Over the past 30 years, I’ve stumbled upon Kiyonna in some pretty unexpected places. At weddings, in a random open house, and even on TV during an episode of Jeopardy.
Our customers love to share their beautiful pictures from all different types of occasions. Ironically, it’s in the moments that aren’t always your typical celebration that have completely caught me off guard and stayed with me.
When my husband Eddie and I moved into our Anaheim Hills location, we wanted to make sure we carved out a space in our building where customers could visit us in person. We created a 1,200-square-foot showroom inside our headquarters with three fitting rooms, beautiful wallpaper, chandeliers, and the kind of personal experience that lets you actually touch, feel, and try on a Kiyonna piece in real life.
That showroom has given us some of the most meaningful moments of the past 30 years.
One woman’s visit to the showroom is seared into my memory.
There was a woman who visited us some time ago who needed a very special dress in a very specific shade of blue. It was for her son’s wedding, and she held the distinguished role of Mother of the Groom. She wanted the dress to be perfect, especially for the photographs that would be taken at the wedding.
Of course, wanting to look beautiful at your son’s wedding needs no explanation.
But as we spent time with her, it became clear that the pictures meant something more.
During her visit, it was evident that she was undergoing some type of treatment that was causing her tremendous fatigue. Despite this, she found a dress that brought her happiness. Before she left, she showed us a stunning picture of her daughter wearing a Kiyonna wedding dress. When we commented that we felt so honored to be a part of both her son and daughter’s weddings, her response is something I will never forget.
Her daughter didn’t get married. She wasn’t even engaged.
She had brought her daughter to our showroom to try on wedding dresses because she knew she might never have the chance to share that experience with her someday.
So they decided not to wait for someday. They created the memory anyway.
A mother made sure her son would have a beautiful photograph of her from his wedding day, and that same mother chose to experience a moment with her daughter that life might otherwise have taken away from them.
There was no wedding attached to that wedding dress – but there was absolutely a reason to wear it.
Fashion can sometimes seem frivolous. And yes, sometimes a dress is simply about feeling beautiful, getting dressed up, going somewhere wonderful, and having fun.
But after 30 years, I know it can also be much more than that. A dress can become part of a photograph a son keeps forever. It can create an experience between a mother and daughter that they refused to miss.
It can be what someone chooses to wear to a wedding, a milestone, a reunion, or a celebration of life.
And when our customers invite Kiyonna into those moments, happy or heartbreaking, it is something I never take lightly.
We may make dresses, but the memories our customers make in them is where the real story lives.
Next week, we close out this eight-part series on 30 years of Kiyonna with a much shorter note.