Local fashion boutique, Emma Plus, celebrated it’s 20th birthday last weekend with an all day long party, and I was lucky enough to be invited.
The shop opened in 1994 and has managed to successfully survive both in our recent recession and in Brighton’s hugely competitive fashion industry, which is an amazing achievement in itself!
Emma Plus is a great little plus size boutique in Brighton, and they also have a lovely forum on their website where fellow curvy women chat about fashion and their great plus size buys.
Emma Plus on Church Street
Owner, Emma, said she organised the birthday party “to thank our wonderful customers for all their fantastic support over the years. Without that, we would not be here”.
The party was well organised, with gift bags given to the first 50 customers, and the first 20 also got a coupon for a limited edition scarf designed by Emma herself! I was the twentieth person into the store, so am patiently waiting to be contacted to arrange getting my scarf, which is worth £69.
Gorgeous gift bags
The gift bags were very cute, and included chocolate, Clarins samples and even a pretty flower brooch. There was a buffet (including Harrods biscuits I might add) with a lovely birthday cake, and even some bubbly!
I’ve never browsed through a clothes shop with a glass of vino in my hand, so it was quite an experience!
There’s such a range for all shapes, sizes (above size 16) and ages which really impressed me. I noticed there were a lot of gorgeous, bold prints for this summer, with beautiful turquoise and teals being my faves.
I got to the party quite early and was shocked by how many people were already there- you could hardly move at one point, but it was lovely to see how many women wanted to come to show Emma and her staff how much they loved their products.
Emma said: “I simply couldn’t believe how many of our lovely customers came today to help us celebrate our 20 years in existence. Women were queuing at our door before we were open, and, when we swung the door wide, everyone poured in, and a kind of happy melee ensued.
For the first time ever, we had to give out numbers to people waiting to go into our four changing rooms. It has been one of our best days ever. I hope that we will be able to serve our community of like-minded plus-sized fashionistas for many years to come.”
Judging by the shop’s longstanding success, I think Emma’s wish will come true!
