We recently connected with Amy Foster and have shared our conversation below.
Amy, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
I’ve not always known what it feels like to be welcomed and comfortable.
We strive to give our customers and new friends the confidence when they try on our clothes.
The name “Evie Brooks” comes from our two dogs, Evie, a yellow lab, and Brooks, a hound dog. It may sound silly to name a store after your pets but if you meet them you know it was meant to be.
The pair are welcoming. You instantly feel loved the second you meet them. The name was absolutely fitting, and you wouldn’t disagree.
Our clothing ranges from extra small to 4XL. Bright colored clothing to neutral to dark colored clothing. I want everyone to feel included, even myself. I am plus size and only in the recent years I have become more confident in the skin I am in. In my experience before opening the boutique, finding cute plus size clothing was extremely difficult. I wants others to be able to find options in my store without any hesitation, lack of confidence or any difficulty. Not just with size but just feeling pretty or feeling good about yourself.
It’s always so easy to feel judged when you go into a store and people ask you who you are shopping for or they instantly direct you somewhere else. I have had this happen to me too many times and I leave there feeling worse about myself and defeated.
About 6 years ago I received a call from someone while I was going through a breakup. They had said to me, “Amy, maybe if you lost 50 pounds then he would want you back because you have such a great personality but he said he is not attracted to you since you have put on weight and you don’t dress up.” Yes I was sad. Indescribably sad.
But, I didn’t look back after that phone call that day. I didn’t go straight to the gym. I didn’t stop eating. I didn’t go put on makeup and new clothes, I put my BIG girl panties on and started to embrace how I looked regardless of my weight or my face or the way I wanted to dress in my house shoes when I went to the grocery store.
Fast forward 6 years-I now find joy in putting on my pretty plus size clothes and radiating the confidence I lacked so many years ago in hopes of someone else getting the boost they have been longing for and that they most certainly deserve.
We try our hardest to give every customer a boost and make them feel great while shopping with us. I want you to feel everything you have ever missed out on when you went into a public place and no one really noticed you. You know what I am talking about. We have all been there before.
Hair up? You don’t have on any makeup? I couldn’t even tell because your skin is flawless. Oh you are wearing your house slippers? They look designer!!! Girl, we will still throw out a compliment and we hope you receive and retain the compliment for as long as you can. You are beautiful, you radiate joy and you are so so so loved.
Amy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I decided to open Evie Brooks Boutique in August of 2020. Yes, I opened in the middle of a pandemic. Yes, I was working out of my house and I had no idea what I was doing. I quickly found out how cruel the world could be but it only pushed me harder. There are two people who I could always count on for small business owner advice and I am so so grateful for them. The ride has been wild but I truly think this was a calling for me. I love people and helping others fills my cup in the process. My customers mean everything to me and so many have become great friends. One particular customer that become such a great friend has just opened a small business of her own doing permanent jewelry. I will tag her at the end.
Evie Brooks Boutique offers women’s clothing, accessories, hats, shoes, handmade jewelry, jeans and my favorite are our dresses. I do also love the Arkansas Razorbacks and we will always be prepared for gameday if you are needing one!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I have always loved shopping small and the unique and personal experience that small businesses provide. But, as a young person who worked two jobs and who was and is plus size, I felt that there were no experiences like this for me. I know there were several people my age who were also keeping a decent price point in mind while trying to find something to fit. You were lucky to find something at all and really lucky if you felt your best while wearing it. Big shirts, dark colors and house shoes like previously mentioned was what I wore most of the time. I was on a budget, I was unhappy and I was insecure. Just trying to get a cute friendly experience at the mall or at a local boutique.
This is what I am most proud of. Being able to curate a complete experience for my customers while being so resilient in my past and letting it affect me in such a positive way. They are able to shop clothing for all aspects of their life include loungewear, casual clothes, and more formal attire. They are also able to shop in a fun and upbeat environment with prices that are realistic for the target market. I also love being able to help people find clothes that make them feel confident in their body no matter what.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Sometimes I have to remember why I love doing what I am doing and why I haven’t given up. Life knocks you down over and over again but you have to stand up just as many times.
Often I have to dive deep into marketing techniques to help me out. The location of our shop isn’t in plain sight for others to see easily so I am always searching for ways to draw attention to the location of our store as well as an online presence when it often seems the industry is saturated with online boutiques.
People don’t go outside and shop like they used to so I constantly host fun events at my shop with customers and friends to connect with the community and for my own sanity just having a good time with good people as much as I can. It has made me realize regardless if anyone else sees it or not that small businesses interacting with people face to face is so important for everyone. This is an ecommerce growing environment these days and you have to adapt whether you want to or not.
Shein, Temu, Walmart, Amazon and all the other department or big chain stores have great things about them and I bet they have great people who work for them but in the grand scheme of things they are so terrible for small businesses who used to have so many customers a day. As I sit here and type this I know it sounds so dark and depressing or a “pity party” but as long as you keep going and doing what you love everything else should fall into place for as long as you let it. There are days where we don’t sell anything and you feel defeated. There are days where customers come in and bring you coffee and ask you to show them where all of the new arrivals are and they pick one of each and express their appreciation to you and what your store has done for their self confidence. Keep going, sis.
Just keep swimming and be a good human!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shopeviebrooks.com
- Instagram: @shopeviebrooks
- Facebook: @shopeviebrooks
- TikTok @shopeviebrooks
Image Credits
Sydney Sligh Photography