The second to last is cute. I like it. The needle is thicker than your literal needle so perhaps the thread could be beefed up a bit too.

That said, while I really like the logo, I get a very retro 50's vibe to it, which is perhaps OK. But if you're aiming for high fashion, I'd consider going some other routes that are less literal.

I love the 2nd to last logo as well: great colours, cute buttons, playful concept & an overall good execution.

Just a few remarks:

- I'm not sure about the wavy beginning & end strokes, I'd try keeping those curvy as the ascenders (just smaller & open)

- The t is kind of lost on me as the crossbar doesn't really come across well. You might want to try making the space between them equal to the thickness of the needle and perhaps making them slightly thicker (they seem a tad bit thinner than the thread & needle outlines) so that it'll look more like a whole alltogether.

- This could raise problems for labels depending on what kind your friend is planning to use. You could try placing pop underneath connecting the thread by the o & last p so that the end stroke on the first p of pop can be the same as the proto-p.

As for Aluminum's concerns about it not being very high fashion, I have to agree, but with a name like proto-pop I'm guessing the emphasis will be on fun, colourfull fashion...
Great job so far & thanks for posting the different steps in your progress. It's always nice to see how something evolves from sketch to finished product (assuming we'll get to see that too later) ;-)

I like the shapes you got with the thread alone glued onto the paper. Can you forget the buttons and needle? Those seem to be what's tripping me up about the digitized versions.

This is a great concept! Loved seeing your process and the evolution of this design!

I agree with ill sans about the wavy beginning & end strokes as well as the "t" being hard to read. I also agree with penn&ink, you need to do a version without the buttons and needle. The buttons make the letter forms seem geometric...and they shouldn't be in my opinion, they should look more 'natural' like it was made with real thread, exactly like you did. Maybe have the needle at the end of the last "p". The colorful buttons are playful and definitely say pop art but not high end fashion. Maybe finding a middle ground between playful and serious will help you balance out the look and feel your going for and will simplify the logos readability and practicality in regards to production for labels and such.

Hope to see the next steps. Great work!

I like the second last one, but for me the buttons look like a bit like a face...and unfortunately the way you've got the thread, it looks like a sad mouth. Is there a way to make the face smile?

Just a side note - I really don't like the name. Too many Os, too close to each other. I keep reading it as Proto-Poop :-|

These are a lot of fun!

3rd from the top: because it reminds me something you'd find in some mid-century magazine. Does your friend's fashion feel retro or vintage?

2nd from the bottom: because it really is lovely. The way the string ends is perfectly fine from where I'm viewing this. It makes sense and I'd not change it. But this feels a little more pop culture and less fashion for me.

4th from the top: more fun. for some reason the use of the sans makes me think of something you'd find out of those crazy fashion/shopping districts in Japan.

I agree with Penn & Ink. I really like the shape of the string but feel like once you start adding everything it becomes way too kitschy. No need for multiple buttons and a needle.

Thanks a lot everyone for your very helpful comments :) I eventually went with second one from the bottom, tweaked it a bit, and the professor loved it, even though I didn't find it that great. I also forgot to mention that the logo is for my friend's university project (he's majoring in Fashion Design) so the label isn't real. Now that I'm done with the project, I won't fix the logo anymore because I believe no matter how much I work more on it, it wouldn't be perfect in my eyes, so I'm just gonna let it be and move on.

I really appreciate the helpful comments though, I'm loving this community a lot, very professional!

Congratulations, chrbl. That was some great thoughtful work you put into it. The second to last option is my favorite, too. Care to post your final version?

Charbel, this photo reminded me of your logo. (Glad to hear you went with that one. I quite liked that one.) http://cl.ly/1ooK

What a cool tattoo, Tiffany, but ouch! hehe.

Here's the final logo, for anyone who wants to check it out

As well as the stationary:

In Romanian a "protopop" is some kind of priest inspector (in the Orthodox Church).

I know you have decided on the final logo, but did you ever try using the handmade lettering, scanning it and trying to extract the piece of thread to use as the logo. I think the real thing looks lovely, for me it looses some of its personality when traced and rendered digitally.