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Mother-Daughter Duo Makes Custom Clothing in Turtle Bay

By Mary Johnson | October 11, 2011 6:46am
Diana Bachraty-McLaughlin, 30, and her mother, Myra Bachraty, run a custom-made clothing business with locations in Turtle Bay and Fort Lauderdale.
Diana Bachraty-McLaughlin, 30, and her mother, Myra Bachraty, run a custom-made clothing business with locations in Turtle Bay and Fort Lauderdale.
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Diana Bachraty-McLaughlin

TURTLE BAY — Diana Bachraty-McLaughlin has vivid childhood memories of sifting through her mother’s clothing and accessories, trying everything on even though she was too young and too small for adult fashions.

“I was in her closet all the time, always going through her stuff,” Bachraty-McLaughlin, 30, recalled. “I just loved all her cute little things.”

Her mother was in the clothing business. Her grandmother was, too. The family started a millinery in the Czech Republic and continued making hats when they moved to New York City in 1966.

As fashion trends shifted and hats became rarer, the family started knitting and crocheting clothing and accessories.

That evolved into a custom-made clothing business, which has operated out of a small storefront on First Avenue near East 53rd Street for more than a decade.

The store, Knits by Myra, is named for Bachraty-McLaughlin’s mother who, at 62, still sports a "Bond girl” look that has been her style since she was a young woman and a model at Bloomingdale’s, Bachraty-McLaughlin said.

“She didn’t look like the other moms,” said Bachraty-McLaughlin, who grew up in Turtle Bay. “She stood out with her blond hair and her red lips.”

But Myra wasn’t just a pretty face back then. She was working hard, Bachraty-McLaughlin said. She remembers her mother sewing all day long before coming home, making dinner and then settling into the couch to keep working.

Myra taught her daughter how to sew and welcomed her as a partner in the business about 10 years ago, Bachraty-McLaughlin said. Both women now design and tailor the pieces. They visit clients together and travel to trunk shows around the country.

“We have a good time. We have fun,” Myra said.

The clothing at Knits by Myra can be custom ordered or bought off the rack, and prices range from about $400 for a skirt to $1,200 for a coat.

Mother and daughter agreed the secret to their particular designs is in the details, the accents added after the form is crafted.

When a client requests a custom piece, the owners send the order to a clothing manufacturer in Queens, which creates the basic shape of the garment in a blend of cotton and silk.

The form is then sent back to the mother-daughter team, which tailors it more precisely before adding flourishes like black, sheer rosettes or pleated trimming or flamboyant buttons.

“A lot of women love it because they can’t find things that fit perfectly,” Bachraty-McLaughlin said. “Imagine feeling comfortable all day long in a suit.”

“And it’s sexy because it’s tight and fitted,” Myra added.

The look, Myra continued, is classic, sophisticated and popular. She claims to have a small celebrity following, including one former Playboy bunny, but she declined to name names.

Bachraty-McLaughlin moved to Fort Lauderdale a few years ago, fell in love and got married. Her parents joined her down there, and together, mother and daughter opened a Knits by Myra boutique on Las Olas Boulevard, near the ocean.

For Bachraty-McLaughlin, the Fort Lauderdale location is a first step toward expanding the brand. She would like to add a website to sell fashions online and maybe add some funkier looks to their existing collection.

“I love doing this stuff,” Bachraty-McLaughlin said.

“She’s good at it too,” her mother added.