Meet Young Lee of Young’s Dressmaker in Orland Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Young Lee.

Young, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.

Fleeing from a dangerous part of Korea as a child, losing her whole family from a war, eventually losing her mom at 18, coming to the US to leave her sorrows behind and start a new chapter in Chicago.  This is where she has stayed since 1972 when she emigrated here. Through visions of direction from her mother and God she swears that they guided her to meet her husband one week after arriving in the U.S.  She went on to have 4 boys, start her business and run it till it was condemned only for being one of the oldest standing historical buildings in Orland Park. At the young age of 71, she still continues to run her business out of her home serving the south suburbs since the 1970’s.

I was born in Korea in August of 1945 when tensions of war were rising between Japan, Korea and the United States. My childhood and young adult life was stricken by the terrors of war as long as I could remember. The war scattered my whole family, eventually leaving my mother, two younger brothers, and me to trek on foot to the south. The journey was the most treacherous months I had experienced as a five-year-old girl.

My mother gave birth to my youngest brother two weeks before the journey  when we were walking towards safety my middle brother Doo-Bong would often get too tired to walk, so at the age of 5.5 I would often time piggy-back my 4-year-old brother because his tiny feet hurt too much.  My mother carried my 2-week old baby brother, but I could tell it was too hard for her to lead our entire family all the way to safety.

After weeks of walking, my mother stopped producing breast milk for my baby brother to eat and Do-Hyun became malnourished.  Shortly after our start he died on my mother’s back.  It was devastating to my mother who she herself was in so much pain both physically and mentally and me as a young child.  My middle brother also couldn’t keep up with us, and one day got so exhausted and frustrated that he threw away his shoes into a river and begged us to leave him at a distant relative’s house and come back for him once we were settled at our new haven.   Since my mother was physically exhausted from dragging us along, she decided that she would bury my baby brother, leave my other brother and me with our relative and come back for us only once she established a residence at a safe place.

I was furious, and hated my mother, yelling, crying and begging to continue with her.  I wouldn’t leave her alone especially because I knew she needed someone to take care of her. She was sick and I didn’t think she could make it on her own.  So, I pleaded until she agreed to take me with her. We both promised each other to come back for my brother, whom we never saw again. It was extremely hard physically but not having my brother with me really placed a burden on my soul missing him with every grueling step of the way.

We finally reached the south after a treacherous journey, only to be told by our relatives that we can stay for only a few days. They feared that since we came down from a dangerous region that we would endanger their lives housing us.  We had to search from residence to residence for several months before we could finally get settled somewhere we felt safe.  My mother and my first thoughts were to go back and find my brother, however, in the short amount of time which we were able to get settled a giant wall was erected prohibiting travel back to him.

After many additional moves, we finally found a place on our own that eventually worked out for us.  At an early age I took up sewing, alterations, and seamstress work near Seoul.  Fast forward to my 18th birthday my mother and I had managed to live a life taking care of one another.  However, ever since the trek to our current home, she never overcame her sickness causing her health to fail.  Shortly after my 18th birthday she passed away and I was left alone.  I loved my mother so much, she was all I had left in the world and living without her was unthinkable.  Not shortly after my mother passed away, I started having dreams and visions of her as if she were in heaven talking to me.  In my dreams she told me that I needed to save some money and leave Korea to start a new life.

From that moment on I had only one plan and that was to learn a craft, save some money and go the United States.  So I quickly picked up the trade of being a seamstress – cutting and sewing garments together- I was so determined that I would do it for 12 hours a day.  Then I ended up taking classes in fashion design in hopes of one day creating some of the greatest garments imaginable.  I got straight A’s in all of my design classes and new I had a true gift with fashion concepts.  Then when I was 27, I met a Korean missionary team that was helping young students find education in Chicago, USA.  They were requesting that everyone save some money if they were interested in a new life there.  I knew I would do anything to start all over again to complete the promise I made to my mother through my dreams and hopefully ending my loneliness.

During the trip to the US I almost didn’t make it over as the US required to have several thousands of dollars in cash to prove you could provide for yourself.  I almost had a heart attack knowing that my dreams were about to fall apart.  I had brought my life saving and brought a few thousand on me, luckily for me the minister sponsor who was with me had an extra thousand dollars and slipped it to me allowing me to pass immigration.  I will not forget this minister to this day, and I went back to thank him years back when I visited my son living in Seattle, WA at the time.

