After suffering through the personal experience of trying to find a formal dress for her plus size daughter, Phyllis Brasch Librach decided she was going to help make other young girls and women's shopping experience less frustrating and more fun by launching Sydney's Closet. Now she offers ready to ship and special order dresses for virtually all formal occasions. There is one appointment only showroom in St. Louis, Missouri but the majority of customers finds the dress of their dreams at the online shop which hit the internet in 2002.

Selection: There are cocktail dresses, prom dresses, wedding dresses, mother of the bride dresses, quinceanera dresses, quince anos dresses, bridesmaids dresses, dance dresses, military balls dresses, cruise dresses, bat mitzvahs dresses, homecoming dresses, party dresses, pageants dresses and anything else you can think of. They also carry accessories such as shawls, shapewear (Spanx), over 60 styles of shoes, slips, gloves and evening bags. They even have a new maternity section!

Sizing: Sydney's Closet provides formal and bridal wear for sizes 0 to 44.

Styling: There's sleek and sexy or layers of ruffles or strapless and demure.

Pricing: There is a nice array of prices from $159 all the way up to $625; but there are a lot of beautiful choices on the lower end of the spectrum.

Availability: Sydney's Closet ships to the United States, Canada and internationally (exceptions - Bosnia, Indonesia, and Nigeria) using USPS or GPS. Costs start at $16.99 for U.S. and $57 for international.

Overall Impression: It's nice to see a formal gown site whose main focus is the plus size consumer but I would like to see more plus size models wearing the dresses. They have a fabulous section just for our super size sisters which is not limited to just 4 or 5 'ok' dresses; there are over 60 in this section alone. There is an additional surcharge of $29.99 for sizes 28 and above.

The website is easy to surf with all the dresses well categorized to limit browsing time if you want (you won't). The website accepts the usual payment methods and PayPal! I think the shipping to Canada is a bit extreme but if you love the dress, you love the dress. Customers can get information about special offers, sales, new merchandise and fashion trends by signing up to their email list although I can't see any use for this once you've purchased your dress. I have not subscribed so I am uncertain of the frequency. Be sure to read their return/exchange information before ordering.

They definitely win hands down in terms of plus size dress selection.

Visit Sydney's Closet for plus size formal dresses.