Candy Kouture in Joliet offers more than fashionable clothing

Tycee Bell of Joliet called Candy Kouture at 700 W. Jefferson St. in Joliet a “fashionable boutique” where Bell consistently finds a variety of merchandise.

Bell also loves the seamstress services the business provides and the generous spirit of Candy Kouture’s owner Sandra Moore.

“She has purses, she has outfits,” Bell said. “I’m a legging type of person and she always had a two-piece ensemble for me at the last minute if I was looking for something to wear.”

Bell said Moore often lends her talents to local fashion shows, including several for the grassroots organization Speak Up.

“Every time there was an event, she was asking, ‘How can I help?’” Bell said.

Fabric of her community

Candy Kouture is Moore’s most recent business venture – but it’s not her first business venture.

Moore, a Joliet resident, opened Sandy’s Unique clothing store in downtown Joliet in 2005 and closed its most recent location several months ago due to mold in the building, she said. She’s hoping to return to downtown Joliet when the downtown improvements are completed.

“I miss the people down there,” Moore said. “I met a lot of homeless people that I had really started caring about that used to come to my store. I always gave away coats, gloves, hats and fed them.”

Daphney Royster of Romeoville, founder and executive director of owner of the Joliet nonprofit I’ve Been Mended, said she’s met some of the homeless people Moore helped because Moore sent them to I’ve Been Mended’s community closet.

Moore has also donated to that closet and she also encourages other businesses because “she’s not competitive,” Royster said.

“She’s gone through a lot of health issues,” Royster said. “She’s had cancer but you would never know because she continues to go.”

A hardworking spirit

Moore also teaches sewing classes at Candy Kouture, performs alterations, designs many of the fashions she sells at Candy Kouture, participates in local fashion shows – and even does a bit of catering.

“I knew I had a purpose and was not going to leave this earth without fulfilling that purpose.”

—  Sandra Moore, owner of Candy Kouture in Joliet

Her hardworking entrepreneurial spirit stems from her upbringing and the time she spent in Maine. Moore said she had modeled locally when she was growing up and moved to Maine at 17 after her mother gave her permission to marry. Moore’s boyfriend was in the military and stationed in Maine.

“I started out making all-occasion baskets and selling them at craft shows when my husband was in the Air Force for eight years,” Moore said, adding she still makes and sells baskets.

So Moore said she also took culinary and businesses classes in Maine and some business classes in Joliet when she returned in 1990.

Moore said after she was first diagnosed with cancer in the early 1990s, she turned her experiences into motivational speaking, donating to local people who needed help and holding local cancer awareness events.

“Everybody used to wonder how I could go through all that stuff and keep a smile on smile face,” Moore said. “But I’ve always been a spiritual person. I knew I had a purpose and was not going to leave this earth without fulfilling that purpose. I’ve always felt like that.”

Moore continued making and selling her baskets. She had the idea of opening a physical location when she started selling baskets on consignment in local stores.

“I realized, ‘Hey, I’m paying other people to sell my stuff,” Moore said. “I might as well open up my own store.”

Moore said she attended vendor shows seeking unusual and one-of-a kind items for Sandy’s Unique.

“I’ve always had a thing for fashion and wanted to start selling clothes – but not like normal clothes you can go to any store and buy,” Moore said.

But Moore didn’t stop there.

“I always wanted my own clothing line,” Moore said. “So during the pandemic, I had time to create.”

Making customers' dreams come true

Royster knows Moore’s designing abilities first hand. She said Moore “took my dream and made it a reality” by creating a one-of-a-kind peacock-themed veil for Royster’s wedding last year.

Royster wanted the veil to incorporate her wedding colors – gold, antique white and royal blue – and feature a peacock on the back of the veil, designed to look as if it was upright and floating behind her.

And Moore “did not question it,” Royster said.

“Sandy listens,” Royster said. “She’s not going to create what she wants. She’s going to take your vision and she’s going to make it a dream.”

The most challenging aspect of owning a business for Moore is self-promotion and curbing her natural desire to give products away, she said.

Moore said she’s not one to “put myself out there” or connect with others online. But she’s gradually overcoming that reluctance. Candy Kouture now has a Facebook page and a website Moore’s currently developing.

She now understands that promotion is basically “getting out there and letting people know what I do,” she said.

“I promise you, it’s not always easy,” Moore said. “A lot of times, it is a struggle. There will be days I don’t get one customer. But I keep myself busy.”

For more information, including hours of operation, visit candykouture.com.