T. Carolyn Fashions owners Terrie Tibbetts Martin (left) and her mother, Barbara Tibbetts, celebrate 25 years of business this year. Martin’s husband, Dante, (standing) joined their team five years ago.[/caption]Had Cinderella had access to T. Carolyn Fashions, she would not have needed a fairy godmother.
Barbara Tibbetts and her daughter, Terrie Martin began the store 25 years ago and cater to mothers of brides. Just one month after the family opened the doors of T. Carolyn Fashions, in March 1991, the publisher of Bride magazine paid the store a visit.
T. Carolyn Fashions co-owner Terrie Tibbetts Martin (right) consults to local resident Sylvia Torres on a dress for a luncheon.[/caption]“We decided we would make selling dresses to the mother of the bride the thrust of our business. At that time, there wasn’t—and still isn’t—any other store in the United States that was attempting to do that,” Tibbetts said. “When we talked to our designers about it back then, they asked, ‘Are you crazy? [The mothers] are all hormonally challenged, and they all hate their bodies.’”
Since then, the dress shop has transformed—offering 54 dresses from a 1,200-square-foot, FM 1960 location—to its current Vintage Park store that takes orders from throughout the world and showcases more than 2,500 dresses.
“We’re really a cross between a specialty store and a department store, because we have more dresses than most department stores—at least several—combined,” Martin said.
The store carries formal dresses for evening wear as well as those that can be worn to a gala, quinceanera, luncheon or even on a cruise.
“We’ve sold dresses that went to the inaugurations of President [George W.] Bush and President [Barack] Obama,” Tibbetts said.
Tibbetts said the store’s success is based on the fact that she and her daughter have a passion for helping women find dresses that make them look and feel beautiful.
“We try to elevate mothers to feel good about themselves because, very often, mothers aren’t all that secure when it comes time to be mother of the bride at the wedding. They don’t like their shape, and they’re going to see all of those people that they haven’t seen in a very long time—sometimes even ex-husbands,” Tibbett said.
The duo does not settle for merchandise it believes is less than perfect, seeking out dresses that are unique in design and color and that fit a woman of any size.
“Department stores don’t have buyers anymore—they don’t know exactly why a dress sold,” Martin said. “But because we are in the dressing rooms with these women, we know which sizes, styles and colors to buy. And we are very particular.”
The store also sells matching accessories.[/caption]The store also appeals to younger clientele and sells a variety of dresses that are worn by students to prom or by bridesmaids.
The store owners also pay close attention to price so that dresses, which range in size from zero to 28, appeal to any budget.
“These aren’t your typical, frumpy, mother-of-the-bride dresses,” Tibbetts said.
