BEAVER FALLS — The bridal gowns — many embellished with delicate lace, exquisite brocade and stunning beadwork — are gorgeous. But one immediately draws the eye. Bright red in a sea of white, it looks like blood on the breast of a snowy dove. It seems garishly out of place.
Not so in today’s anything-goes-world, especially fashion — even wedding attire.
And if anyone has seen it all over the years, it’s Mary McCallister, who for close to six decades has created matrimonial magic for thousands of brides at her salon, Mary’s Bride and Formal on Seventh Avenue in Beaver Falls.
Come March 15, however, her wedding march ends. That’s the day she and daughter Maurene Mendez, co-owner, retire. To be sure, it will be a bittersweet day.
“I’m very sad about this whole thing,” said McCallister, who celebrates her 90th birthday in April, though one would hardly believe it. Hair neatly coiffed and smartly dressed — this day in a fashionable black ensemble with glittery silver scarf draped about her neck — she still works four to five hours two days a week.
The last 10 to 15 years, however, Mendez has shouldered most of the business, “and that’s OK,” she said, but it’s time to retire, take care of health and enjoy grandchildren.
Mendez, a 10-year cancer survivor, said she fell following chemotherapy and had a “rough road coming back” after surgery to implant a rod in her leg and plates in her hip.
“I’m tired. I’m 66 years of age. I have five grandchildren. I’m here at nights, I’m here every weekend. I don’t get to see them play sports or do things and that’s, to me, very sad, so somewhere you have to make a decision. Never a right time,” she said, but added “nothing can go on forever.”
Retail, by its very nature, is tough — long hours to accommodate customers’ work schedules — and “that’s what I’m ready to walk away from.”
‘Always her passion’
McCallister had no background in business management or fashion retail. She had something better: desire and passion coupled with a businesswoman who took her on as an apprentice and an entrepreneurial father who supported and encouraged her dream.
“I always wanted to have a bridal shop since I was a little girl,” McCallister said.
“She was always fashion conscious from the time she was young,” Mendez said of her mother. “She always dressed nice — makeup, hair — just always was her passion.”
As a teenager, McCallister worked for an Italian woman who owned a bridal shop in Beaver Falls.
“I was a salesgirl,” McCallister said, but she also accompanied her mentor — who didn’t speak English fluently — to weeklong fashion shows and buying trips in New York City, where she learned the trade.
Those were heady times for a young girl.
“It was exciting,” McCallister said, who remembered being treated to dinners at the finest restaurants and seeing Broadway plays.
Her father, Angelo Mammone, owned a bar and grocery store on Seventh Avenue. He suggested that his daughter also go into business and lent her money to do so.
In December 1959, McCallister opened Mary’s Bride and Formal.
“This was the hot spot. This was where everybody got their prom dresses. If you were anybody, you got your bridal dresses here,” Mendez said.
That the business has lasted 58 years is quite a testimony, considering that even today only about half of all new establishments survive five years or more and about one-third survive 10 or more, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But Mary’s Bride and Formal — which also carries bridal party attire as well as evening and prom gowns — has always been more than simply selling a dress. It’s forging a relationship, fulfilling a dream.
Mary’s has served generations of customers.
A sign above the counter says: “Enter as strangers, leave as friends.”
That would be the Nardone family of Ellwood City.
“We have had four weddings,” said Kathy Nardone. Her three daughters and daughter-in-law all purchased bridal gowns at Mary’s. And Kathy, too, bought her dresses there.
“We’ve been so pleased,” she said, likening the experience to Kleinfeld Bridal, the legendary Manhattan-based salon featured on the TLC reality TV show “Say Yes to the Dress.”
“They can’t do more than they do,” she said of service provided. “They’re very nice people. ... We’ve become friends.”
Sandy Bandy, a bridal concierge from East Liverpool, Ohio, who’s worked at Mary’s 27 years, agreed that customers become “like family.”
“I had a lady in yesterday,” Bandy said. “Her daughter lives in Erie. She bought her gown here; her other daughter bought her gown. She wants to get her youngest daughter in here to get her gown before we close to have that full circle with their family.”
For McCallister, that’s going to be the hardest part of closing.
“I went to the store yesterday,” she said. “This girl came and hugged me. ‘I can’t believe you’re retiring.’ I mean, you see that every day.”
Last fall when Mendez posted a retirement announcement on Facebook, it drew 558 comments.
“Not just ‘likes,’” she said. “Comments — 558 of them saying how sad they were.”
The ‘personal touch’
Carin Westover of Chippewa Township, a seamstress at Mary’s the past 14 years, sits at a Singer sewing machine altering a bridal gown.
With about eight weeks until closing, Mary’s lower level is a whirlwind of activity as Westover and seamstress Peggy Kreitzburg of Beaver Falls, a 20-year employee, hem and make final fittings on at least 50 to 60 gowns awaiting upcoming nuptials.
“They sell the dresses upstairs; we make it a reality down here,” Westover said.
Most brides order dresses a year in advance, Kreitzburg said, and then “go on a diet and have to take it (gown) in.”
They’ve seen trends come and go — Edwardian high collars to decollete, long sleeves ending in points on the back of hands to sleeveless, straps to strapless, pure white to champagne. And yes, even red or black.
Mendez said she sold a rum-colored gown with black lace overlay 50 times.
“There’s absolutely no rule on color,” she said.
But one thing that’s never changed is “the type of service that we give,” Mendez said. “I would say 98 percent of all our brides that have left here have left here happy. ... It is the personal touch that you always give.”
Unlike many chain stores, a bridal concierge provides one-on-one assistance at Mary’s. The concierge and bride talk.
The first question: price range. Some brides have monetary limits, Mendez said, “which you always want to stay within.” It would be irresponsible to show a $10,000 gown when the bride can only afford $2,000. Naturally, she’d fall in love with the more expensive dress, Mendez said. “You don’t want to burst the bubble for them. ... lt’s truly a personal thing. You get to know your people.”
The concierge also asks what type of wedding — casual or elegant? Venue — barn or upscale country club? And considers a woman’s body shape to select a style most flattering.
“We want to make you the most beautiful for that day,” Mendez said.
“Nine times out of 10, they buy the dress you picked out,” said Bandy, who brings gowns to brides in private dressing rooms rather than having them sort through racks.
Mendez also credited her employees and their teamwork for Mary’s success.
“We’ve always had nice people ... people that have stayed with us. You surround yourself by quality people.”
And those basic alterations on bridal gowns? All free — another touch that sets Mary’s apart, Mendez said.
Now until closing, all stock will be discounted 50 percent — “cash and carry,” Mendez said, but no alterations will be made. There's not enough time.
The building and contents are for sale.
“We would like to sell all the inventory with the shop, with the building, with everything that’s in it,” she said. “Walk out and hand them the key. That would be like God sent us down a rainbow. That would be the ideal way.”
Mendez said “all the legwork” is done for a potential buyer. “The reputation is there. ... It’s a stellar name.”
“It has been a great ride,” she said. “It has been a blessing from God that we have made it this long. ... From the bottom of our hearts, we’re so appreciative of all our friends and family and loyal employees that we’ve had over the years and just want to say thank you.”