Gayla Bentley Silk Blouse $178 At Neiman's (Click Image To View Or Buy) |
Gayla Bentley Leopard Trim Coat $535 At Neiman's (Click Image To View Or Buy) |
Gayla Bentley Obi Blouse $110 At Neiman Marcus (Click Image To View Or Buy) |
If you’re an upscale plus size woman it isn’t exactly going to come as a newsflash to you that purchasing upscale plus size clothing is beyond difficult but not surprisingly it was a newsflash to one of the “sharks” on ABC’s show SHARK TANK.
Gayla Bentley, the designer based out of Houston, Texas appeared on the show last night to seek the funding to expand her ten year old clothing line that focuses on the upscale plus size woman. While it was understandable that most of “the sharks” were concerned about the current abysmal retail environment one shark told Gayla that he believes that if there truly was a demand the market would be meeting it and perhaps plus size women just didn’t care about fashion!
Ugh! Thank God there was a female on the panel (Barbara Corcoran) who, while not plus size herself, could understand what Bentley was pitching and what an opportunity truly exists in the upscale plus size market. Together Bentley and Corcoran were able to convince FUBU founder Daymond John to get on board and give her the $250,000 she was seeking.
Needless to say I look forward to seeing what this team comes up with and kudos, Gayla: for several minutes you had a national platform to speak on behalf of the ignored starved for fashion plus size woman and you did them proud!.
