Take a drive down Main Street in downtown Madison, and it’ll be hard not to do a double-take when you see the brand new pink exterior detailing on a new boutique called Filthy Gorgeous. It’s quite attractive (if you like pink!), but the eye candy doesn’t stop there.
Take a step inside, and you’ll be met with trendy decor from floor to ceiling, a comfortable (and sanitized!) try-on area, and garments in every color.
Melinda Sanders, who co-owns the store with her mother Cindy Sensenberger, shares that the store’s mission is to have something for every shape and size that makes every woman feeling “filthy gorgeous” in what they leave with.
Filthy Gorgeous Boutique in Madison, Alabama
The boutique carries sizes 0-3x and strives to only purchase roughly six of each garment so that “everyone in Madison isn’t walking around with the same thing on.”
Sanders shared that regardless of what a woman has on her schedule that day – whether it’s working from home in lounge clothes or attending a semi-formal event – that she should feel beautiful, comfortable, and confident in the apparel she chooses to wear.
Sanders says that her store has a “combination of everything, from professional wear to jeans and jumpsuits and more.” Prices range from $20 items all the way up to $150, and offering a variety of price tags is important to Sanders.
“Everyone’s bank account looks different,” shared Sanders, who continued to share that she strives to offer a healthy mix of higher-end, recognizable brands as well as pieces that are affordable for most.
When asked what her motivation was to launch Filthy Gorgeous, Sanders shared a couple of defining experiences.
In early March, Sanders and her mother (who was the long-time owner of Main Street Cafe until two years ago) traveled to Indonesia and had a wonderful time exploring. Surrounded by eye-catching, unique boutiques everywhere they went, they discussed how neat it would be if they were able to bring some of that feel to Madison via new boutiques.
“I grew up in Canada where local boutiques were everywhere,” she explains. “I feel like in our area, a lot of the boutiques are geared towards a younger crowd.”
She continued to share that she’s personally found it difficult to find clothes for her age and size but “still be trendy and feel cute in something that fits well.”
Sanders says that she hopes her shop is a place where her son’s girlfriend enjoys shopping as well as someone her mother’s age.
(Author note: I actually visited the store last weekend with my mom, and we both agreed that it carried beautiful, well-priced items that we could both see ourselves purchasing. I did make a purchase!)
When asked about her decision to launch a brand new business during the pandemic, she says that she “stepped out in faith and has been fearless ever since.”
She shared that she gets up every morning and has loved coming to work.
“Once we made the decision to do this, we never looked back. We’ve received so much support from everyone.”
When thinking about the support she’s received from her husband, Sanders gets emotional.
“My husband is awesome. I could almost cry when I think about the support he’s given me.”
One angle of the store that Sanders is thrilled to offer is their private shopping experience. She explained that these opportunities are held before and after regular business hours and that customers are served hot coffee or tea and have hands-on service in a very private setting.
“When we did some of our pop-up shops, we noticed that people really like one-on-one shopping.”
She says that after the holidays, they’re hoping to reserve every Monday for private shopping appointments.
Filthy Gorgeous is located at 14 Main Street. They are open Monday until 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday until 6 p.m., and Saturday until 5 p.m.
Filthy Gorgeous can be found on their website, on Facebook, and on Instagram.
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