Elkhart business fire destroys dress shop
Posted: Jan 24, 2012 12:11 AM EDT | Updated: Nov 5, 2014 5:15 PM EDT
ELKHART, Ind.--Saturday night’s fire completely consumed Marilin Variedades: a clothing store, and formal dress shop.
ABC 57 was told they primarily sold wedding dresses, prom dresses and quinceanera dresses- a traditional, hispanic, coming-of-age party dress. With spring just a few months away, some girls’ dress dreams could be a nightmare.
It’s a little girls’ fairytale to pick out a poufy, sparkly , princess dress to walk down the aisle or celebrate young adulthood in.
"In this dress, they feel like a princess probably," said Armando Ramierez, the owner of Elegant Designs, formal shop.
Ramierez sees, first hand, the womens' reactions to the perfect dress.
"It’s very important. I mean it’s very very important to find the perfect dress. And once they’ve found it, you know, you can see it in their eyes.”
It’s so important, dresses are ordered months in advance to ensure the ideal fit for the big day.
“We ask customers to order at least 4 months before,” said Ramierez.
And once the dresses come in, customers still have to wait.
“A month, at least a month, after the dress comes into the store for alterations.”
But for customers of Marilin Variedades, their glass slippers are covered in cinders and their fairytale dresses are in rags.
Marilin Variedades was destroyed in a massive fire on Saturday night, burning dress dreams with it. A tragedy Ramirez said he can’t even imagine.
“It’d be something, I don’t know, I don’t want to, I would be more concerned about my customers. About my customers dresses.”