Magic Mila

Dress shop seamstress loves to make people beautiful

Feb. 16, 2007

By LEILA KHEIRY

Frontiersman

WASILLA - All brides are temporarily insane anyway, but imagine getting your wedding dress two days before the big day and discovering it doesn't fit.

It's just too small, and no amount of supportive undergarments will make that zipper go up.

What do you do?

Kathleen Plouvier ran to Mila, and Mila worked a little magic.

With less than a day to go, Mila Carlson and her able assistant, Lyubov Sosnina, designed a whole new back for the dress, creating a deep V shape that showed off Plouvier's tan back and solved the problem of the too-tight bodice.

Plouvier was all smiles when she left Mila's Alterations - a little shop hidden on the second floor of the H&R Block building on the corner of the Parks Highway and Main Street.

Mila smiled, too.

&#8220This is my playroom,” Mila said, gesturing at the flouncy, glittery, beaded, ruffled and lacy gowns. &#8220Every girl wants a closet like this.”

While she's had the shop since 2004, it was only in September that Mila delved into retail, ordering dresses that she would wear if only she could fit into them, she said, and hoping her customers liked them, too.

They did.

When the governor's inaugural ball came to Palmer last month, she got slammed. Women were coming into the store up to the last minute, and Mila said she slept on the shop floor the night before so she could get an early start the next day.

She dressed Wasilla Mayor Dianne M. Keller for the ball, Mila said, as well as Gov. Sarah Palin's in-laws and numerous other Valley women. Mila also attended the ball, and took photos of all the ladies in her dresses.

&#8220There were so many of them at the ball, I lost count,” she said.

One of those ladies was Pam Speer, who first started going to Mila's for patches and other tailoring work. Speer said she was very happy with her gown-buying experience, even though she's generally a casual dresser.

&#8220It's kind of like she's your neighbor or good friend,” Speer said. &#8220Not like a business, even though she runs it real professionally.”

And Mila was very accommodating, Speer said, keeping the shop doors open until the last minute the night of the ball in case one of her customers needed a quick dress fix.

Speer said Mila brings that &#8220customer service hometown kind of thing” to her job that is becoming more and more rare as the Valley grows.

&#8220She just keeps it fun,” Speer said.

And now prom season approaches, so Mila is gearing up for all the young girls who want a magical night.

During a recent interview at her store, she was getting ready to fly to Las Vegas to shop for dresses that she hopes will be unique for the girls who buy them.

&#8220I don't want to sell dresses to clients that are also being sold at JC Penny,” or other big retail stores, she said. She sells only one of each dress, hoping that nobody shows up at an event in the same dress ordered off the Internet.

Mila said her favorite part of the job is making people happy. She's brutally honest with her customers, she said, and if a dress looks bad on them, she'll tell them. But she can make something work for people who have challenging shapes.

For example, Mila's assistant, Summer Hutchins, said her daughter needed a gown for a formal event, but was having a hard time finding something flattering. Mila waved her magic wand, and altered a dress to fit.

&#8220That child, she looked gorgeous,” Hutchins said. &#8220And her self esteem just shot right up.”

That's the big reward, said Mila: watching customers discover they are beautiful.

&#8220Feeling beautiful for just a few hours can make a difference in their lives,” she said.

With that in mind, Mila is spearheading an effort to give a &#8220dream prom” to a Burchell High School student. The school is holding an essay contest, and the winner - chosen by teachers - will get a prom prize package. Mila will provide clothing and accessories - for a boy or a girl - and other businesses will provide grooming help, flowers, etc.

&#8220I really admire those kids, going back to school,” she said, so she wants to help give at least one of them a special night.

Mila knows something about building up from almost nothing. She started her shop with $500 borrowed from a friend. It's grown into a successful business, mostly through word of mouth, and a lot of hard work.

&#8220I look around me sometimes and I just can't believe I did this,” she said.

Leila Kheiry can be reached at 357-2270 or leila.kheiry@

frontiersman.com.