Pre-loved fashions with a purpose

Entrepreneurs are known for being out-of-the-box thinkers. Creators who bring businesses to new heights with drive, fresh perspectives, and problem-solving approaches. And by this definition, Stephanie Sissons of DYL Fashions in Medicine Hat is an entrepreneur in the truest form. 

DYL Fashions, which stands for Dress Your Lashes, originally began in 2009 with a box of designer sunglasses that Stephanie came across.  

“I had a history of selling vintage toys on eBay in my 20’s. I tried selling the sunglasses on eBay, it went pretty well, and so, I found a wholesaler and started selling more. That’s where Dress Your Lashes (DYL) came from.” 

From there, the business started to expand and grow, with Stephanie diversifying her inventory and exploring various retail opportunities. 

“We added jewelry, we were doing trade shows, and we had [displays] in hair salons. That led to a shop at one point, and a bigger shop at another point. It just kind of snowballed.” 

In the midst of growing the business, Stephanie found one area that stood out to her: selling second-hand items. Finding new homes for these “pre-loved” pieces, as she refers to them, led her to opening a store on Dunmore Road in 2015. During the pandemic, they sold online, and afterwards, DYL Fashions moved to its current location on 3rd Street SE in downtown Medicine Hat. 

The DYL Fashion storefront, though, is not your average second-hand venue. Operating on two levels, each floor offers a specific type of clothing. Upstairs features designer pieces on consignment, catering to those looking for high-quality, unique, or vintage items. Downstairs, however, is referred to as the “Bargain Basement,” and offers more affordable options, including designer items that may have minor flaws or good quality items from retail brands. This dual pricing model allows Stephanie to give back to the community, with 25% of the basement sales supporting the Medicine Hat Women's Shelter Society.  

"We treat the women’s shelter as a consignment client when items are donated or can't be sold upstairs," Stephanie notes. “We want to make women feel beautiful and to give them what they need. There’s no amount of money that can buy that feeling of helping someone.” 

In fact, part of Stephanie’s initiative to empower women through clothing has led to a “voucher” program, which lets women select ten items from the Bargain Basement for free. These vouchers are specifically given to community programs that help women, including the Women’s Shelter, Bridges Family Program, and Saamis Immigration. The program organizers then provide the vouchers to those in need. Recently, Stephanie has been looking for ways that she can extend this generosity to youth. 

“My newest idea was to give the vouchers to school counsellors. There are a lot of girls who are either living on their own and still going to school or are from a home where they can't afford any clothes. And so, if we can help with that at all, we will. We have contacted Medicine Hat High School and provided vouchers to them, but I want to go to all the high schools.” 

Despite so many positive initiatives, DYL Fashions is not immune to challenges. Recent construction in downtown Medicine Hat has presented a new set of hurdles for the store. Stephanie shares, “when they put up the [construction] gates, that was pretty rough. In the first couple of days we still had a steady flow of people coming in, [but after two weeks], we started to see a fairly big decline in sales.” However, Stephanie is remaining positive, leveraging an online presence to maintain sales. 

Stephanie also emphasizes the importance of community support. "Your business needs you and they are depending on you to support them.” Each purchase, ‘like,’ or ‘share’ helps small businesses like hers thrive. "When you support us, it means a lot and every person that does helps us keep going.” 

Spending locally not only helps small businesses but also strengthens our local economy. By choosing to support businesses like DYL Fashions, you contribute to the overall well-being and sustainability of Medicine Hat, helping money to stay within the community, fostering economic growth, and supporting local jobs.  

You can visit DYL Fashions downtown at 622 3rd St SE, Medicine Hat. You can also find them online at dylfashions.com or on their social media accounts including Instagram, Facebook, Etsy, and Poshmark.