MILWAUKEE — “You either have to be passionate or crazy. It’s one or the other," Becky Peelen said.
“Which one are you?" I asked her.
“I think a little bit crazy," Peelen said.
If you ask me, a little crazy is a good thing.
Since she was a 5-year-old girl, Becky Peelen has had a needle and thread in her hand. When she turned 8, Peelen was allowed to use the electric sewer. Fast forward 82 years, and she has made a successful career as a seamstress in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood.
“So it’s kind of, to use a cliche, it’s kind of the fiber of my life that I’ve always done it.”
For 37 years, Peelen has owned Becky's Custom Sewing and Design Shop on Delaware Avenue. She made dresses for baptisms, proms, and weddings. Inside the shop, her walls are decorated with notes from brides saying thank you for making the perfect dress for their perfect day.
“It’s an honor, and I take that so seriously that I don’t want - That’s me going down the aisle. I do not want - my mantra is no should ofs," she said.
Beyond weddings, she has designed some iconic looks like the winter costume for the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies. The Grannies have been wearing that outfit since the 1990s. All new members meet with Peelen to be sized and eventually receive a custom-made outfit.
“We think of her all the time. We wear the costume, and we think of Becky and the design. We love this. I think this will always be our winter costume," Kaye Panyk, a Dancing Granny, said.
However, her days of designing and sewing are coming to an end. Peelen is retiring.
“I hate the idea personally, but I’m 82 years old, and it’s time.”
In about a month, the shop will close forever. Even though she'd like to, Peelen isn't taking any more orders.
"It’s really, really hard to say no.”
That's because she loves this work so much. Remember, she is a little crazy.
“If I could stay young and healthy forever, I’d work forever. But I can’t.”
That means the Dancing Grannies will have to go elsewhere for their costumes. In a similar vein, the Peelen family will also need to find a new costume supplier.
“So one of the advantages of having a seamstress grandmother is you can ask for the most absurd Halloween costumes," Alex Rucka, Peelen's grandson, said.
Watch Becky's story to see more of her wedding dress designs...
But in truth, the family is breathing a bittersweet sigh of relief.
“We think that maybe she works a little bit too hard, so it’s kind of nice that - and I think she’s going to work from home to spite me," Rucka said.
She won't completely stop working. Peelen will continue designing and making dresses for her VIP clients.
“My granddaughter at Hamilton High School needs a prom dress, so that’s what I’m working on.”
While the shop will close soon, Peelen will never be forgotten. The dresses remain timeless in photographs and endure in memories of life's happiest moments.
“I feel completed by having lived a good life, and so I'm okay with that.”
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