Scylvia-Elvira Danese, owner of Danese Creations, is a one-woman powerhouse of all things fashion and sewing. You’ve likely seen her gown designs on local or national TV—they’ve been everywhere from morning news shows to worn by celebs at the Emmy Awards and the Country Music Association Awards. They’ve appeared on Oprah and Inside Edition, too. Whether it’s custom designs, tailoring, alterations or fabrics—basically anything that involves sewing for both men and women—she’s been a local go-to for decades.
Dubbed the “Fairy Godmother of Fashion” and the “Boob Whisperer” (for helping women find the right bra size), Scylvia is a third-generation tailor who has been in business in Arizona since 1971.
“I started sewing very young because I did not like what my mom would make me wear,” she shares.
As a child and into early adulthood, she worked alongside her mom at her shop.
“This [tailoring] was not going to be my profession, but I thank God that it is,” she says. “I was going to be a lawyer, but I got married, had children and went into business tailoring for myself.”
Her favorite part of her job is “saving the day.” For example, recently she worked overnight for a long-term client, essentially making her wedding dress from scratch because the original one did not fit properly.
“Her original dress was not cut correctly, and it was see-through,” Scylvia explains. “She came in at 5:30 p.m., when I was supposed to close at 3 p.m., and I made the dress overnight—after all, I’m in a room surrounded by fabric with every fabric available to me. We did the fit at 10 p.m. and her wedding day was saved.”
It was a similar dress rescue in 1985 that earned Scylvia her name of the “Fairy Godmother of Fashion.”
“I love what I do; I make what the customer wants, and fit it exquisitely to their body,” she says. “My designs fit every body because they’re custom-designed and altered—and I’m known for getting things done quickly and with quality detail.”
Scylvia shares that she has customers from around the world come to her shop.
“Many of my customers prefer to ‘shop’ in their closets, then they bring in the pieces to me because I am an expert at alterations and can help make the designs properly fix their bodies,” she explains.
In addition to outerwear, she has been called the “Boob Whisperer” because she helps women find the right size fit for their bras.
“In my estimate, 9 out of 10 women are wearing the wrong size bra and 8 out of 10 don’t know how to put it on, and I help with both,” she says.
A properly fitted bra, she notes, can help a woman seem 10 pounds lighter in a matter of minutes.
Scylvia works with menswear, as well. Given her talent set, she is often asked to tailor suits.
“Men shouldn’t be afraid to have a properly fitted suit!” she says.
In addition to her shop, Scylvia has two grown children and eight grandchildren. While her son and daughter both work in other industries now, they grew up helping in her shop.
“I’ve built my business on having quality work done when you [the customer] needs it,” she says. “My motto is ‘Yes, we can. Just say when!’”
Danese Creations is located at 3902 E. Indian School Road in Phoenix. To learn more, call 602.955.1313 or follow the shop on Facebook at Facebook.com/pg/DANESECREATIONS.
