About 14 years ago in Long Beach, California, Alicia Estrada launched her clothing line, “Stop Staring!” She used the money left over from working two jobs and helping her parents pay for bills and buying schoolbooks.
Estrada would make dresses for her sisters from old scrap fabric and curtains. Today, she is the designer, founder and CEO of her own business. Celebrities including Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, and Nicole Kidman don her fashions. Stop Staring! has been featured in countless magazines like Vogue, Allure, and Marie Claire. It’ssold in thousands of boutiques all over the world.
In March of this year, Celebration Salon’s mother and daughter duo, Rhea Bianco and Olivia Bianco Chaidez, decided to invest in the line and carry it in their salon. Celebration Salon in Alamo, California is now selling Stop Staring! They currently carry about 12 different dress styles from the spring-summer 2013 collection.
“I love the fact that [Estrada] is a Latin woman and a business owner. She proves that if you work hard to create something wonderful, as long as you love it, and you eat and breathe your business, anything is possible,” says Bianco, Celebration Salon owner and master stylist.
Latinas control 39 percent of the 1.4 million companies owned by minority women in the United States, which generate nearly $147 billion in sales, according to the Center for Women’s Business Research.
Stop Staring!’s mission is committed to creating original 1940s and ‘50s vintage inspired dresses and ready-to-wear that embraces and celebrates the feminine form at consistently affordable prices.
Bianco purchased her first Stop Staring! dress five years ago. Her personal wardrobe now contains 14 Stop Staring! Dresses, and counting.
“Stop Staring! serves all generations; from young girls to mature women, and all shapes and sizes; from the fuller figure to even someone who is super thin,” says Bianco. “The line is selling really well. Within a couple weeks, a few dresses were sold out, like the ‘Million Dollar Baby,’ and ‘The Gwen,’ a style designed especially for Gwen Stefani.”
Prices range from $150-$180 at most. Every garment is made in the USA (or made in the USA from imported fabrics). Sizes range from 2-24, XS-XL. They also can special order anything. Every four to six weeks the salon receives a new shipment of dresses.
Estrada started with nothing but herself—her pattern making, cutting, sewing, and selling skills. She promoted her line at concerts, swap meets, and trades shows, and handed out business cards. She is a bona fide hustler for her passions and pursuits.
Bianco and Chaidez are excited for the opportunity to support and invest in an aspiring Latina entrepreneur like Estrada.
“My mother also came from humble beginnings. She had three kids to support, nothing to her name and was able to build her own business. Being that my mother is also a Latin woman, [Estrada] is someone she can really relate to,” says Chaidez, Bianco’s daughter and Celebration Salon master stylist.
Christine Joy Ferrer is the founder and editor of eyesopenedblog.com. For more information on Celebration Salon, please visit: hair2dye4.me
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