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By DEREK REDD
Ashley Sutton believes everyone should be able to feel beautiful. They should be able to enjoy self-confidence.
That's what she promotes at her business, Moonlight Intimate Apparel, in Wheeling's Centre Market. There, Sutton sells intimate apparel that is size-inclusive, offering sizes that aren't always found at national chains. She wants customers to leave happy, confident and feeling positive about themselves.
That experience is something Sutton once sought, but couldn't find herself. The 33-year-old said she once weighed nearly 300 pounds and came from a domestic violence background. Her lack of confidence is something she said led her to put herself in negative situations.
And it didn't help when she would go to stores looking for clothes. She often couldn't find apparel that would fit her, and the apparel that did often would be more expensive than clothes in more conventional sizes.
"They just don’t have the sizing available and it makes you feel bad about yourself," she said. "And it makes you not want to go back into the stores and not put yourself out there, and that does affect a lot. I mean, for me it personally did.
"And even after I lost weight, there was still that struggle of cost of things, too," she continued "because it’s very, very expensive and I feel like feeling good should be accessible to everybody. You should be able to go and find your size, and not go off into a hidden dark corner somewhere."
That mindset led her to take the chance and open Moonlight Intimate Apparel last October. It was, in part, a leap of faith that came during the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic closures. What she thought would be a couple of months away from her old bartending job became a game of more than a year.
Sutton had always wanted to open a store like Moonlight, and doing so allowed her to carry on the tradition of her family as small business owners in the Ohio Valley. One grandfather, Morris Rivlin, owned the Executive Travelers Club on Wheeling's Main Street. Another grandfather owned a Valley Grove gas station.
"I started ordering product before I even had a storefront," she said. "That was also really hard to find. I came down (to Centre Market) for a sandwich and this was the building I wanted and it just happened to be where we parked. I saw it was for rent. She hadn’t listed it anywhere and that was it."
At Moonlight, Sutton sells intimate apparel and also holds boudoir photography sessions. She said those sessions are another confidence boost for those who participate. Too often, she continued, women see the flaws in themselves. In the photographs, a different set of eyes is showing that person's beauty, which can be an empowering feeling.
Customer service is key in Sutton's chosen field. Many of those who come into the store haven't worn lingerie in a long time, if at all. So she quizzes them about what they want to accentuate and what they'd rather distract from. Then she guides them to the styles and sizes that would be the best fit.
One of the most important aspects of Sutton's business model is carrying sizes that other stores don't. Those searching for plus sizes or items that are super petite can find something at Moonlight.
"I wanted a space where everybody could come in and just feel like they could comfortably shop and find their size and leave feeling beautiful and feeling good about themselves," she said. "And I try to explain that to people a lot. This isn’t for your partner. This is so that you feel good, because if you feel good, you’re more likely to get out there and do things and feel differently about things. If you walk out and you feel great for the day, you’re automatically in a better mood."
Sutton would like to expand her business in the future. Moonlight will soon move into online sales. But she also would like to see the concept of size inclusiveness expand into other small businesses around the region. There is a significant customer base that would benefit, she said.
"I think that we as shop owners, we all need to embrace that," she said. "I feel like all stores should do this. I hope that this idea of not body shaming for being too large or too small, and having something for everybody (takes off) because there’s a whole client base out there that is being overlooked."