Best Shopify Stores In Fashion: In-depth case studies and examples For Inspiration in 2023

What best Shopify clothing stores are made of? Beautiful product photography? or Are there secret formulas that send converion rate through the roof and people can’t help but putting clothing items to cart?

It’s not all black and white. Each brand has their own method, and it takes sweat and blood for them to get where they are now.

Why? Because in most niches you’re competing with a ton of people – you need to stand out, especially in the fashion niche.

There are, however, some best practices that apply across the board. That every single eCommerce store can adopt to improve the design, functionality and overall experience on their site.

And of course, increased conversions.

Easier said than done? We know

That’s why we took to the canals of the internet to find a handful of Shopify clothing stores using that are having great success. But most importantly are leveraging an arsenal of different tactics to attract, engage and convert online shoppers.

If you need, not only inspiration and mere names,  but also real actionable tips to increase the conversion rate of your own Shopify clothing stores, look no further than this list.

For no stone will be left unturned. No crevasse left unexplored where the secrets of conversion rate optimization can hide from us.

Read more: The Complete Guide To Selling Clothes Online

I. Best Shopify Clothing Stores: BIG BUD PRESS

BIG BUD PRESS is a Los Angeles based label specializing in size-inclusive, unisex everyday goods. It has 35,6% organic search traffic (compared to the market average rate of 33,9%) and a bounce rate of 22% (compared to the market’s average rate of 37,5%).

01. Above the fold area: Unique and Eye-catching

1.1. Super high-resolution hero image

The above-the-fold-area is what store visitors see right upon entering your website, without scrolling down the page. It’s critical to customize this area so that visitors take in the key points within a few seconds and have a great first impression.

The above-the-fold area is where you introduce your brand personality and pique visitors’ intrigue to ultimately convince them to scroll down and have a look through your products. It sounds like a lot of work, but look how BIG BUD PRESS effortlessly orchestrates the awe factors.

This is how BIG BUD PRESS designed its above-the-fold section.

Vibrant homepage photo that effectively communicates brand personalities

First, they use non-professional models. Right off the bat, you’re welcomed with a diverse group of people who defy the skinny-6’ft-tall stereotypes. In a fashion world saturated with skinny, 6’ft tall models, they root for being comfortable in your own skin. It’s simple, it’s direct, it’s storytelling at its finest.

Take a look at BIG BUD PRESS and admire their super high-resolution hero image. You can even spot the little wrinkles in the left-most girl’s arm. With such a great investment in photography, the brand at the very least has delivered a clear message to visitors: regardless of what we are selling, we’re dedicated to it.

1.2. Clear Navigation Bar

You might be tempted to include every link in the navigation bar. That’s actually what many brands are doing. To clarify the effectiveness of the approach, just ask yourself as an online shopper:

Simple yet effective navigation bar

What are you looking for when entering a brand’s homepage?

Well, there’s a high chance you will come to a website to browse the nearest store, sometimes to request a refund and/or complain about a bad experience. However, placing a Signup to Newsletter link in the homepage’s navigation bar seems to make little sense. People just don’t come to your store to sign up for your newsletter.

In its navigation bar, BIG BUG PRESS makes it so clear what they have: Product categories, Sales information, Store Addresses, and Cart Information. It’s simply an overview of the store without any needless distractions.

Clear navigation bar

02. Homepage: A Trusted, Unique Brand Appearance

2.1. Unique Styling

The word “unique” might come to mind when searching around the BIG BUD PRESS homepage. With solid colors, a primary orange tone, and a consistent theme in their photography, it’s just impossible to confuse BIG BUD PRESS with any other store.

2.2. Brick and mortar stores

Details about brick-n-mortar store increase brand credibility

Showing off their two brick-and-mortar stores – and providing detailed directions – significantly increases the page’s credibility. It tells shoppers they can come to test the products first-hand. It also drops a hint about the prosperity of the brand. Well, brands cannot get prosperous without being trusted.

