media for the same influence, Dirty South Stitches is unique to itself with their interactive feed and stories which engage their followers, creating a more loyal customer base. One Instagram trend they engage in is regularly posting Instagram stories with question boxes, to get personalized questions that they can give feedback on from their followers, whether the questions be about their designs, events, or general questions about the brand. They also hold Instagram giveaways asking their followers to tag three friends in the comments and to post on their story for an extra entry, giving their followers incentive to promote their company and expand their following.
Their community has increased through these social media tactics, but they specifically have a strong following in Athens, due to most of their followers being students at the University of Georgia. They do not just limit themselves to only creating pieces inspired by UGA, though, as they also have Athens, Atlanta, and other themes based around aesthetic images or artists. Floyd’s movements in working to promote her brand are always intentional, from the UGA themes for her pieces to bringing in seven brand ambassadors who have directed thousands more of customers to the website. The steps that Floyd has taken have rocketed her brand from just an idea to a successful business, and the evidence shows when a Dirty South pop ups is shown at sorority or club events, when you look over at another drunk, obnoxious, Georgia fan wearing one of her pieces in Sanford, or when one of your friends tags you in a Dirty South giveaway post. Dirty South may lack a physical store, but it has not affected the strong and fun presence that it projects on our school.
You can find their upcoming pop ups in the future at the Fashion Design Student Association’s Fashion that takes place on November 18th, at 5:00 PM, at the Georgia Museum of Art then at the Southern Brewing Holiday Market on December 3rd and 4th and lastly at the Indie South Holiday Market December 10th -11th .
Written By: Lizzie Walker