For over three decades, when young Latina women plan their weddings and quinceañeras – the traditional coming-of-age party for a 15-year-old woman – they head to San Francisco's Mission District and Latin Bridal, the small dress shop run by owner Silvia Ferrusquia. 

Just steps from gritty Mission Street, Ferrusquia's shop is filled with sparkling ball gowns, formal prom and wedding dresses, and the traditional accouterment for over-the-top celebrations. 

"You’ve got to be beautiful," said Ferrusquia, flanked by her room of dresses. "It doesn’t matter what’s your budget, you’ve got to be just beautiful because it’s once in a lifetime." 

Ferrusquia has made a career readying women for those once-in-a-lifetime occasions – the kind of precious memory-making events where you get a single chance at perfection. 

Ferrusquia has been the life of countless parties over the years. Her favorites, though, are the quinceañeras with their elaborate rituals and the young woman decked out in a festive ball gown. To give a sense of just how elaborate they are, Ferrusquia pointed out her shop sells some 36 accessories for a typical quinceañera – about the same as a fully decked out Catholic wedding. 

"To keep those traditions is what is very important for me," she said. 

Ferrusquia saw dressmaking up close growing up in the small town of San Felipe, Mexico, where her seamstress mother sewed dresses for all the town's celebrations. Her mom organized the parties, crafted the gowns and even crowned the queens for the annual Mexican Independence Day celebration.

"My mom used to sew the dresses and I used to watch her all the time," Ferrusquia said. "She did beautiful stuff." 

When Ferrusquia first moved to San Francisco, she didn't follow her mother's lead. She instead took a job in a Mission District record store and worked there for 11 years. She had a gift for memorizing the location of each record in the shop – even if she didn't know the music. 

Eventually she decided to go out on her own and open a clothing store. At the nudging of her customers, she began to focus on selling dresses for special occasions. With her mother's dressmaking DNA coursing through her veins, she stocked wedding and quinceañera gowns, and everything needed for a glamorous party. 

"I love my business," Ferrusquia said. "Probably because I remember my childhood." 

The walls of her shop are crowded with racks of colorful dresses. In the quinceañera section, distinct styles reflect specific regional customs. She pulled out an ornate dress she explained was for a quinceañera taking place on a ranch. A pink dress is a more typical Puerto Rican custom. 

A glass display case held sparkling crowns for all level of ostentation. Another held a stuffed bear, which will represent the last toy presented to a girl on her quinceañera day, symbolizing her transition into womanhood. Ferrusquia lamented many of the girls will now keep the gift instead of giving it away at the party, which is the old custom. 

In her industry, Ferrusquia is a traditionalist – she likes to see families trotting out the old ways – combined with the new ones. She believes a quinceañera isn't a success until the girl's father sheds tears dancing a waltz with his daughter. Crying is encouraged in Latin Bridal. 

"We have so much tears in here," Ferrusquia laughed. "But those are tears of joy." 

The tears shed during the pandemic were of a different kind. For a business that survives on parties and celebrations, Ferrusquia had nothing to celebrate herself. There was no business, no income.

It was her clients and neighborhood that came to her rescue. Local nonprofits helped her to secure grants to stay afloat. And even though most quinceañeras and other parties were on hold, families helped her out by investing in dresses from Latin Bridal for a future, brighter day.

"Thanks to them and my customers, we survived," Ferrusquia said. 

A couple months back, Ferrusquia received recognition for her years of work when the City and County of San Francisco designated Latin Bridal's building with landmark status. 

"For me, it’s very important," she said. "It’s recognition of all the work that we’ve done for most of our lives. It’s 32 years, it’s three generations, it’s half of your life." 

Ferrusquia now sees the daughters of daughters working through her door, reflecting the generations she's outfitted during her decades in business. She glances at them, immediately sizes them up, then automatically knows which dresses to pull out, almost as if she were back in the record shop pulling out a disc. But dresses aren't the only services she doles out in her shop. 

"My daughter said, 'You come to Latin Bridal, you come for the lecture and you come for the dress,'" Ferrusquia grinned.

Ferrusquia isn't sure what her own future holds. She worries about what will happen when she has to renegotiate her lease in the not-so-distant future. Rents continue to climb in San Francisco, as evidenced by the many vacant storefronts in the Mission. 

The Mission District was once full of shops like hers. Online sales did many of them in. Now there is only Latin Bridal. Ferrusquia counts herself fortunate for her long list of clientele who have supported her through the many years of parties. 

"So people remember and they come back," Ferrusquia said. "They always come back."