Designer Dresser

I spent Saturday night dressing a beautiful woman.

I volunteered for the first time as a dresser for a NY Fashion Week fashion show. The designer was Henry N. Jackson, a couture designer who was just commissioned to create a dress for First Lady Michelle Obama.

I was looking for any way to get involved in Fashion Week. A front row seat to a show would have been ideal, but volunteering as a dresser was nearly as good.

I dressed Leigh Ann, who wore two outfits. She was stunningly beautiful in both. Before the show started, I had a familiarize myself with her outfits - did they zip or button, snap or tie?


And the jewelry - earrings, necklaces and bracelets. And don't forget the shoes. Do the buckle or just slide on?

It was an exciting night. We started dressing the models 30 minutes before the show started.

I had a small snafu with Leigh Ann's first outfit - I couldn't get the zipper zipped. It took three people - the model, the hair stylist and me to zip her up. I was thinking, "Did she do a fitting?" But once the zipper was up, the dress fit like a glove. Leigh Ann is below in her first outfit.

Fortunately, Leigh Ann's outfits were spaced out far enough that there wasn't too much of a rush to get her into the second outfit, but one model went out twice before Leigh Ann went out for the first time. We all pitched in to help that dresser get her model into the second outfit.

The clothes were elegant and were actually wearable. I love a fashion show, but some designers make their clothes so out there that I couldn't imagine wearing them anywhere. But Jackson's clothes were realistic. And he used real-size models, something that most designers don't do.

The jewelry was amazing. It was designed by Vickie Fremont.

These earrings looked great, but were a pain - literally - to put on. The model's ears were bleedings as her dresser slowly slide the thick hook through the hole in her ear.

Even though I was backstage, I could tell the fashion show was a success - Henry was smiling at the end of the night.