It’s not just a Dress– It’s an Adventure!

It’s been a long time since I’ve written on this blog; my days have been full with work that I love, and I’ve had less time to sit and reflect.  I’ve made many new friends and heard some memorable stories.  Before too much more life slips by, I want to introduce my newest African friends.

As some of you know, our oldest daughter got engaged back in March and decided to organize her own wedding together with her fiancé.  As plans began to develop, I asked her for input on what I should wear.  She told me that she would like me and my husband to wear African outfits.  So we unpacked our African clothes from storage, but found that they all look a bit old and shabby.  And none of the outfits we had were the right colors for the wedding.  So I assumed I’d just have to shop for an American-style dress.

But then I wondered if I might be able to buy a new African-style dress somewhere in our area, so I did an internet search for African clothing.  I shouldn’t have been surprised to find that the top two shops were right in our neighborhood!  So the following week I visited both and met the proprietors.  I settled on “Georgie’s.”  Georgie is an immigrant from Nigeria, who has lived in our area with her husband and children for a number of years.  She was delighted to hear that I had lived in Africa and excited about helping me choose fabric for a “mother of the bride” dress.

After some texting of photos back-and-forth with Anna, I chose a cotton print imported from Nigeria.  Georgie showed me albums full of photos of elaborate Nigerian wedding parties, but I told her that this wedding would be casual… the venue was a barn!  The seamstress was a woman from Cameroon named Gwen, and she helped me decide on a design and took my measurements.  We had enough fabric for her to make a matching shirt for my husband—typical at an African wedding.

Gwen actually works early shifts as a cleaning lady at a hospital, and then sews in the afternoons and evenings to help make ends meet.  It took about two weeks before my dress was ready.  When I met her at the shop to try it on, we found that the shoulders needed some alterations, so it was another three days before it was finished.  Since an African outfit is never complete without a head-wrap, she made me a headband to wear with my dress!

The wedding went beautifully and was full of fun and blessing.  I was happy with my new dress, and our daughter loved seeing our outfits and hearing about Georgie and Gwen.  I like being able to support immigrants as they start and run small businesses here in our neighborhood.  And to hear their stories and see how they are stitched together with mine!


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