Stretch Couture: Where Fashion and Imagination Meet!

Suffolk, VA –  Sonya Phillips is the founder and CEO of Stretch Couture, a business that offers sewing instruction, fashion business coaching, and basic to advanced  fashion business and sustainability workshops.  Last year, she also started a sustainable clothing and self-love business focused on plus-sized women. The primary goal of Stretch Couture  is to build confidence in how people feel in their wardrobes.

Sonya also is a co-partner in a business called Dream Shape. She and her partner Wendy Johnson offer body contouring.  Wendy’s personal journey helped inspire their work in the self love side of the business.

Sonya has vast experience in the fashion industry. She studied with Mark Jacobs and  has been in the business since 2001. Her clients have won numerous awards and one client even has a show on the F&L network. Though Sonya guides her clients, she also gives them the creative freedom to express who they are.

Sonya advises, “Make sure that the provider actually wants to help you solve your problem and that you both have the end in mind. With fashion, something may look good but ask ‘is it quality? Who made it? Is it a sustainable product?’  Determine whether  they have your best interests in mind or are just trying to sell you a product or service.”

Sonya was born and attended college in Norfolk. Her business is headquartered there but she  works in a wider geographic area including Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport news, Hampton Roads area and Suffolk.

When Sonya was just 19, she started making her own clothes. In 2001 she turned this into a business, and in 2015, started teaching people how to sew and make their own clothes. She has won two pitch competitions. At one  of them, she won $10,000 for use in her business. Wendy says that the most important thing in business is  training and building the business infrastructure. She advises business owners to “Keep your eyes open for opportunities. You can’t do it by yourself.”

Sonya is active in the community. She is a clean water captain for the Chesapeake Foundation, where she teaches people how to reduce plastic waste. She is also a volunteer coordinator for the Young Investors Group. There, she teaches financial technical skills to people from low income and high crime areas.

She also belongs to business groups including the Richmond chapter of the Metropolitan Business League and the Business Accountability and Networking Group, which she founded. Sonya holds over 20 certifications including the Retail Alliance certification.

Sonya loves the people in the Virginia Beach area where she lives and enjoys serving them and changing their lives. Sonya values relationships with her clients. She wants to understand what is important to you and goes the extra mile.

She likes traveling and spending time with friends and family.

Sonya offers 10% off if you mention this article!