BY MERVIT BASHI

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OCTOBER 2002 • STYLE A'I' I'llE JN

ashion-conscious Samantha
Kirschner of West Bloomfield
is interested in dress design.
So when it came to planning
her bat mitzvah, it seemed appropriate
to choose this as the theme. The space
for the party was decorated with her sK
logo, a take on Calvin Klein's cK, along
with Samantha's life-size sketches of fig-
ures wearing her designs, made of actual
material.
The festivities included a fashion
show featuring spaghetti-strap tees for
the girls and muscle shirts for the guys,
both emblazoned with the sK logo and
distributed as favors to the guests. Tying
into the theme, Samantha's mother,
Beth, suggested that her daughter actu-
ally design her own dress for the party as
well.
Samantha described what she wanted
to dressmaker Marsha Poshadlo, of
Marsha's Dress Design Studio in Royal
Oak, showing her parts of different
dresses she liked in various fashion mag-

azines. Poshadlo sketched a dress com-
bining the ideas. "It was the perfect
dress," says Beth Kirschner. "It was very
unique."
Poshadlo creates custom designs
using elegant fabrics, and frequently
sends customers to Haberman Fabrics
for assistance.
"We try very hard to have things that
are different and also to have things that
people will love to wear for their special
occasions," says owner Toby Haberman,
who recently moved to an expanded
store in Royal Oak.
In the past decade, there has been a
growing interest in custom-made dresses
for weddings and bat mitzvahs in partic-
ular. Poshadlo receives requests not only
for the guest of honor, but for the moth-
er as well. "A custom-made dress makes
the whole occasion even more exciting,"
says Poshadlo.
Marci Canvasser of West Bloomfield
describes how her daughter, Kayla, felt
in the dress Poshadlo designed for the