Victoria
is searching for the perfect sparkly ballgown to wear at her quinceañera. She and her mom, Rosalba Juarez, went shopping at a store in north Wichita that specializes in dresses fit for a coming-of-age celebration.
Inside MelRose Formal, 14-year-old Victoria and her mom, Rosalba, find a store full of dresses crafted with a dazzling spectacle of beads and sequins.
“I'm looking for a dress, maybe like light pink,” Victoria said. “It’s been my favorite color since I was little.
“This has been her dream since she was very, very little,” Rosalba said. “Victoria designed Barbie dresses as a very small child. So, you know, that dress, I think it's kind of the highlight for her and finding the special dress represents who she is. But it's definitely something that you have to have a good savings set aside for.”
As they walk through the dress shop, Rosalba turns to Victoria and asks, “Is there something that grabs your attention?”
“I really like this one,” said Victoria. “It's kind of like Cinderella, but I would like it pink.”
Victoria lightly touches a ball gown she describes as sparkly blue with flowers. She remembers what led her to prepare for her own quinceañera: “I went to my cousin's and [I was crowned] the next girl that will be the next quiñce, and it's all fancy, and the quinceañera crown is way fancier with more jewels, and your crown is sparkly, like a princess.”
“The quinceañera is really a moment to focus on presenting the young child into a young woman,” Rosalba said. “Celebrating her life in that milestone. It’s similar to a sweet 16, but in our culture, it's celebrated at 15.
“The main event, I would say, is really that mass, and it's focused on the blessing. Blessing this milestone in her life, surrounded by family and friends who are there to support her, who have supported her, have showered her with love up to that point, and will continue to guide her in her steps moving forward as a young woman.
“A very special moment in mass is during the ceremony, Victoria will take a bouquet up to [Mother] Mary and say a little prayer, where she's offering the special day to her and asking for her guidance as she moves forward in this new chapter of her life. So that's a very, very special kind of tradition that we have during the ceremony.”
Following the mass, there is a big party where traditional dishes are served, as well as a dance, usually a waltz, with Victoria’s closest friends.
“It's almost like a wedding,” Victoria said. “Celebrating you and with a lot of decorations, making it all look beautiful, almost like a ballroom, and you're there celebrating and dancing.”
“Right after el vals [the waltz],” Rosalba said, “Victoria will take a seat, her dad will come out with a pair of heels and a very elegant box and swap out her tennis shoes that the quiñce [celebrant] is wearing and put new shoes on.”
“What do you think?” Rosalba asked Victoria. “Will you wear just regular high heels, or are you gonna go with boots?”
“I think boots,” Victoria said. “I like boots much more. Yeah, pink boots, maybe with flowers.”
“Oh, that will be cute!” Rosalba said.
Store owner Melissa Rodriguez launched her business, MelRose Formal, in 2009, after winning a $10,000 entrepreneur scholarship at Wichita State University, and was the first Latina to do so. It’s located inside her parents’ store, Rodriguez Fashions at 21st and Waco in Wichita, which has been open for over 30 years. Rodriguez has been helping customers select dresses for quinceañeras for much of that time.
“It’s a meaningful occasion,” Rodriguez said, “and especially such a core memory in our young girls’ lives, and the fact that we get to be a part of that, just means a lot.”
Inside the store, a mother and daughter continue to shop. Rosalba spots another elegant dress near the storefront window.
“Victoria, what do you think of this dress?” Rosalba asked.
“I really like it! It has everything I'm looking for,” Victoria said. “The pink, the gold. I also really like the big bow. And I like walking into the church and getting ready to receive God's blessing, getting all pretty, you know?”
The light pink and beautifully beaded dress looks like something out of an enchanting Cinderella storybook.
“I can imagine it swaying back and forth as you're dancing,” Rosalba said.
The ball gown cost just over $1300, which is the going rate, according to Rosalba.
“Yes, that's what we've seen so far in a lot of places,” Rosalba said. “This is one of our favorite stores, for sure.”
Rosalba glances lovingly at her daughter as she imagines her plans for her quinceañera coming to life.
“She's my oldest, so it's the first journey,” Rosalba said. “I had one when I was 15. I know what that day looks like, and I know how fast it goes, and I hope that she enjoys every second of it, from the moment her eyes open to the time where her legs just can't dance another note.”
