Name of Business: Ella’s Gowns
Location: 1345 Dalarna Way
Contact: (209) 620-3625; EllasGowns@gmail.com
Hours of Operation: By appointment only.
History of Business: Each year when prom season comes around, the local department stores and malls are filled with high school girls looking for the perfect dress — a task that, although fun and exciting at first, can become difficult if searching for something that is not sleeveless, backless, or low-cut.
Seeing a need for modest formal gowns and dresses, local seamstress Chelsea Fremming decided to use her passion for sewing to help offer modest alternatives to the prom dresses found in today’s fashion, opening her out-of-home business, Ella’s Gowns. Taking beautiful, lightly used dresses in like new condition, Fremming modifies the gowns, often putting short sleeves on dresses that were previously sleeveless or thinly-strapped.
With over 50 already-modified dresses and gowns available, Fremming also offers a tailoring service providing modest alterations for those bringing in their own dresses. In Ella’s Gowns recent sale, customers could come and find affordable, lightly used dresses or gowns, and discuss with Fremming what type of modifications they wanted to help create a modest look. Although some of the dresses had already been modified, Fremming decided to leave some of them unaltered so that customers could have various options available.
Additionally, Fremming said she recently attended a meeting with a young women’s group in Stockton, where she shared about her business Ella’s Gowns and how to use your creativity to discover new ways to “modestfy” — a word used by Fremming to describe the act of making clothing more modest through alterations — their own wardrobes, before letting them try on the modified formal gowns offered at Ella’s Gowns.
To view pre-modified gowns or to have an alteration done, an appointment must be made by calling Ella’s Gowns, which is located at Fremming’s home. Prices range for pre-modified gowns from $25 to $65, with long and short dresses in sizes 0 to 22 available. Additionally, dresses can be rented for $20 each.
Business Specialty: Seamstress/Tailor.
