Sydney's Closet makes formal dresses in plus sizes and nothing else, and prom is where it started. Designer Phyllis Brasch Librach founded the label in 2003. It still designs out of an office in St. Louis, and that office is not a store. You buy the dresses online or from the more than 300 boutiques the brand says carry it in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Ireland and Denmark.
Our listings count 188 shops carrying Sydney's Closet across 37 states. Georgia leads with 16. Illinois has 12 and Ohio 11. Most of these are full prom shops that also stock Jovani or Sherri Hill, so the curvy rack hangs in the same room as everything else, not in a separate store across town.
The name covers several lines, and each one is sold in its own way:
Only in a boutique
- Tease Prom by Sydney's Closet: the prom-only line
- Johnathan Kayne for Sydney's Closet: a pageant-style collection cut on this brand's chart
- Michelle Bridal: wedding gowns
Online or in a boutique
- Sydney's Closet: prom, bridal, party and pageant styles
- Celebrations by Sydney's Closet: sold online only
The brand says its designs have run in Seventeen, Teen Prom and O, The Oprah Magazine.
Sizes 14 to 40, on a chart drawn for curves
Every style is plus size. The brand puts its range at 14 to 40 and says its patterns start from a curvy body instead of a smaller size graded up. So trust its chart over the number in your closet. A size 20 there means a 49 inch bust, a 44 inch waist and 52 inch hips. A 30 means 59, 54 and 62.
Between sizes
Size up. The brand's advice: a dress can be taken in, but it can't always be let out.
Fabric
Stretch fabrics give a little room. Stiffer ones fit closer to the body.
Alterations
Plan on some. The brand doesn't do them, so line up a seamstress who works on formalwear.
Check the size run on the exact gown, too. In the brand's online prom catalog, about 60 percent of main-line styles go all the way to 40. Most of the rest stop at 28 or 32.
Main-line prices and what the Kayne gowns cost
Prices land in the middle of the prom market. On the brand's own site, main-line prom styles run from $199 to $619, and the middle half fall between $299 and $439:
Sydney's Closet prom styles, brand site
$199Most $299 to $439$619
The Johnathan Kayne collection reaches higher. Its prom styles list from $189 to $899, with the middle near $480, and the top of the range is a velvet pageant gown. Tease Prom styles also show prices on the brand's site, but you can only buy them in a boutique. Ask the shop for its price before you set your heart on one.
Ordering direct or going to a boutique
This is where the lines split. The main Sydney's Closet line and Celebrations sell on sydneyscloset.com, and in-stock styles ship the next business day from Kentucky. Tease Prom, Michelle Bridal and the Johnathan Kayne collection go only through authorized boutiques. The brand warns that any website selling Michelle Bridal is a fake, because that line is store-only. Tease Prom is store-only too, so check any site offering it against the brand's retailer list.
Read the return rules before you order direct. You get 5 days after delivery to request a return authorization, then 7 days to mail the dress back. Prom and evening returns come back as store credit or an exchange, not cash. Returns carry a restocking fee and you pay the postage, while exchanges have no restocking fee. Sale dresses are final. A boutique sets its own policy, so ask there.
Some of the shops we list give the label more than a single rack:
Fall River, Massachusetts. Splits its prom catalog in two, with Sydney's Closet and Tease Prom on the plus side and size filters up to 32W.
Fayetteville, North Carolina. Has run a Curvy Girl Trunk Show around the line.
Quincy, Illinois. Files it under a plus-size prom category of its own.
Brooksville, Florida. Keeps a separate plus-size prom collection, from Rachel Allan Curves to Sydney's Closet.
The straight-size labels on the next rack
Sydney's Closet rarely stands alone. Jovani turns up in 124 of the 188 shops, Sherri Hill in 102, Primavera in 90 and Ava Presley in 89. The main Johnathan Kayne line is in 80, often hanging near the Kayne collection made for this brand. For friends who wear different sizes, that mix means one appointment instead of two.
Does Sydney's Closet make dresses below a size 14?
The brand describes its range as 14 to 40. Its chart starts at 10, though, and some styles in its online store list a 10 and a 12, so check the style you want.
Can I buy a Sydney's Closet prom dress online?
Yes, from the main line and Celebrations, on the brand's site. Tease Prom and the Johnathan Kayne collection are sold in boutiques only.
What is Tease Prom?
It's the brand's prom-only line, sold as Tease Prom by Sydney's Closet through authorized boutiques. It uses the same size chart as the rest of the brand.
Is Johnathan Kayne for Sydney's Closet the same as Johnathan Kayne?
No. It's a separate collection sold under the Sydney's Closet name and fitted to its plus-size chart. The main Johnathan Kayne line stocks up to 16 and special-orders 18 to 24.
