When Tish Cox Started her self-titled clothing line in 2010, she had no clue her 8-year-old daughter was mentally taking notes. Young Sheridan would watch from across the kitchen table as her mother hand-sewed original pieces. Between them lay mounds of fabric, lace, and buttons.
Thirteen years later, the two sit side by side at that table to create designs for their unique yet intertwined clothing lines, Tish Cox and Sheridan for Tish Cox.
“Becoming a designer was not my original plan,” Tish says as she brushes back a piece of her daughter’s pinned-up blond hair. “In fact, I guess you could say that my two girls were my first exposure to the world of fashion design.” The pair share a look, and then Sheridan blurts out, “Figure skating!”
Sheridan, now a student at SMU, explains that she and her older sister, Kennedy, used to be competitive figure skaters. “I had a routine to that Marilyn Monroe song ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,’ and we were told that our parents needed to make our costumes,” she says. Her mother handmade a nearly perfect replica of the iconic pink dress. That day, a creative spark ignited in both of them.
By 2012, Tish began selling her clothes at the Lovers Lane boutique Cabana. “I love everyday clothes as much as the next person, but there’s nothing I hate more than looking disheveled,” Tish says. “So my brand is about elevating the everyday look.”
Sheridan laughs and jokingly rolls her eyes. “My mom almost exclusively wears her own designs, even to the grocery store.” Tish proudly straightens the collar of her white blouse. “Yep, even this,” she says. “It’s the gauze Gwendolyn top.”
While Tish names her pieces after the first customer to buy an item, Sheridan’s refer to her closest friends. She pulls out a short, backless red dress. “This was my first piece, the Morgan dress,” she says. All of Sheridan’s designs can be found at Clover on Lovers Lane, a branch of the Cabana store geared for college-age women.
“I think the biggest achievement in my career to date was when I was at my Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority formal, and I saw three girls wearing the Morgan dress in different colors,” says the fashion media major. “I could see my hard work was paying off.”
Sheridan got her start while still a senior at Highland Park High School, helping her mom make masks during the pandemic and creating her own designs with the fabric remnants. A few short years later, she’s about to release Sheridan for Tish Cox into other stores in the fall. In the meantime, while Tish attends to customers at Cabana, Sheridan works hands-on at Clover.
“We get to know our customers on a personal level and, in doing so, get to know what’s trending,” Tish says. “In a sense, the customers are the inspiration.”
She adjusts her glasses. “I look forward to all of Sheridan’s future creations,” Tish says. “If there is one piece of advice I can leave her with, it’s that clothing is empowering no matter who you are or what you’re doing. If you feel good in what you’re wearing, you’re going to have a better day.”
This story originally appeared in the August issue of D Magazine with the headline, “Moving the Needle.” Write to [email protected].
