One Love, One Life, One Gown for It All
By Kanksha Mehta
Danese Creations’ unassuming corner location contrasts with the bridal chest of nostalgia-inspiring trousseau items awaiting the new bride, when owner Sylvia Danese-DiCola welcomes her into her elegant shop.
Since 1971, Danese-DiCola has followed in her grandmother’s and mother’s footsteps, having learned the art of dressmaking in Mexico, where she spent her childhood and youth. She is known as the Fairy Godmother of Fashion, and rightfully so: She managed to save a wedding by making a full-length, fully-lined wedding dress from start to finish in just two hours and fifty minutes. Her boutique reflects her expertise and flying fingers in the hand-sewn fineries that are her very own. One of her original dresses, worn to the 2005 Emmys, created such publicity that the nationally syndicated Inside Edition featured Sylvia and her dress on their next episode.
Pure passion goes into every gown she makes, and that passion has landed her a spot as a semiregular guest on Channel 3’s Good Morning America. But there are plenty of other reasons for a bride to get excited about Danese Creations. Any bride entering the shop will feel an immediate flurry of delight similar to what a child feels in a candy store as she takes in the handmade treats inside: drapes of white silk and taffeta, vintage mannequins, ball gowns, beading, flower girl dresses, embroidered gloves, and gracefully netted veils. Hundreds of fabric rolls from around the world, in every material and color, overflow in the fabric room among jewelry cases and bustier fittings.
Danese Creations, says Danese-DiCola, is a place where brides hear, “Yes, we can. Just say when.” Custom everything is the specialty, and every woman walks away with exactly what she desires. Danese-DiCola envisions a dress the moment she lays eyes on her client, including even such details as the shape of her eyes in the creation of the bride’s wedding dress. She can make a garment from a picture or drawing, and is an expert at redesigning heirloom gowns and finding ways to make gowns that are too large or too small fit.
Any new bride would surely love to find herself inside this enchanted shop, being draped in rich material during a fitting for one of Danese-DiCola’s luxurious one-of-a-kind creations; and later, walking down the aisle looking like the queen that she is.
Visit danesecreations.com for more information.