03. Product Page: Transparency

Beautifully crisp product photos

3.1. A Serious Investment In Product Photography

Go ahead and take a closer look at some of their product pages, you’ll see that the super high-res hero image is just a part of the brand’s dedication to visualizing products. If there’s anything you can do to ensure customers about the quality of your products, taking high-quality photos is it.

From a shopper’s point of view, being able to zoom in to small stitches with fabric details proves the merchant’s transparency and good product quality, which is a considerable advantage.

3.2. Strong Product Description Game

The product description can be more than just ‘fill-in-a-blank’ content.

BIG BUD PRESS product descriptions are written with sincerity, a pin of humor and an original voice. They anchor their visitors down and let them love BIG BUD PRESS, without throwing intrusive ads or trying to wheel them in with huge discounts.

Detailed, genuine product descriptions will help you to rank your product pages higher. BIG BUD PRESS ranked at #4 on Google for the Jumpsuit keyword, just below Amazon and Etsy!

 How good product description can help your page’s ranking

BIGBUD did an amazing job with their homepage and product page. However, they left lots of stones unturned – areas of opportunity that can be optimized for better customer experience and better conversion rates – which we covered in our deep-dive analysis of BIGBUDE Store:

BIGBUD Press Shopify Store Reviews by PageFly Team

II. Best Shopify Clothing Stores: Blackmilk Clothing

Hailing from humble origins, James Lillis went from selling $10 tights to frontrunning a global brand with a loyal tribe of female fans.

But, Black Milk was actually born out of the power of content marketing – a blog in the legwear fashion niche named ‘Too Many Tights’. Bold and unique designs caught the attention of women around the world and set the foundation for the strong communities of Black Milk fans around the world today.

Remember this muscle leggings design a few years back? 

This was Black Milk’s first product that went viral, thanks to a mass of blogs reposting it across the web. Since then they’ve collaborated with George Lucas to create Star Wars merch and even made a range of wildly popular Harry Potter activewear.

Black Milk’s focus isn’t to sell but rather tell. They claim storytelling, social proof and encouraging their customers to engage with the brand is the key to their massive growth over the years.

So how does an eCommerce business develop into a multi-million dollar brand if they don’t focus on selling?

It comes down to being genuine, providing value, creating a community and building trust through great content.

When you have this, you don’t need an elaborate site design or structure. I’ve seen the most basic Shopify sites thrown together with the Debut theme pull in over $10,000 in sales per month.

How’s this possible?

The product solved a problem. The social proof was there. And the site was put in front of the right audience.

Usually, I focus on specific elements for conversion in these Shopify reviews. But because of the unique nature of Black Milk’s rise to success, this article will focus on their individuality, storytelling, content, and authenticity as a brand, as well as how they effectively engage with customers.

01. Homepage impressions

1.1. Bold & busy site design

Fascinating first impression makes visitors stick around longer. Lower bounce rate = More chances to convert!

First impressions are stimulating. There’s a lot going on as you land on the homepage, with video content on the left and collections images on the right.

Not to mention all the patterns and text overlays. But it works. And it works because the Black Milk brand developed as a result of daring and striking legging designs.

It’s important that your site content reflects the genuine values and nature of your brand. 

For example, if you run a natural skincare company that focuses on minimal ingredients, you want a design that reflects this. Simple skincare does it well.

Green represents nature, and white open spaces correlate to clean products with simple ingredients.

1.2. Showcasing Shopify Instagram feed

This Instagram feed offers a tempting invitation “Our customers look awesome on Instagram. So can you!”

Black Milk Clothing contribute a lot of their success to engagement and having interactions with their customers. One of the ways they’ve done this so well is through Instagram hashtagging.

With this method, buyers use hashtags when uploading to Instagram. Black Milk collects them and features the images under the products on site.

It turns out their customers absolutely love this 5 minutes of fame. 

