How Botticelli Got Its Roots
I am often asked how I came up with the idea for a plus-size store that caters to the mind, body, and spirit of the curvaceous woman. The truth is, I have been both tall and overweight my entire life. At 13 years old, I weighed 250lbs, and at 5’10” tall, there was little available for plus-size women in the early 80s.
My AH-HA moment came in 2002 when we had a death in the family, and I had nothing to wear to the wake and funeral. I had budgeted $300 for some new clothes, but I spent the next two days in a frantic search for something that was of good quality and had some style to it. My efforts were fruitless, and I drove from Boston to Hartford, but still found nothing. After the funeral, my female relatives and I sat around and shared our war stories of trying to find clothes for the funeral. We all had the same tale to tell, and that was the day I said, “I’ll do it myself.” So, in 2003, at the age of 29, I opened Botticelli.
