This story appears in the
July 2004 issue of
Entrepreneur.
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Description:Thread is
a designer and manufacturer of fashionable and fun bridesmaids'
dresses
Startup:
$100,000 in June 1999
2004 projected
sales: More than $2 million
Material
girls: As a freelance stylist and former fashion editor for
Vogue magazine, Beth Blake was the perfect person to design
the bridesmaids' dresses for her sister's wedding.
Commissioning help from Sophie Simmons, a fellow fashion expert,
the two set to work on the bridal project. When their creation
turned heads and caused a stir at the wedding, the two knew they
had made a fashion statement. Banking on their idea, Blake and
Simmons pooled about $100,000.
Custom fit:
Within months, they created a line featuring bridesmaids'
dresses in all lengths and colors, including black, orange, even
hot pink. Sexy and fashionable, the dresses suit all occasions,
even cocktail parties, and break with traditional bridesmaids'
dresses because they can actually be worn again after weddings.
"Usually, bridesmaids dread having to wear the dress,"
says Blake. "We make it so they're excited to wear
it-they feel as exceptional as the bride."
Fashion cents:
Though word-of-mouth would have been enough to keep the business
strong at the seams, it was a $3,500 ad in Martha Stewart
Living that added the flare. Only two days after the ad was
printed, they got about 300 e-mails and the phone started ringing
off the hook. "It got going before it really had any
identity," Blake says. Currently, they have three
stores-in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York-and the
line is available through 20 wholesalers.