When I arrived in Chicago, I had my breath taken away on how amazingly beautiful the city was.  I immediately fell in love with the Chicago Skyline and breath-taking lake front.  I knew I was here to stay.  Being a Christian Korean – I had no sense of community so the first place I thought shelter was a local Korean church.  In it I enjoyed meeting people of similar backgrounds, but I still lacked having any form of family.

That first day, in 1972, I walked into the church I met a Korean man named Won.  He was 10 years my senior and very aggressive when he met me.  I must have quickly got his attention as a young beautiful 27-year-old woman in a city where there were hardly any Korean woman at all.  He quickly found out that I had emigrated from a place near where he was born to the South for safety as well.  I also found out that he had a very similar story much like mine, however, he was much more fortunate and had family that sponsored him.  Won studied Chemical Engineering at Yonsei University, Seoul and then in 1967 attended West Virginia University to get his Masters in Materials Science engineering.  He was currently working for the Honeywell Corporation as a bachelor and finally worked for Panduit Corporation in New Lennox for almost 30 years.  He was overly friendly and immediately took an interest in me but I didn’t find him attractive at all.

He seemed to have a nice job but I didn’t like him.  He was much older than me, he was very scrawny at 127 pounds 5’6″, with large ears.  In addition, I had just landed in Chicago and hadn’t even had a chance to see the Sears tower yet!  He pursued me and I resisted, until one day he said, “If you let me take you out to dinner one time, I won’t bother you anymore.”  I still refused.  That night my mother came back to me in a dream and told me that I need to meet with a person carrying a luggage/package- you will marry this person!”

The next day, Won was waiting at the stoop of my apartment with his best friend Dr. Jung playing a Korean board game.  I was thinking this man doesn’t quit!  So I waited for him to leave after several hours.  When I saw that the stoop was clear (I figured they went for a cigarette break) I decided to rush out of my apartment.  As I was walking down the hall trying to avoid them, I saw Won and Dr. Jung walking towards me, Won had two bags of groceries in hand (luggage) and was coming to give them to me.   Thinking this is crazy, I decided to listen to my mother’s advice from my dream, and agreed to meet with him for one date.  He was charismatic, honest and very charming- I fell in love with him that day.

We eventually married, move to Orland Park, had 4 boys and I started work at Carson Pierre Scotts as a seamstress for additional family income and did this for several years.  Then in 1978- I opened Young’s Dressmaker focusing on bridal dresses and alterations off of LaGrange and 147th Road. Business was painfully slow for the first two years and then finally they picked up.

So in 1989 we opened a second location at 9911 W. 143rd St. Orland Park, in the old Historic District of Orland Park.  I rented the building from a Mr. Davidson, considered to be one of the wealthiest men in all of Orland Park as he owned buildings, a cement company, and much of the prime land in Orland Park.  This second location was focused on Alterations and Wedding Dress making and we also provided full services for garments.  So I had two stores, four boys and a needful husband.  It was too much, so I eventually closed down my first store to focus on the larger second store.

During this time, I felt unfulfilled not having finished my degree in fashion since having left Korea.  So I decided to take night classes at Moraine Valley College in Art.  Several years later I completed my Masters in Art from Governor’s State University at the age of 57- I felt invincible and so proud of how far I had come.

But then just as things were going so well, my husband suddenly became ill.  He developed a very acute back pain and we ended up seeing endless doctors. Within 6 months of prognosis; he died in April of 2005 (two days after the Pope passed).  I always like to think that he and the Pope entered heaven waiting in the same line. It was found that he died of Renal Cell Carcinoma (kidney failure).  It took a huge toll on me and I didn’t want to do anything- I was once again devastated.  My only remedies were faith in God and taking my mind off him staying busy with work. Also, taking my mind off him was really the only thing that would allow me to feel normal without him.  It was during this time where I felt I made some of the most amazing dresses of my life. So I kept my head down and worked hard.

Then in the winter of 2008 with very heavy snow, an older building in Orland Park had its roof collapse due to the building’s age and weight of the snow.  The building was instantly condemned by the Village of Orland Park.  The building I was renting was already 100 years old with no major significant improvements to it- it was also ready to be condemned.  I had been operating out of this location for 25 years and then one morning without any notification or warning – the city came in and said, “You need to close down your business by 5 pm tonight as the building is being condemned.”  I was mortified, I had been in this location for 25 years and one morning someone tells me to shut down, get rid of all my customer’s garments, and remove my equipment all in 7 hours?  I was frantic and didn’t know what to do so I asked my sons for advice.

