The
Story of Sydney's Closet
as told by President and Founder Phyllis Brasch
Librach
In
the beginning, I was just a mother who wanted
to wipe away her daughter's tears.
You see my teen-age daughter Mickey cried and cried
after she couldn't find a plus size formal dress for
her high school dance at the mall. That broke my heart.
And it left me frustrated and very anger!
In a world where thin is so in, I found it agonizing and unfair
that millions of teens and young women like my daughter
were fashioned-starved for plus-size formal wear.
The truth is that one in every four high school girls in the U.S.
wears a size 12 or larger. And when it comes time
for once-in-a-lifetime nights like Prom and Homecoming,
she doesn't want to hide her curvy figure under shapeless
muumuus or evening gowns that grandma would wear.
She wants a frock that rocks! (And she deserves one!)
Six out of 10 American women wear a size 12 or larger. And she
should be able to find a dress for a special occasion
that makes her look - and feel - as glamorous as
a movie star!
As a Mom I knew firsthand the challenge plus size teens and women
face trying to find formal dresses that flatter their
curvy figures - and fit their hip lifestyles. Hunting
down the right formal dress in size 14 plus is tough
enough to test even the skills of an investigative
reporter. I know. I was one!
Determined to tip the scales in favor of women and teens shopping
for plus-size formals, I traded deadlines for hemlines.
Over the next eight months I scoured factories, trade
shows and showrooms in the United States and Canada
until I found just the right manufacturers to make
fresh, fun and young plus-size formal dresses perfect
for Prom, Homecoming, weddings,
dances, balls, holiday parties, pageants, cruises
and reunions.
The hard work and long wait paid off. When Sydney's Closet launched
in January 2002, trend-spotting editors at fashion
magazines rushed to tell their readers about The
Little Shop Big on Formal Dresses Size 14 Plus. TEEN
and Twist magazines featured "gorgeous gowns" from
Sydney's Closet for Prom 2002. Cosmo Girl heralded
Sydney's Closet effort to rescue curvy chicks from
a Fashion 911. ElleGirl.com called the site "amazing" and
Seventeen.com touted the "stunning styles."
I created Sydney's Closet to take the tears out of shopping for
my daughter and all our daughters. But I still cry.
Only now it's when I read the emails and letters
we get from our Happy Customers like
Jennifer from Michigan who wrote:
