Irma Zuniga loves making dresses that make women feel good about themselves. "To me, a dress makes a woman confident, it is feminine. There is a dress for every woman, different color, shape and size. You have to find the right dress. Sometimes it is hard, that is where I come in," she says with bright eyes and an infectious smile. "If you think it is too tight, too loose, too short, too long, it has to be tailored for each body. The dresses are beautiful, they are timeless."
Irma can make any clothing item, but she loves making dresses so much that she named her business The Dressmaker Shop.
Nestled in the Johnson Building at 122 E. Broad in Texarkana, Arkansas, Irma opened The Dressmaker Shop Oct. 30.
"I knew Halloween was the next day and I knew people needed to see me open. COVID was still going on but people were still open. I hung my open sign there and I set up everything," she said.
The dresses in the window exude glamour with one even made primarily of beads in Mardi Gras colors.
"I love when women come to the shop and say, 'Can you make me a dress' and I make them feel confident and elegant," she said. "We all have insecurities about our bodies, but when you find someone who can help you, that is amazing."
Irma custom makes dresses and she isn't one to follow a pattern.
"I see it in my head, I never used a commercial pattern," she said. "It is different (without a pattern). You can go around the world and you will not find that dress or that dress or that dress or that dress," she said as she pointed to her creations on mannequins.
Irma grew up in central Honduras, and that is where her interest in sewing began.
"I started when I was 7 at my grandma's sewing machine. She was always sewing something. When I was 13, I went to college. Seventh grade is optional in Honduras. Because of poverty, many people cannot afford it. I stayed for one year but we could not afford the second year. At 14, I started working in the factories in mass production.
"We used to have a goal on how many pieces we could make per hour. I worked two to three years at factories and then went to school at night. As we grew up, we had to support ourselves. Our country is so small When the kids turn 14, 15, 16, they had to find their own way to survive. Most did not have the family to support them," she said.
Coming to the United States, Irma learned even more about the art of sewing.
"When I came to U.S. in 2003, I met a lady in Houston Her name is Sandra Posada. She is so talented She is a fashion designer. I worked with her over a year and I learned a lot from her, too," Irma said.
While working with Sandra, Irma knew sewing would play a bigger part in her life.
"It became more important in my life every day. (Before that) it was just a hobby, but I said let's try to live from this."
Irma and her family spent time in Mississippi before moving to the Texarkana area in 2010. Her husband, Brian Andino, helped construct the John W. Turk Jr. Power Plant in Fulton, Arkansas.
After about four years, they moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana, before moving back to Texarkana two years ago.
"I had been sewing all the time. I needed a shop, a store. I needed something because I've got so much. There was no stopping. I was sewing, sewing, sewing. I'm blessed with two little girls I can sew for, but in the past six to eight months, I haven't sewn as much for them," she said. That time had been invested in starting her business.
It was during a trip to Texarkana about five years ago that she met Debbie Turner, who owns the boutique Studio 62 in Harrison, Arkansas. Irma has modeled her shop after Debbie's.
"She has almost the same kind of shop I have, but she does more retail. I have never owned a business before. It has been six months of learning, a project," she said. "I am learning and I am excited."
The cozy shop has comfortable sofas and chairs, dresses Irma has made, some dresses she bought for resale and quite a few pairs of high heel shoes, another of Irma's fashion fascinations. She would wear high heels every day if she could.
She is working hard on making The Dressmaker Shop a success for her daughters.
"Maybe this is legacy for my kids. April is 4 and Samantha is 7 and they say, 'Can we live here please' and I say 'no.' It's hard because they are young, but they love coming to work with me. Sometimes they get bored."
Samantha likes to draw dresses with markers.
"Mostly I am doing this for them because I want to have my own schedule to take care of them," she said.
She also has a son, Scottie, whom she has taught a few things about sewing. She said she wanted him to know how to sew a button on a shirt of pair of pants.
Business has picked up at The Dressmaker Shop in the last few months with prom dress alterations. She also has two wedding dresses she will be making in the next few months as well as an Alice In Wonderland themed Mardi Gras dress.
Like any fashion designer, she has some dislikes and likes in the fashion world.
She has several concerns about fast fashion or cheap clothing that consumers purchase, wear for one or a few times and discard.
"People should care because fast fashion is bad for the environment. It is easy to change your wardrobe every three months because it is not expensive. At the end of day, it is not helping people. It's just another piece of rag going to the landfill," she said.
"I like restyling myself. I have friends that bring me dresses from years back and they don't like it anymore so I restyle it. At least you give it life again."
She says fast fashion items could be restyled as well.
Another concern she has about fast fashion is the ethics of how items are made.
"They have to push the people making the clothes to keep the cost very very low," she said, adding it is a sensitive subject.
As far as the latest fashion trends with dresses, Irma likes the casual accessories she sees paired with dresses.
"It's not too formal with the tennis shoes and boots. I love it. People wear dresses casually. It looks pretty," she said.
She is thankful for the opportunities.
"It's the biggest dream come true," Irma said. "This country is rich and active, non-stopping, it is very good opportunities for everyone, just work hard and do it."