7th Avenue Fashions closing after decades of dress success

Minutes ticked down to Melina De Luca’s morning appointment.

Effortlessly, she organized racks of wedding dresses and checked the air conditioning. She’s been assisting brides for 33 years — the daily tasks are nothing new.

But the “store closing sale” sign in 7th Avenue Fashions’s window is different. The red and yellow banner pops beside a mural westbound Academy Road travellers view.

The large painting — a bride and four bridesmaids amid a cityscape — is 16 years old. It appeared roughly halfway through Melina and her husband Joe’s ownership of 7th Avenue Fashions.

After more than three decades, the business partners are retiring.

“I’m going to exhale,” Melina, 61, said.

She’s now finding dresses for past clients’ daughters. The landscape has changed since the shop’s early days in 1992, she noted.

Brides might enter with a clear vision of what they want, armed with pictures and inspiration from social media. Dresses overseas seem more attainable.

It’s an “exciting” evolution. And it was exciting decades ago when 7th Avenue Fashions signed its first European dress lines, which were harder to reach, Melina said.

“(We were) so proud of that,” she recalled.

She and Joe began the business in a smaller shop at 442 Academy Rd. At the time, 7th Avenue Fashions was a boutique with a wedding section.

The section, with about 20 wedding dresses, outperformed and led the De Lucas to change their business model. They pivoted to a bridal shop after a year in business.

Inking deals with designers was challenging at the start, said Joe, 62.

“Nobody wanted to deal with you really, because they don’t know who you are,” he said. “You tell them you just opened up a store a month ago. They’re like, ‘Oh.’”

Owning a business was his dream, though. He’s a business school graduate; Melina earned a clothing and textile degree from the University of Manitoba because she wanted to run a fashion store.

The couple built sales for four years. Then they ran out of room — and a prominent Academy Road building with street-facing windows Melina loved hit the market.

They moved to 546 Academy Rd., swapping 900 sq. ft. for 2,700. Two banks had rejected the couple when they were starting up; by the time of the move, getting a loan was easy, Joe said.

Melina visited bridal shows, buying gowns for brides and mothers and flower girls. Joe handled the books.

“A lot of gumption by me and a lot of good accounting by him — that’s our secret,” Melina said. “We both have our areas of expertise; we respect those areas. He does his job, I do my job.”

Soon, the company was adding exclusive lines and seamstresses. Twenty dresses became 350; Melina was training groups of sales staff to pick the perfect gowns.

“It’s all about non-verbal cues,” Melina said. “We don’t judge people about how they dress coming to a store, but I will look at what you’re wearing.”

Jewelry size, makeup application and hairstyle can be indicators, she explained.

“I’ve seen it a million times where they’ll try on a bunch of dresses, and then Melina will say, ‘Why don’t you try this one on?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh my God, that’s the one,’” Joe said.

The entrepreneurs have weathered recessions, the COVID-19 pandemic and an ongoing trade war with the United States. They started reducing their dress count two or three years ago in preparation for retirement, Joe said.

They’ve sold the building. They wouldn’t divulge the new tenant, but Melina said an incoming business will be a “wonderful addition.”

Meantime, customers are dress hunting. Mykayla Santilli browsed the aisles, flipping over tags covered with sale labels.

“They’re really reputable,” the bride-to-be said of 7th Avenue Fashions. “We have family and friends that have gotten their dresses from here.”

Lenny Kerr called the upcoming closure “bittersweet.” She grew up in the area and now manages Bump Maternity, a retailer near the wedding shop. Bridal customers often visit Kerr’s store.

“They’ve been around and open for so long,” Kerr said. “Very exciting that they’re retiring and starting a new chapter.”

Kim Vo, the founder of neighbour eatery Popbar, is used to eyeing dresses in 7th Avenue Fashions’s windows.

“I’m excited for what might pop up,” Vo said. “There’s a lot of diversity in… shops and stores around here, so it makes Academy really fun and beautiful.”

Melina said she plans to relax upon retiring.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com