By Francesca Susanna, Champlain Business Journal, April 2005

Debbie LaFromboise, owner of Sewly Yours & Once Upon A Bride, has opened a new boutique at 2 Church Street in Burlington in the same location as her bridal shop.  The new store, Maids & Mums, LaFromboise reports, carries gowns and dresses specifically for bridal attendants and mothers of the bride, and all are made to order.  Previously, the new boutique had been a small storeroom, which LaFromboise used to house part of her vintage gown collection. 

Maids & Mums carries shoes, jewelry and other accessories in addition to a selection of dress samples.  The bride will choose the dress and material for the attendants, LaFromboise says; then, the attendants come in for measurements and fittings.  LaFromboise says she works with a small group of designers including Siri, Currie Bonner, and Melissa Sweet among others and points out that many don’t offer their designs in white or ivory unless it is ordered in multiples. 
“They often don’t want their look represented as bridal,” she says.

LaFromboise says she decided to open up Maids & Mums to try to satisfy the increasing demand for stylish gowns for attendants and mothers in a wedding party.  She reports that, “Attendants want to really love their gown and be able to wear it again.”  Mothers of the bride or groom also want to have up-to-date dresses that they can wear again.

LaFromboise notes that she has received a lot of response from clients needing dresses for events other than the wedding.  “A lot of women are coming in to get a rehearsal dinner dress, or to attend a wedding, graduations, or just a party dress,” she says.

LaFromboise began Sewly Yours about 20 years ago, working from her home before moving to Church Street about five years later.