Saying Yes to More Than a Dress

By Anastasia Anokye

Laughter fills the air throughout the space, and it seems to never end. Large mirrors, sparkling jewellery, and elegant white dresses hang from racks. Ballads professing love and unity play softly, framing a bride’s picture-perfect moment of saying yes to their dress. Asymmetrical fixtures in the boutique throw light that sparkles in the eyes of the stylists who gracefully extend their arms above their heads, ensuring the bustle trailing behind them stays in pristine shape. But what makes it almost impossible to leave are the infectious smiles that make anyone who walks in feel as though they are a part of a family, part of a sisterhood.

At the centre of the laughs and smiles are sisters Andrea and Vanessa Dineen of Sash & Bustle, a bridal boutique they have owned since 2014. Their undeniable chemistry flows through the boutique as they relive moments they haven’t spoken about for years.

“One time, Vanessa was at camp and she wrote me a letter because she was away for about a month,” Andrea giggles, as Vanessa shakes her head with an embarrassed smile on her face, knowing where the story is headed. 

“I remember she wrote me a letter about how one day she was going to make me an outfit. She drew it, and it was like a diagram of what it would be.” 

• 

• 

• 

Although the sisters laugh about the distant memory, there is a fondness in their eyes as they look around at everything they have created together. As the giggles subside, Andrea looks at Vanessa, and their mirrored smiles grow. Even when they were separated during their childhood, their mutual love for fashion brought them together.

Unlike siblings who couldn’t imagine working together, Vanessa and Andrea remember having dreams of owning a place from their earliest memories of spending time on the bustling commercial strip stretching across the sound end of Toronto where Sash & Bustle now sits—Queen Street.

“Even when we were little, we knew we wanted to work together,” Vanessa, the older of the two, says as Andrea nods in nostalgic approval. 

The young girls would visit their grandparents’ store located at Queen and John streets, where they were able to explore their love for arts and crafts, and jazzy jewellery together. At the ages of eight and 12, wide-eyed Andrea and ambitious Vanessa knew that one day, they would create their very own corner of the world in a fashion retail store on the same street.

The dream was set, and their next challenge was to make it come to life.

Although they get along very well, the sisters believe that their differences are what makes them a strong team. Andrea, the creative one of the two, graduated from the fashion program at Ryerson University, while Vanessa, the business savvy sister, completed her degree in business management at the same school. 

“Vanessa is a doer. She can’t sit still. If there’s an idea, she’ll say, ‘let’s go do it,’” Andrea says.

While dresses are pulled onto mannequins and brides wrestle with choosing either the Aesling or the Anna Campbell, Vanessa can be found in the boutique’s office.

On a busy Thursday afternoon, she sits on a fluffy white office chair, the glow of her laptop screen radiating onto her face. Within the four walls adorned with chic flower-printed wallpaper, snaps of the keyboard fill the space between the non-stop shrill of the phone and calls of confirmation.

Despite the employees walking in and out asking for clarification on bridal inquiries, Vanessa’s focus never falters. She shares a joke, filling the small office with laughter.  

At the front of the boutique, Andrea helps Caitlin Galaski, the boutique assistant, into a wedding gown. The Sash & Bustle’s Instagram page, run by Andrea, features employees modelling the various gowns carried in the boutique for advertising purposes. The lights that illuminate the boutique bounce off the jewels sewn onto the gown. The ideal place is in the very front of the store, where the sunbeams pour into the space past the storefront’s displayed dress of the day. As soft pop ballads about love play in the background, Caitlin confidently poses while Andrea goes back and forth between finding the perfect angle, and fixing a piece of Caitlin’s hair so that it is sitting just right.

“Woah, you look great,” Andrea gushes sweetly as she captures an Instagram photo worthy of sharing with the boutique’s audience of more than 19,000 followers. 

A stylist at Sash & Bustle bounces confidently through the boutique. Her red hair, which contrasts with her mustard yellow jumpsuit, sits flawlessly on her shoulders, framing her face that beams with joy. As she rushes around the endless amounts of white dresses, ready to start her work day, she is met with a shriek of praise from a coworker who rummages through the racks on the mission to find a dress for her client. “You look so good!” the other stylist exclaims, admiring her bright look of the day. They exchange hellos and updates, talking as though they have known each other their whole lives.

“We kind of think of ourselves as a sisterhood,” Caitlin says as she stands behind the reception desk. “We want to make sure that we genuinely care about our brides; I think that’s what sets us apart. We all genuinely care.” 

The family dynamic extends to the relationship that the staff feel they experience with the Dineen sisters.

“In every aspect, Vanessa and Andrea have made us a part of the family. They’re always asking us how we’re doing, and what we did on our day off, bringing it into a literal hug at the end of meetings that we have,” Veronica Tomik, the sales manager, says as a smile spreads across her face.

“They even meet our spouses, which makes it more than just work,” adds supervisor Rebekka Meiboom. “It makes it feel like our whole lives can be a part of this.”

After a consultation with a bride, the sisters catch a few minutes of rest before they go for lunch and then get back to work. While sitting on a grey vintage sofa with a backdrop of the Sash & Bustle dress collection, Andrea and Vanessa share reflective glances.

“It’s super important for us to make people feel welcome and like they are part of the family,” Vanessa says. “We always try and greet clients with the biggest smiles and a friendly face.”

“We’re really here to help them find their dress,” Andrea adds. “So it’s like, ‘how would I help my sister find a dress?’”

An Inside Look With The Dineen Sisters

—

You can find Sash & Bustle Bridal Boutique at 779 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON.