As a young girl in Aitkin, Minn.

Sunday, October 24, 1999

As a young girl in Aitkin, Minn., Marie Fryer used to win grand champion ribbons and trips to the Minnesota State Fair for her 4-H sewing projects.

"I learned at my mother’s knee," said Fryer, who went on to study her craft, graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Stout with a major in clothing and textiles.

Fryer is now the owner of the burgeoning Belles & Beaus – a men’s and women’s formal wear shop.

Fryer is not simply a woman existing in business, she’s knitting a year-in and year-out pattern of success.

On the day she interviewed for this story, Fryer toured the empty Main St. showcase studio that will soon be the new headquarters of Belles & Beaus. It’s a storefront that used to open and reveal Joan Finnegan’s retired frame shop and gallery, The Serendipity.

Fryer guessed that the new store, set to open late this month or in early November, is twice as big as the current Belles & Beaus location along The Boardwalk on 4th Ave. NE.

"I loved the old building," Fryer said. "And I sure hate to leave the people on The Boardwalk. It was like a big family. Everyone helped shovel the walk and we’d pick up packages for each other. But there’s a lot more room here. It’s very exciting. I’ve been wanting display windows."

Fryer could use the room.

As it is now, she’s only got one large fitting room suited for trying on gowns.

Bridal business could get so busy that one bride may be in the room with two waiting outside.

The new store will feature three big fitting rooms and four to six smaller fitting rooms, suited for tuxedo fitting.

When she opened the store three years ago, Fryer offered six bridal gowns, 12 bridesmaids’ dresses, 15 prom dresses and one variety of tux.

Today, her selection has blossomed tenfold with 150 gowns available, 60-80 bridesmaids’ dresses and 80 prom dresses. Fryer now deals with more than four tuxedo companies. She used to need just one bridal company; now she deals with five.

"We’ve really grown," Fryer said.

Fryer is no stranger to business success. Her first business – The Nimble Thimble – started in her home.

"My husband compared it to a big oil slick in a corner that kept on going," Fryer said of the alteration and custom sewing shop that found its way onto Main St.

Fryer’s husband is an electrical engineer for Hormel. The couple has three children, Lana, a junior in high school, Nate, a college student, and Leah, a college grad.

After 10 years with The Nimble Thimble, Fryer got an itch to work with formal wear full-time after performing alterations on bridal dresses for years.

"I did a lot of work with wedding wear in my first business," said Fryer, who loves the roomy workshop located in the back of her new shop.

"The lighting is incredible for doing fine work," she said.

Many of her customers would accuse Fryer of doing fine work. She tries to insist that no two girls from the same school buy the same prom dress from her shop. And she doesn’t let men walk out the door without trying on their tux to make sure the alterations are correct.

"I don’t know what’s more fun for me," she said, "to help the guys or the girls.

"A lot of the brides bring tears to my eyes. I can’t imagine what the parents are going through."

Beyond wedding-wear, Fryer continues to do costume work for Riverland’s theater productions and the Jane Taylor Academy of Dance.

She doesn’t do it alone; she employs eight part-time workers.

It’s another sign that Belles & Beaus is growing.

And Fryer is right there to take care of the necessary alterations.