Dress shop owner tailoring her future

SALEM – Margarita Ziababian?s motto is “my dream is to make your dream come true,” and this is the time of year when the dressmaker works overtime to fulfill fantasies for prom-goers and brides.The Lynn resident opened Margarita?s Bridal on North Street a month ago, building on her experience working in North Shore bridal shops and the tailoring skills she learned in her native Iraq. Her small shop is filled with gowns, including ones she has sown or altered.She said customers walk into her shop worried about getting a prom or wedding dress altered and fitted. Ziababian specializes in fittings as well as custom designs and clothing repairs, and she loves creating the delicate details that define wedding dresses.?I have customers who came to me nervous and now they are friends,” she said.Ziababian?s father worked as an architect in Iraq, and her mother designed clothes and taught Ziababian dressmaking skills. As a girl, she started making clothes for her sister and friends before expanding her talent with school courses. In 1990, she opened her own business and flourished even with the disruptions to Iraqi life that followed the Gulf War.?I used to open at 6 a.m. and work late into the night,” she said.Increasing tensions in Iraq prompted Ziababian to sell her possessions and flee to Lebanon in 2001. She walked for four days, including a trek through waist-deep snow, with a group of about 20 people. Ziababian was the only woman in the group.?I tried to dress like a man,” she said.With refugee assistance from Catholic Charities, she came to the United States in 2009 and enrolled in New American Center language and citizenship programs on Wheeler Street.?They are great people. I went to New America and my English was zero,” she said.Ziababian lives in East Lynn and said her Salem store location is affordable and gives her the flexibility to adjust work hours.?I like Lynn; it?s not expensive, and I have very nice neighbors,” she said.Embracing American wedding traditions was fairly easy for Ziababian, but the pomp and celebration surrounding high school prom season caught her by surprise.?People spend a lot of money,” she said.She enjoys crafting princess and mermaid-style dress designs for young women and making mother-of-the-bride dresses as well as bridal gowns.She is completing U.S. citizenship requirements, and her parents are safe in Sweden.Ziababian said she worries about life in Iraq and turmoil embroiling her homeland.?Sometimes, I don?t want to watch the television,” she said.