Detroit313 Clothing Blog

Reintroduction to Detroit313

by M. Rochelle on Aug 15, 2025

From the Ground Up: Our New Beginning. What Up Doe! I’m M.Rochelle, the heart and hustle behind Detroit313 Clothing. Our journey from the ground up hasn't been easy, but our story is fueled by an authenticity we want you to feel. I invite you to read on and discover the passion and mission that drive our brand.

They say you find your true purpose when you return to your childhood dreams. I can attest to that. As a kid, drawing outfits was my favorite pastime. Though I never stopped being a lover of fashion, it wasn't something I pursued as a career or even a passion—until now. Detroit313 Clothing has obviously been in the works since my childhood, and I'm thrilled to finally release it for everyone to enjoy with me.

I always knew entrepreneurship was going to be my path. Though it took many decades to get here, I trust in God's timing. Otherwise, it's easy to get annoyed, lose hope, or feel defeated. And for me, that is not an option. Everything worth having is worth waiting for, right?

It was a pleasant surprise when it became clear back in 2011 or 2012 that apparel would be my business. But life has a way of happening. While the seed was planted, the real research didn't start until 2015. Those years in between were all about “writing it down & making it plain”. Research and I go together well; I love being well-informed and able to speak knowledgeably about the industry I'm in.

As I researched, I came to a conclusion: sustainability had to be a priority. The fashion industry’s large contribution to climate change made that decision easy. But quality was, and will always be, our top priority.

I don't know about you, but I was tired of waiting weeks for a package to be completely disappointed by the quality. I wanted to support brands whose stories resonated with me, only to be let down immediately or soon after. That for sure was not going to be our customer experience.

Being intentional about quality and sustainability sent me back into research mode. I started to get frustrated because doing everything from scratch was too expensive on my income as a single mother of four. I thought of just buying everything to do myself, but that also seemed too expensive, and I didn’t have the proper space for equipment and inventory.

Let me also add that athleisure wasn't my initial lane. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to have these daily essentials in my store, but I’m a lover of all fashion—I wanted business, after-five, party, and classic attire too. Still, the “easier” route of purchasing wholesale didn’t align with our priorities of quality and sustainability.

Another “easier” route was print-on-demand. After almost two years of research, we were confident we had found the solution. We even launched our website, but we were wrong again. After trying two different print-on-demand companies, the quality was just not there. The sustainability was, for the most part, but the print on demand model just wasn’t what we wanted to represent our brand.

After fasting and praying, I began my research again. I was immediately directed to a wholesale vendor that is just as intentional about quality as we are. We went from ordering blanks to finding a printer, but couldn’t make the cost of that make sense for our customers. We believe quality shouldn't be a luxury. We desire for our clothing to be more reachable than many high-end brands. So, what to do?

Doing a full 360, we are now doing everything in-house except the garment creation. That, however, is a goal too. We are in charge of 100% of our quality control—exactly as it always needed to be.

Today, we are proud to say that we are laser-focused on bringing our love for Detroit to the people who share in the same. Our brand represents the heart and spirit of a city everyone loves, imitates, and respects for its culture, resilience, grit, and style.

In Detroit, everyone is a BOSS—Being Our Sustainable Self. Our city is full of top-tier talent and high-quality people. Of course, our brand would represent the same. We go hard for Detroit, and we also know that our brand is for everyone who loves what we love:

• QUALITY

• SUSTAINABILITY

• OBTAINABLE LUXURY

• DETROIT