By EMMA BARTLETT & FRANKLIN PAULINO

If you’re looking for a prom dress, Stefania Spas from Stefania’s Boutique, knows what’s in style this year. Neon pink and neon orange dresses will be rocking the dance floors throughout the month of May and June.

“People want color, brightness and to be happy,” said Spas, mentioning how individuals want to be seen after being cooped up at home during the pandemic.

Stefania’s Boutique sells dresses from sizes 00 to 24 and for all types of events. Whether it’s a semi-formal, sweet 16, bat mitzvah, prom or mother of the bride gowns, there are 3,500 dresses to choose from.

Spas said 20 years ago, her mom, Antonia, owned a seamstress business across the street from the boutique’s current location on Oaklawn Avenue. Spas, who described her mom as the American dream, said since Antonia immigrated from the Adriatic coast of Italy to America in 1969, worked in a factory once she arrived in the states and eventually started her own business. Antonia didn’t use a portion of her 800 square space and one day a sales representative approached her about selling dresses in the empty part of the store. At the time, Spas was studying nursing at the University of Rhode Island and would often visit her mom’s shop and spend time studying there. Spas decided to run the empty portion of the store and sell dresses to make money for college.

Eight years later, customers were lining up to enter Antonia’s seamstress shop to look at the dresses. Spas and her mom moved Stefania’s Boutique across the street two years later when the first floor of a building became available. The space was 2,000 square feet and within one year, they outgrew that area as well. Since the business on the second floor decided to move, Spas took over the second floor as well – expanding the business to a 4,000 store; things were good and steady. That was until the pandemic crushed business.

For a year and a half Stefania’s Boutique had no income and experienced the ups and downs of opening and closing business. Since 90 percent of her business was prom-related and proms weren’t happening, Spas applied for loans and dipped into her personal savings and retirement fund to stabilize her business. While she applied for grants, there were not many that she qualified for. Spas qualified for the PPE personal protection equipment grant program which she received from the City of Cranston and the Prepare, Prevent and Respond (PPR) Care Act Fund. For Spas to stabilize her business moving forward, the city’s Economic Development Department will help her with the ARPA (America Rescue Plan Act) grant following the criteria of lost revenue in the pandemic which includes beings in business during the pandemic, being a Rhode Island based company and having revenue less than $1 million.

For Spas, her shop is about so much more than selling dresses. It’s about seeing kids come in in eighth grade looking for semi-formal dresses and watching them come back throughout the years and go on to proms and graduations. Kids who buy dresses from Stefania’s Boutique will post pictures in their prom gowns and tag the business which Spas reposts to her business’ account.

Last year was the first-time prom resumed for students, causing the boutique to get creative. Since students had to be masked, Antonia would hem the dresses and use the dress’s excess fabric to create masks that matched the dresses. There was an influx of customers during March 2021, and Spas recalled her cousin coming to assist with business since Spas and Antonia – who was 71 at the time – were working 90 hours a week. But they did it all so “they [students] could have their moments.”

Spas is still recuperating from the pandemic since it doesn’t take just one year to get back to where she was. Supply and demand have also affected business and while Spas placed shoe shipments back in late-summer/early-fall, she received the last shipment of shoes a couple weeks ago.

Sonya Janigian, of Sonya’s Clothing on Oaklawn Avenue, is also back in the prom dress selling circuit this year. Her business has been around for 39 years and sells everything from active wear and career clothes to black-tie formal and prom dresses; Janigian and her staff of seven are happy to assist customers.

“We have unique products that transcend ages,” said Janigian.

Originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, Janigian has lived in Rhode Island for 41 years and started her business in 1983 at the Arcade in Providence. In 1991, her shop came to Cranston and by 2002 she was selling gowns.

At this year’s prom convention in Atlanta, Georgia, Janigian purchased 250 dresses – normally she buys 700 to 800 for prom. She mentioned that product prices have increased – even for shipping – and produced less profit for the business.

She said when Covid first started all the prom 2020 merchandise came in during January and February. Usually, vendors give stores 30 to 60 days to pay them back, but since no one came in due to the pandemic, the companies allowed Sonya’s to pay parts of the funds back over the course of multiple months. Additionally, Janigian said gown vendors directed Sonya’s to channels for government assistance to help keep her business afloat.

Like Spas, Janigian had to dip into her personal money to help stabilize the shop. Janigian and Carmen Garcia applied for Rhode Island Commerce grants and said the process was not user-friendly.

Janigian said Sonya’s has different lines compared to other boutiques and department stores and, through ecommerce, the store has enhanced their exposure to customers. The internet has helped business and get customers back into the store since the start of the pandemic. Janigian said Sonya’s started live streaming fashion shows on Facebook and has made approximately 50 videos. In addition to helping sell products, the fashion shows are meant to promote other small businesses and Janigian tries focusing on Cranston-owned places. For their Christmas show, they were at City Hall and held one at a local floral shop. When the models come out, there is a description of the item, the cost and available sizes in store. Over time the videos have gained more traction with an expanded audience and little by little customers have started coming back for curbside. All of which has given hope to business starting to pick back up.