Nov 26, 2025
It’s easy to assume there’s no room left in fashion because very niche feels full, every trend recycled and every new brand a variation of the same aesthetic.
But then you come across a brand like Dewey Fashion, and you’re reminded that market saturation doesn’t mean every problem has been solved. Sometimes, the most overlooked problems are hiding in plain sight and the brands that succeed are the ones that take the time to see them.
Dewey creates trousers for petite women with short inseams, offering leg lengths and fits that simply don’t exist on the high street. It’s a simple product idea, but a deeply powerful one because it responds to a real problem, with specificity and care.
When you scroll through their TikTok, the brand advocacy is immediate. The comments are full of people expressing not just interest but relief - a sense of being seen by a brand for the first time.
That tells you everything. People aren’t just buying the product; they’re buying into the fact that someone finally understood their problem and built something just for them.
Why this works: problem-led positioning in saturated categories
Fashion is one of the most oversaturated consumer categories in existence. If you’re launching a brand in this space and your only differentiation is colour palette or aesthetic, you're unlikely to cut through. What Dewey gets right is that their differentiation is built into the product itself.
The founder didn’t try to compete with mid-market brands by being cheaper, trendier, or faster. Instead, she focused on being more specific. She addressed a particular frustration - that petite women still had to pay for tailoring, or settle for rolled cuffs and designed the solution.
That level of clarity is something many brands miss. I often work with founders who come to me with beautiful branding but no meaningful distinction at product level. If you’re not offering something noticeably different, you’re asking your audience to care about you just because and in a category like fashion, that’s not enough.
Differentiation doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel
What Dewey proves is that you don’t need to invent a new category to stand out. You need to understand your audience more deeply than your competitors do, and then build the product and messaging around that.
The brand hasn’t tried to turn a pair of trousers into a lifestyle revolution. It hasn’t fallen into the trap of wrapping a functional product in vague aspirational messaging. It’s focused on what the audience actually wants: well-made, well-fitting trousers in lengths that cater to their body, not the industry's standardised sizing.
That focus is the brand.
The takeaway for founders
If you’re building a business in a crowded category, don’t just ask yourself what your aesthetic is. Ask what problem your audience still hasn’t had solved and then become the brand that solves it.
This means:
Talking to your audience before you build the product, not after.
Creating something noticeably different, not just slightly prettier.
Rooting your brand messaging in the real experience of your customer, not in abstract claims or aesthetic tropes.
Dewey Fashion found an underserved audience and met them with a product that actually fit - literally and figuratively and that’s a lesson worth holding onto.
Key takeaway for product-based founders:
You don’t need to shout louder in a saturated category. You need to say something more specific. Remember, often that means solving the kind of everyday frustrations that your competitors have overlooked.
Take your brand to the next level by doubling down on your differentiation. Book a free discovery call today.