Patsy Bessolo
Not Your Mother’s Fashion Designer

Written by Elizabeth Parsons
Photography by Skip Higgins

I’d always heard great things about Patsy Bessolo—Roanoke’s own costume designer and creator of custom fashions—and so for the April issue of City Magazine, I thought she’d be the perfect person to speak to about spring fashion. Walking into Bessolo’s on South Jefferson Street a month before, I took stock of my surroundings: a headless mannequin draped in a ribbon and skull-printed apron (think June Cleaver meets punk rocker Dee Dee Ramone); beside it hung a black and white satin wedding dress with intricate, pewter buttons crawling up the torso (“it’s inspired by the costuming of Underworld the movie,” Bessolo told me). Smooshed together on a rack behind Bessolo’s worktable, I noticed a dazzling rainbow of frocks, ranging from the traditional to the avant-garde. The one thing the diverse pieces had in common was that each one looked anything but “off-the-rack.” Impressed, I invited Bessolo to sit down for a chat.

“So what do you think will be hot for spring, Patsy?” I asked.

Bessolo crinkled her nose at me (in a gesture I would later learn is “classic Patsy”), and answered unapologetically: “I don’t really care about that stuff. Fashion is an individual thing.”

“But—but,” I stammered. An important piece of my interview teetered in the balance, like a dress from a clothesline on a breezy afternoon. “But aren’t there any spring trends you’re following? Isn’t there anything from the runways you find inspiring or, ‘cool’?”

Bessolo’s nose crinkled further, and I felt my forehead grow warm.

“I try not to be affected by that kind of thing,” she answered. “I prefer to focus on what will look good on the woman who walks into my store.”

I would soon learn that it’s precisely Bessolo’s feisty individualism that makes her designs so interesting, unusual, and sought-after—both “Bessolo-esque” yet painstakingly suited to the individual taste of each customer. For me, this sunk in after two post-interview visits, working with Bessolo to create a custom cocktail dress. I had inherited a circa-1940s, handmade Chinese silk coat from my late grandmother, and the thing was falling to pieces. In years past, I had brought it to several tailors in San Francisco hoping to salvage it, and was repeatedly turned down. “Beautiful!” was the typical response. “A real work of art—you should donate this to a museum,” one seamstress suggested. “But it’s beyond repair,” she lamented, fingering the threadbare shoulders and sleeves. “I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do.”

I mentioned my experience to Bessolo during the interview and she encouraged me to bring in the piece. “Wonderful!” she exclaimed, when I finally did. “We’ll make this into a dress!”

After a series of fittings and consultations, my decaying family relic was slowly restored to life, reincarnated into a 1940s-Taiwan meets 1960s-vintage Hollywood cocktail dress, something both modern and timeless—a piece I hope to will to my own granddaughter one day. And the transformation I witnessed is just one of many wonders worked by Bessolo. In spending time in her downtown workshop, I watched a myriad of projects and customers fly through the doors, and I realized that the possibilities at Bessolo’s are endless.

“One of the more interesting projects I worked on was for a birthday party at The Park,” Bessolo remembers. “It was a ‘drag theme,’ and one of the guys wanted to come as Marie Antoinette.” She was happy to oblige, and the piece was a frilly, funky success.

Also a costume designer for theater, Bessolo once worked on a stage production of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas—recreating the look of 60s “mod” for the inhabitants of Whosville. “I used tons of vintage patterns and wigs,” Bessolo recalls. In addition to custom designing numerous wedding and formal dresses for women all over the area, Bessolo has been contracted for circuses, parades, film festivals, and theater productions around the nation (our own Mill Mountain Theatre and Opera Roanoke are among her employers). “I’ve been in professional theater for about 15 years,” she says.

This month, Bessolo travels to Finland to work on costumes that will be featured on a luxury cruise ship’s maiden voyage.

“I’ve got itchy feet,” the artist admits with a smile. For Bessolo, who “loves her job,” the opportunity to travel is a big draw. “It’s probably equal parts travel and artistry,” she notes, remarking that she may be on the road anywhere from one to five months of the year. “Luckily I have a very understanding husband.” (Bessolo’s husband Rob works at the Jefferson Center as its production manager and technical director).

All this from a woman who readily admits she “flunked out” after a year and a half at the University of North Texas (both she and Rob are Texas natives). No matter, Bessolo has since built an impressive custom-design business and is now sought-after by some of the country’s most reputable theaters and production companies. Whatever the project, “I love to sew,” she notes. Just don’t ask her to rattle off any “trends” in the industry—the innovative Bessolo would much rather create her own.

To contact Patsy Bessolo about creating custom work, stop by her store at 513 South Jefferson Street in downtown Roanoke, or call 540.798.6288.

Posted: April 1st, 2007 under Visions.
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~Elizabeth Parsons’ passion for culture and the arts has earned her a degree in Anthropology and stamps on her passport from places as diverse as Ecuador, Turkey and the European Union. Recently working as a Writer and Event Planner for the Grammy Music Awards in San Francisco, CA, she returns to her hometown of Roanoke to pursue her M.F.A./Creative Writing at Hollins University. Elizabeth can be contacted at 540.345.6300 or elizabeth@citymagazineonline.com.