Mimi Filipova didn't start her sartorial career in the United States until later in life—she was 50-years-old when she made the move from Bulgaria—but brought with her an unmatched knowledge of all things fashion.
"I was in textiles in Bulgaria my whole life," she noted, standing behind the counter at Fiamor, one of her two same-named clothings shop on Cedar Street in Dobbs Ferry.
Now, Filipova brings her European acumen to the Rivertowns, selling evening gowns, wedding dresses and a slate of accessories.
"I can dress you from top to bottom," she exhorts to female customers. For men, the selection is more sparse, but not diminsihed.
"The quality is high," she said, noting her nine years in the village have instilled an aversion to buying anything other. On the shelves are Italian ties and cufflinks.
But while European supplies in Italy and France were once her main source of threads, Filipova says the market is changing.
"I buy a lot from Canada," she explained. "It's all made locally there."
Many European folks have jacked up prices recently, she added, and outsourced production to China.
