Name: A.J. Silva
Owner, Bravo
How long have you been making gowns?
Going on 26 years.
What inspired you to get into dress making?
My niece got married and couldn't find a headpiece she liked, so I went ahead and bought the materials and I made her one. People told people, and it just gave me the inspiration to go into it. I'm entirely self-taught. It just snowballed from there.
What led you to open Bravo in Concord?
I sold my business in Massachusetts after 23 years and thought I wanted to retire, but I got bored real quickly. And I thought, if I'm going to do this again, I am going to do it in a city where they need this. And it has worked out perfectly.
What is the most difficult item you've created?
I am working on one right now, it's a pageant gown with a V in front and a V in back. To make it stay up has been very challenging. It's for a pageant, and the construction is so intense on the inside, just so it holds up. That's the biggest challenge I've had at this location.
What was the first dress you ever made, and who was it for?
It was that wedding dress for my niece. I basically took the gown apart and put it back together, embellished it with stones and also made the head piece.
What item are you most proud of?
I dressed Shawnae Jebbia, who was Miss Massachusetts. She came to me for her local gown and her state gown, and after she won the state she came to me for her national gown and said, “The first two times I wore your dresses, I won. Make me whatever you want.” I wound up winning highest score for evening gowns at the National event, and she wound up winning Miss USA.
We hear you can whip up a ball gown overnight. Is that true? What prompted that scenario?
A customer came in during Midnight Merriment and loved a dress on the rack but said “I need that in black, and tomorrow.” After we closed at midnight, my seamstress and I went to work, and it was ready for 2 p.m. the next afternoon. We never say never. I like a good challenge.
What are some of the most unique materials you've had shipped in? Do you go on global missions to find them?
I go to international fashion shows in New York, where vendors bring all their collections from all over the world. You can get fabric for $40 per yard, or $450 per yard, if not more. I just got some handbeaded French lace. It's so intricate.
Have you ever had someone request something you've tried to talk them out of?
I have people that will think they can wear something, but I will suggest something else because I know it won't work. I had one mother of the bride who I wouldn't sell a dress to, and she called me every name in the book. I said, 'I'm not going to put my name on it.' She came back a few years later and said she bought the dress somewhere else and didn't get a single compliment at the wedding. She was getting ready for another wedding, and she wanted me to dress her. I'd rather not sell a dress than put my name on something that doesn't look good.
Have you ever created something so perfect you didn't want anyone to wear it?
Everything's for sale. If it's that perfect, someone will buy it.
What celebrity would you want to design a dress for? What would you design?
Taylor Swift. Look at her; she's tall, young, beautiful, she has an amazing figure and she wears everything from simple to outrageous. I'd make the most spectacular evening gown out of the most beautiful French lace.
What's your guilty pleasure?
I'm into horses. I import Friesian horses from Holland, and have a farm in Bow. I love horses, love to buy them and sell them. That's my hobby.
