Alumni Spotlight - Tiffany Bressan and Courtney Noelle Ratliff - Becoming Extraordinary

Remember Trista Rehn, the first Bachelorette? Her success in love became a success for ABC and she and her husband, Ryan Sutter, documented their wedding on television. During the wedding rehearsal Trista donned a crystal-encrusted pink tank top that said Bride. It was this simple outfit that catapulted Tiffany Bressan (’00) and Courtney Noelle Ratliff (’01) into the fashion limelight.

Bressan and Ratliff own Girl ExtraOrdinaire, LLC, a wholesale sportswear company based in southern California. The two women, friends from their days at CSU, took their fashion design degrees to California where they each learned a part of the business: Bressan learned manufacturing and production at fabric and trim companies; Ratliff learned sales and merchandising at a junior apparel company. “Two clients I worked with said ‘you’re a girl extraordinaire. How do we find one of you?’ And they offered to invest in a company,” says Bressan. With the investor’s help, the two turned their friendship into a partnership and started the company in 2004.

Girl ExtraOrdinaire quickly found their niche in the bridal industry. Ratliff and Bressan were bridesmaids in many weddings. “There was a lack of unique items for the brides and bridesmaids. We created our own bridal wedding gifts such as personalized tees and tanks that made the bride feel truly special,” says Ratliff. The two went to the National Bridal Market to sell their wares to boutiques and caught lots of attention for their innovative products: swimsuits, flip flops that spell JUST MARRIED as you walk in the sand, and tank tops with jeweled writing such as the one Trista Rehn wore.

“We built up our business one account at a time,” says Ratliff. And now, Girl Extraordinaire has 1500 different accounts and works with major vendors such as weddingchannel.com, bridestuff.com, and theknot.com, where they are the number one vendor with 40 designs. “We never gave up,” says Bressan, “one more no meant we were closer to a yes.”

The women have many reasons to thank CSU. “The four-year program at CSU gave us an edge over two-year fashion design programs in California. It gave us a broad spectrum of skills, including computer and presentation skills,” says Bressan.

“College gives you such a great sense of confidence. Learning to speak in front of the class is great training for real world presentations,” says Ratliff. In addition to their academic skills, the women have also seen social rewards from CSU. Tiffany Bressan is married to Gabe Corbett (’00), who introduced Courtney Ratliff to Aaron Maddox (’00). While flying home from a fashion show, the two women met Ryan Shaffet (’99) and his manufacturing plant is now producing some of their product line.

For these girls, their success is extraordinary!

www.girleo.com

This article originally appeared in the Colorado State University Alumni Association June AlumLine electronic newsletter.

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Contact:  Beth Etter
Telephone:  970.491.3591
Email:  Elizabeth.Etter@colostate.edu