How BlackMilk clothing effortlessly build a strong social proof

And in turn, Black Milk gets free shoutouts across social media, helping build their brand and credibility.

This is the power of real social proof.

No paid models, Instagram “influencers” or fake reviews. Just real people, from all walks of life, showing off their individuality and style.

1.3. The lure of a good Lookbook

Everywhere you looks, you see the exuberant vibrance

I mentioned earlier how great content is one of the cornerstones of Black Milk’s success. Lookbooks let you show off your products, and can generate excitement before and during a product launch.

Consider its visual storytelling.

Black Milk has slapped theirs in the middle of their homepage. If you’re landing here from a marketing campaign or organic search, it’s eye catching enough to deserve a click.

Clicking through shows a collection of vibrant lookbooks, each with a unique name and style.

If you’ve ever wondered what a visually striking lookbook looks like, this is it.

Not only is it bold and vibrant (reflective of the brand), it also instills a sense of playfulness and magic with clever copywriting.

Need a higher conversion rate for your fashion online store? Start with good, nay, excellent look book!

The lookbook ends with a simple call to action to view the collection. This is a prime example of how a picture can speak a thousand words.

Off we go.

Now this is just our analysis of BlackMilk homepage only, check out our deep-dive analysis of BlackMilk product page, about us page and areas for improvement in our complete review:

BlackMilk Clothing Shopify Store Review by Team PageFly

Side Note: are you looking for more inspiration with Shopify home page design? Check the best Shopify Store examples list curated by PageFly Team.

III. Best Shopify Clothing Stores: Hardgaft Fashion

Homepage Design

Minimal, clean and speaks a thousand words

In terms of design, there’s a lot to love about this site as a whole. It’s minimal, clean, but more importantly, it’s congruent with their brand message.

Luxury and Down to Earth as values are reflected in the neutral tones with brown and grey being the dominant colors.

The homepage is long-form (I mean long), and seems to never end as you scroll through a mass of products. Luckily you’re met with an email pop-up before you get too far.

The copy used is original, although I can’t help but feel the cooking analogies would be better suited to a food-related store.

Either way, email marketing is far from dead.

A great email campaign can shift the tides of sales and turn a broke store profitable again.

Needless to say, Hardgaft aced product photography!

If you hover over a product you see some quick buy options. There’s also some text that gives you a rough estimate of the price in USD and GBP, delivered in a super casual tone.

Small details can go a long way.

Check out the subtle shadows cast against the background by each product. You might not register it consciously, but it signals somebody behind the brand cares deeply about the user experience.

Leverage FAQ to keep customers in on-site longer – smart move!

This is a great example of a chatbox done right. The first order of business is easing the customer’s mind by answering some common questions. Shipping times, refund policy etc.

If you sell high-ticket items like these and want to increase your conversion rate, your site visitor will need some reassurance. If any questions aren’t answered, the option to reach out to a team member is here too, seen in the top right of the chatbox under “Ask”.

Hardgraft gets rid of the traditional approach to navigation, opting for their own style of drop-down menu with an aesthetic color gradient.

It’s eye-catching, and the font pops nicely from each gradient.

The homepage showcases every product in their store, with the rest of the site categorized into pretty standard segments.

Hardgraft mobile page speed is not optimized

Page speeds are woeful across the board, with mobile at 20% and desktop at 40%. For a homepage that’s so image rich, it’s expected but it seems more can be done.

How Hardgraft page can be improved for better speed

As suggested by Google, there’s opportunity to speed things up by compressing images into smaller file sizes.

This can be easily done using tinypng with no risk of losing quality.

But do page speeds really matter?

Absolutely. Google favors fast loading sites in search engine results pages (SERPs), so you’re likely to rank higher and have better Domain Authority.

But also consider that the average online shopper will navigate to a competitor’s store if your site takes more than 3 seconds to load.

Conclusion?

