“Yes, I may have been a bit of a fabric store groupie as of late.”
“And rightfully so,” Mira adds. “There’s no better fabric store in Rome than Louisa Tessuti.”
“That’s very sweet and also very true,” Louisa says with a smile. “But before we go on about how wonderful my store is, you two need some wine.”
One minute and two wine pours later, we’re all sitting in a small circle—Louisa and her friend Marie on one settee, Mira and me on another, and a woman named Josephine who’s half-asleep in a high-backed chair off to the left.
“Now, don’t be shy, Violet,” Marie says. “You must tell us what you think of Rome.”
In the midst of taking a sip of wine, I feel all eyes are directed my way, prompting me to quickly swallow and answer. “I love it,” I reply. “It’s like Manhattan but with historic beauty everywhere and people aren’t in as much of a rush. It’s so surreal how I can walk down a street and pass a Versace window display, then ten minutes later I’m walking past an ancient temple. Also, your Metro system is a dream come true compared to our subway, which is essentially a never-ending labyrinth that’s confusing on purpose.”
“That’s true,” Mira says. “I’ve been to New York over fifteen times and I get lost on the subway every trip.”
The group hums in agreement as they sip their wine and I lean forward to grab a piece of the bruschetta that’s set on the coffee table between us.
“Do you all work in fashion?” I ask before taking a bite, and my eyes nearly roll back in my head once I do. This bruschetta is everything.
“We do,” Louisa answers, pleased at my obvious delight over the food. “I own the fabric store, as you know. And, of course, you work with Mira. Marie is a pattern cutter forSpendolini Magleiria, and Josephine is a sales associate at a little boutique in Trastevere.”
“That’s amazing. It’s quite the family you have here.”
“We like to think so,” Louisa says. “We were all friends with Mira’s mother, Alessandra. She was the one that brought us together.”
I look over at Mira and she smiles back at me, but it’s bittersweet. “She would have liked you,” she tells me.
Mira’s words strike me as possibly the greatest compliment I’ve ever received.
“I know I would have liked her, too.”
Mira nudges her shoulder into mine, her sentimental grin still in place. When I turn my gaze back to the group, Louisa is watching with soft but approving eyes.
“When did you first take an interest in designing?” she asks me.
I place my last bite of bruschetta on the napkin on my lap and rub my hands together to wipe away the crumbs. “I think when I was seven or eight. I would always get hand-me-downs from my sister and cousins, and as soon as I’d get them, I’d immediately want to change them into something that was special to me. I did that a lot. They didn’t always come out perfect, but I’d rather wear something that was imperfect and mine instead of something that didn’t mean anything to me.”
“Did adjusting your own clothes make you stand out?” Mira asks.
“A little,” I reply with a shrug. “But I’ve always dressed for myself, even when I was little. I never felt weird about it and for the most part everyone was very positive. I didn’t dress like a caricature—I just dressed like me. That’s how I try to design, too. I specialize in evening wear and lingerie.”
“And which do you prefer?” Louisa asks.
I don’t answer straightaway. Not because I don’t want to, but because so often after I tell people my specialization, that’s typically where the questions stop. I feel a quiet exhilaration pass through me at the prospect of elaborating on what I love to talk about, and I happily do so.
“Overall, I tend to make more evening wear pieces, but deep down, I love making lingerie. The female form has always been fascinating to me, and I feel like that’s the medium where I get to celebrate it the most.”
“Esattamente,”Louisa says. “There’s beauty in every inch of a woman. In art, in fashion, in life, there will always be people who want to mold our bodies into ways that will suit them, but this can never be. There is nothing more beautiful and deserving of respect than the shape of a woman.”
“Yes,” I say, enthusiastically. “And that’s what I want to focus on in my designs. I also want to highlight the fact that lingerie can be intricate and beautiful while also being functional, comfortable and durable. It can be worn every day.”
“Is that what you’re designing for the contest?” Mira asks. “A line of lingerie?”
“I thought about it, but no,” I tell her. “I’m going with evening wear on this one.”
Mira takes a sip of her wine. “But why? Why not make lingerie if that’s what you’re passionate about?”
I take a sip of wine myself. “It’s hard to explain. Sometimes I think I’m almost too passionate about it, if that makes sense. Whenever I sit and try to sketch lingerie, a trillion different ideas explode in my head, and it sort of feels like a fuse blowing. My mind jumps all over the place. Plus, I made an equal amount of lingerie and evening wear in school and the evening wear pieces were always received better. For the contest, I want to make sure I stick with what I’m best at.”
“And how’s your collection coming along, then?” Louisa asks.
