Communion dresses and Christening gowns can be found in Pennington
By Rosalie Ann LaGrutta
Heirlooms are valued possessions passed down in a family through succeeding generations.
Since January, The Vine & Branches boutique at 16 N. Main St., Pennington, has been carrying what probably will become heirloom Communion dresses and Christening gowns, designed and made by Hopewell Township resident Daisy Baretto, under the name of DaisyBee Garments.
All garments are handmade, often with help from her family. The fabrics used and the detail put into each garment are unique.
"Even adding details like tiny tucks, pleats, scalloping, and piping is all done by hand. It is very tedious and time-consuming, but this is what makes the garments more valuable and durable for years to come," said Ms. Baretto.
"We use natural quality fabrics fabrics like linen, silk dupioni, shantung, lace, and cotton. All fabrics are washed prior to cutting and sewing so that the fabric is preshrunk, and all garments are lined, Ms. Baretto noted.
Dupioni silk is a lustrous fabric, often woven from two different colors of threads, so that it shimmers or changes color in the light. It has a nubby texture, is crisp to the touch and doesn’t wrinkle as badly as other materials.
"Our style is classic," said Ms. Barreto, "so girls in our Communion dresses look like little girls."
How did she begin making these dresses? Three years ago, after 20 years as an attorney, Ms. Barreto decided she wanted to spend more time with her daughter, Rebecca, and to sew. She had been an assistant section chief with the New Jersey attorney general’s office, specializing primarily in health-care law in the Appellate Division and Supreme Court.
"I’ve always known how to sew. I made my own clothes and made many special items for my daughter and her friends," Ms. Barreto explained.
So she teamed up with her mother, also Daisy Barreto, to design and make baptism/Christening gowns and First Holy Communion dresses.
Around the same time Ms. Barreto began sewing with her mother, she received a call from Richard Fitzpatrick, a former principal of the Stony Brook Elementary School in the Brandon Farms development.
"I was in jeans and a sweatshirt at the time," she said. "Dr. Fitzpatrick had heard that I retired from law and asked if I would help out at the school as a paraprofessional by assisting with special-needs children in kindergarten, first and third grades," said Ms. Barreto.
"When I received the phone call, I went right over to the school. The need at the school was great, so from the main office I was sent to Human Resources and was hired to start working immediately almost within an hour’s time," she said.
When Ms. Barreto sustained first one injury and then another to her right hand while working at the school, she was unable to sew for two years. However, she was determined not to lose the use of her hand.
"To prove I could still use my hands, I started sewing again," said Ms. Barreto.
"I love textiles," said Ms. Barreto, "and I find sewing very therapeutic," In January, while shopping in The Vine & Branches, Ms. Barreto told the owner, Susan Neri, about the heirloom garments she and her mother make. Ms. Neri expressed an interest in selling the garments in her boutique. And so the relationship with Vine & Branches began.
Ms. Barreto and her mother will custom-make garments. They can use pearls and lace, and make almost any type of sleeve the customer wishes: puff, scalloped, cape sleeve, and plain shirt sleeve.
Ms. Barreto, her husband, Rafael Aviles, and their daughter, who is in seventh grade at Timberlane Middle School, live on Brandon Road. Rebecca also sews and is taking home economics in school.
"My daughter also loves fashion, good textiles and well-made garments," said Ms. Barreto.
"One day while I was sitting with my daughter, I must have looked pensive," said Ms. Barreto. "Rebecca looked at me and said ‘why don’t you go do some sewing? It makes you look happy.’ And, as I said before, it is very therapeutic for me."
"I made a pair of flannel pajamas for Rebecca. Her friends loved the pajamas, so I ended up making seven pairs of pajamas in one week, said Ms. Barreto, who also made house slippers out of terry cloth for each girl and put each girl’s initial on the slippers.
"Each girl had to make an outline of one foot for size," Ms. Barreto added.
Ms. Barreto continues to work at the school and to sew with help from her mother, daughter and husband. "They help with the cutting and, of course, mom does some of the sewing, too. It’s wonderful to be able work with my mom, daughter and husband," she said. "It gives me hope that I can be useful in some way," she added.
DaisyBee Garments can be seen in The Vine & Branches Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. and by special appointment. For a special appointment, call Ms. Neri at 737-7150. Ms. Barreto can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