I immediately called all customer to pick up their garments.  Then I hired someone with a moving van to transport all of the remaining customer’s clothes out to a safe location and start pulling my sewing machines, cash registers and other personal effects which had accumulated over the past decades.  It was a nightmare and I nearly had a heart attack that day.  After some months I then had no other choice but to move the garments, sewing machines and equipment to my house.  For the next weeks I was lost not knowing what to do.  Should I just retire and not do anything or do I fix this?  I still needed a diversion from Won’s passing and I was still too hungry and able bodied to not do anything.  Customers still kept calling me asking, “Young Lee, where are you I need some help with a wedding dress- please help!”

So then, from that day forward, I reestablished my business based out of my home.  Starting from scratch and new location.  Fortunately, my sons helped me build and online presence and help me reconnect with customers wondering where I had gone.

Then tragedy happened again.  My third son David, who was thirty-three (in 2010) was travelling in Costa Rica on a vacation, got into a terrible car accident killing him and barely sparing his passengers life.  From here I thought, “God, why do you take so much away from me and hurt me so badly.”  It was at this time I had felt the worst in my entire life.  My other sons consoled me and really did everything they could to try to make me feel better, but burying a child is something no one should ever have to do.  So again, after much grieving, I went back at it again, keeping my mind as focused on work as possible.  It was much harder to recover over my son’s passing then my husbands, but with time, returning to work and much prayer I got better.

For the past 7 years, I have really turned around and have again focused on making some of the best works of my life.  With every dress, suit or alteration I do I realize that life is so temporal but it makes me so glad to spend my time with my children and grandchild.  My oldest son has a two-year-old and my second son is about to have his first daughter.  The thought of introducing family back into my life brings tears of joy knowing that unlike my younger days, I am no longer alone.  Owning Young’s Dressmakers for the past 40 years has not only afforded me clients who became some of my best friends, but also a mechanism to keep me alive.  Had it not been for my little business over the past decades, I don’t think I could have made it- and with that said I want to thank all of my thousands of customers from the years

I hope you have read this and can learn something from my struggles and perhaps gain some perspective on times of difficulty.   I love my customers as you all allowed me to live on and be who I am today.  Please come by and visit me for a dress, or some work- I promise to give you my best!

Has it been a smooth road?
Growing up in the middle of a war.
Losing family.
Going back to school late in life.
Losing my business.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Young’s Dressmaker story. Tell us more about the business.
I have perfected the art dress and custom garment making. With over 40 years as a seamstress and custom clothes designer and creator I stop at nothing short of the best. I am currently running my business from home.

Alterations and Tailoring is more than just cutting fabric. It is about fitting the dress in an excellent way to your body structure. We all have places we would like to be less visible and others we want to draw the eye. Give yourself this amazing look on your special day. Get more personal attention, let me listen to your concerns, and let make the look memorable. You are going to walk out absolutely satisfied. I can also make arrangements to meet you with an appointment.

My work and pricing is unmatched. Especially, when compared to other bridal and prom shops or special occasion shops and you will get your dress by your short deadlines. Next day service is available with special requests. You are going to get the highest professionalism with much more custom attention for far less quicker. I have had repeat customers for the past 40 years – and I would love to make you a happy long-term customer as well.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Wedding, prom and personal gatherings become more intricate and people are looking for custom solutions. With today’s age I see no reason why we can’t all having perfectly custom fit dresses, suits and garments for all occasions. Everyone is unique in their personality, thoughts and sizes- why not have a custom fit to your unique body? The industry of custom clothes making has been around since we started wearing clothes, this tradition will stay around forever- so why not be fashionable and get something fit perfectly to you today?

Pricing:

• Custom Wedding Dresses starting at $699
• Custom Prom refitting starting at $149
• Stitching, zippers, hems, anything stitch related starting at $9

Contact Info:

• Address: 15657 S. 116th Ave.Orland Park, Il 60642
• Website: www.youngsdressmaker.com
• Phone: 708-349-3440
• Email: youngsdressmaker@gmail.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youngsdressmaker
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/youngs-dressmaker-orland-park
• Other: https://plus.google.com/113460450514479634778

Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.