About Re/Dress and my plan for it:
From 2008-2011, Re/Dress NYC was an awesome brick & mortar store where plus sized folks could go to shop, empower themselves and feel at home while finding the most stylish vintage and modern clothes in the world. While the store closed over a year ago, I've done multiple jobs- from art direction to direct fulfillment for the online store since June of 2011. I have a deep, personal connection to Re/Dress and plus size fashion, and I know that Re/Dress means the world to lots of other people too! For these reasons, when Deb, the previous owner, decided that she wanted to sell the company, I rubbed my last two pennies together to buy it. I just couldn't let it die.
Well, now I need money to bring it back to life! I need funds for inventory, supplies, and to get us back on track to get into a storefront again.
I have big plans for Re/Dress:
1. Build a bigger stock of favorites like teggings and our awesome vintage selection. (And re-open the website in April of 2013 so you can get your Spring fatshion on!)
2. Offer a larger range of sizes--up to a 5x at least. The higher, the better.
3. Offer a vast assortment of "masculine" clothing and accessories for folks who dress in flavors other than feminine.
4. Expand our range of models of all shapes, ages, sizes, colors and
gender identities (or non-identities) in our online catalog and
advertising. We love to showcase people in all of their complex and
beautiful forms.
5. As soon as the website is back up and running, begin work to find a brick & mortar store we can call our own!
I have been in plus size fashion since 2007, when I opened what I believe to be the first plus size only vintage store, Cupcake & Cuddlebunny. I started designing and producing my own clothing line in 2009, because there just needed to be more variety in the world of plus size clothing. If you know me, you know that I work hard for the things that are important to me, and I can never let a dream die. My dream is for Re/Dress to not only be restored, but to grow and flourish! I need your help to make it happen!
Challenges:
The risks and challenges of reviving Re/Dress are mostly financial. I am 100% committed to re-opening our online store in April, 2013 and would love to open a storefront (location TBD) by the end of the year.
I am a hardworking gal, but I will need to hire at least one part-time employee to get this thing off the ground. I hope to be able to hire more people as time goes on, because we have a big mission and need a lot of help.
In order to expand our sizes and types of clothing, I will also need to spend a lot of time dealing with vendors and may have to travel. This part of the venture is deeply important, and the more money we raise, the faster it will happen.
To do this thing the way I want to, I'll need a lot more than $25k, but I'm super-resourceful and am starting small in hopes that we can fund ourselves well enough to really have a kick-butt site launch and garner enough revenue to complete the whole shebang by 2014.
How you can help:
If you can't donate, you CAN spread the word. Please tell your friends about our campaign! Add us on Facebook and Twitter, and let the fashion forward plus sized people in your life know about us!
*Just an acknowledgment: in my video, I say "There's no wrong way to
have a body." That's a Glenn Marla quote!