Katie Wade Faught grew up in the dancewear business. Her parents, Buddy and Cindy Wade, opened Applause Dancewear in 1981. Faught spent most of her childhood there, where she sold her first leotard when she was only 8 years old.
In December 1992, Faught had just moved back home from the University of Alabama to complete her college education at UAB when her parents asked if she would be interested in managing the store. By summer 1993, she had taken over the entire business.
When asked what she does, Faught’s response is this: “I am a therapist to dance moms, a teenage-girl whisperer and a sales person like you’ve never seen, but I can still balance the books and pay the taxes at the end of the day.”
Faught has a hand in every part of Applause, from working behind the scenes to working face-to-face with customers.
That she only hires former dancers is what sets Applause apart from other dancewear stores. “80 percent of our customers are parents who didn’t dance, and when they bring their child to us, I want them to know that we are confident in what we are selling because we either wear it right now or have worn it.”
2017 marks the 36th year Applause Dancewear has been in business, and it is still growing. “To be considered one of the highest-level retailers in the U.S. due to the amount of inventory sold and the broad customer base I have cultivated both nationally and locally is quite a feat considering there are over 40,000 dance retailers in the country,” Faught said.
► WHERE: 1629 Oxmoor Road
► CALL: 871-7837
► WEB: applausedancewear.net