It’s clean, it’s innovative, it’s unique. The homepage exudes a professional feel throughout, from the helpful FAQs to the smallest details in photography. The product images are sharp and crisp, with high levels of detail.

The congruency in the color scheme and even the minimal copy used strengthens the branding. A strong brand invites more trust.

Hardgaft truly did an excellent job in design a website that exudes brand personality, with strategically-placed conversion rate optimized elements.

What we love about Hardgaft: 

• Minimal & innovative design
• Attention to detail
• Design consistent with brand values
• Strong brand identity & message
• Engaging copywriting
• Product image heavy
• Streamlined checkout experience

Above all, the Hardgraft shopping experience is just downright enjoyable. Their promise of “one of a kind” accessories is backed up by a completely unique store and web design. As a prospective buyer, it gives me confidence in this promise of exclusivity.

They earn customers’ attention and trust by knowing exactly who they are, who they serve and conveying this across every aspect of site design and content.

Learn more about how they design their product pages, about us pages and sale funnels in our deep-dive analysis of Hardgaft:

Hardgraft Fashion Shopify Store Review by Team PageFly

IV.  Best Shopify Clothing Stores: Karina Elle

Karine Elle Homepage

If you didn’t know, Karina Elle is one of a slew of Instagram “models” and influencers. In addition to being a GymShark sponsored athlete, she runs her own fitness and apparrel brand with Shopify.

Off the bat, the neon color scheme is not only congruent but pops right out of the page. Neon pink and yellow are “energetic” colors, staying true to the fitness brand.

And of course, Karina can be seen doing what she does best with an opening headline that triggers your curiosity “above the fold”.

Notice the hashtag – a subtle way to call for social promotion

The concept of user-generated content is fantastic, and the hashtag competition gives her followers a chance to be featured on her Instagram. Interaction like this can greatly impact conversion rates – people want to connect.

It would be even better to feature the user-generated content on the site itself.

Rather than emphasizing generic payment badges, Karina Elle is using customized graphics to offer guarantees.

What they’re killing it with:

• Lively brand colors and consistency
• Attention-grabbing headline
• User-generated content concept
• Custom guarantee badges

Areas of opportunity: 

A strong mission statement and an “About Us” page would help visitors to the site connect and understand the woman behind the brand.

After all, Karina Elle is a personal brand that is built on influencer marketing. Could she be another talentless hack using body image to convince vulnerable young girls to buy her merch? There’s just not enough personal content to tell.

V. Top 05 Stunning Shopify Clothing Stores For More Inspiration

01. Nili Lotan

https://www.nililotan.com

Clothing for the modern urban woman, made in New York. Nili Lotan’s clothing design philosophy is pure and sophisticated.

02. Unconditional

https://www.unconditional.uk.com/

Favouring a relaxed style, UNCONDITIONAL is often mildly androgynous. UNCONDITIONAL has established its own feeling of a modern elegance with a dash of pure rock’n’roll – pieces that are uncompromising in their attention to detail with high quality fabrications.

03. Taylor Stich

https://www.taylorstitch.com/

Menswear Brand Adopts A Repair Program To Make Fashion Eco-friendly

04. Tluxe

https://www.tluxe.com/

The Work-from-home wardrobe with a curated collection of products, perfect for working at home in comfort and style.

05. Argent

https://argentwork.com/

Argent is a modern workwear brand for Women with an eloquent statement on gender equality: Workwear shouldn’t feel like work.

Pro Tip: If you ever come across a fashion Shopify store with a design you really dig, bookmark it, then run it through this tool – which tells you which Shopify Theme that store is using. From then, you can try out the theme and see if it fits your store design.

 

Wrapping Up

Coming full circle, these best Shopify clothing stores aren’t simply ones that convert. They are the ones that add value, builds trust, understand their buyer persona and their objectives and,  converts.

If you’re thinking about starting your own Shopify store, don’t rush straight into running Google Ads or Facebook Ads spending time perfecting your brand, your online store, and your product presentation.
Learn and practice first!