Miranda Park has always loved vintage ball gowns from the '40s and '50s, whose intricate, hand-sewn details and figure-flattering designs are often imitated, but nearly impossible to replicate.

Last month, Park traded her job as a seamstress at a bridal store in Rocky River to launch Miranda's Vintage Bridal and Alterations on W. 14th Street in Tremont. She's turned her passion for classic gowns into a business that can help modern brides go green -- and look great doing it.

"They just don't make dresses like that anymore," says Park, who majored in fashion design at Kent State University and says that artsy, historic Tremont is the perfect spot for her destination business. "I find them on eBay or at vintage stores, then use my skills as a seamstress to remake, redesign and restore them."

Park invites her customers to bring in their favorite vintage gowns for custom alterations. Since most new wedding dresses are expensive and used once, she says she's tapping into a national trend towards green, sustainable weddings.

Source: Miranda Park
Writer: Lee Chilcote