We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lei Breton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lei below.

Lei, appreciate you joining us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

I was recently divorced, and after 7 years of being a stay-at-home parent (which I loved), I was looking for work, and didn’t really know where to start. My previous career was in theater and I didn’t want to go back to it. I had spent the last 7 years teaching myself how to sew and sewing for others on occasion, so I tried to find sewing work. I eventually found a local seamstress to work for, as well as my own private clients.

I started to see how bigger clients were treated differently, and not always well, so I focused my work on curvy bodies (knowing full well that curvy isn’t a size). After several years of watching a certain client get treated better than others, I got frustrated enough to quit my job at the seamstress and another job waiting tables, to do my own work full time.

Over the years, I saw how the queer community was almost completely left out of wedding media, and even photographers would post one of my clients on their social media, and then delete the picture. It was a choice. And I decided I would focus my entire business on trans and non-binary people, also largely ignored by wedding media, unless it’s pride month.

I’m still constantly frustrated by the wedding industry, but luckily I have found other tailors, and wedding vendors who want to celebrate queer weddings, so it feels less lonely out here. Anytime I find another queer tailor, I immediately want to befriend them, and support everything they do. It’s important.

Anytime I get tired of sewing, or have a rough day at the studio, I look back at the faces of my past clients, and see them re-wearing their wedding clothes (especially with suits), and it makes the difficulty of running a sewing workshop all worthwhile. The thing I tell people who are just starting out is to find a gap in the industry they want to build a business in, and find your reason for going back in every day, and make it your mission.

My mission is to support trans and non-binary folx so that they feel seen and heard on their wedding day. And, of course, look amazing!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a self-taught sewist. I taught myself how to alter clothes, to start, because after having 2 kids, I couldn’t find clothes that fit the way I wanted them to fit. I was annoyed that all of these decisions were made by a team at some clothes company, and that they had made the choice to ignore a large portion of the population.

My mom made me some clothes growing up, but not all. Mostly for special events. She learned how to sew from my dad, who in turn learned from his aunts and uncles in Colombia, where he’s from, and where I was born and raised. His family was a family of tailors and seamstresses, and they made custom suits, wedding dresses, and everyday clothes. (I didn’t know this growing up, or even when I started teaching myself how to sew.)

A friend of mine from college asked me if I wanted to go to San Diego Comic Con and dress up all 3 days with her and her best friend. I asked where I could buy corsets and costumes, and she told me to just make them. The thought was daunting, but she said, google it. This was in early 2000s and the number of tutorials online were few and far between, but I found one that taught me how to draft a corset pattern. All I needed were my measurements. I did a test run out of some old jeans I had. Little by little, I built my 3 costumes, and that was enough to get me into big dresses and all the structure.

I kept making costumes. The Victorian era was my favorite. Over time, I became known for my costumes, and got paid requests. I was making just about everything from swimsuits to wedding dresses. Another friend suggested that I separate my social media by sewing theme. Once I did that, I realized how much someone like me, open to all bodies, genders, and orientations, was needed in Indianapolis, so I focused all of my attention on wedding attire.

I’m often asked if I have a favorite custom look, and what I do is spend as much time is needed so that I get to the point where I’m in love with each piece. If I don’t think, “I want one!” then I know I’m not done. That said, one of my favorite pieces from 2022 was a crepe dress with a cape and these layered large feather epaulettes. But then there’s another 2 looks I made for a couple in 2023 that were inspired by jellyfish. I made a cape that I wanted to look like I had stuck my hand in the ocean, and pulled out this silk organza cape with a bunch of trinkets and debris, but also looked like a jellyfish.

My favorite pieces tend to be the ones that start from wild inspiration, like a pair of shoes, architecture, landscapes, basically anything that isn’t fashion. It lets my brain enjoy what a client enjoys so that I can translate it into attire that reads as wedding attire.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

As a trans non-binary person myself, serving my community is what keeps me going. I know how it feels to be misgendered, and if I could have it my way, nobody else would ever have to feel that sinking feeling. It’s hard enough to navigate the wedding industry when you’re getting married. It’s even harder when vendors who have met you, who know you’re queer, still send over contracts and emails calling you a bride. Even worse when you realize a vendor won’t work with you because you’re queer. It others you in a way that really hurts. It’s 2023 and the trans and queer community has no protection. Every day, our rights are stripped, and wanting to travel has to start with a search for: safe places to vacation for lgbtqia.

So, I focus my work on making sure that at least in my studio, the queer community feels affirmed.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My advice for social media is to make sure you are YOU. Share your voice, your beliefs, your frustrations. I mix politics into my social media. I share my rage against capitalism, racism, classism, and fast fashion, to name a few. I’m not always consistent, but I also focus my marketing with seo building on my website. I use social media to make meaningful connections, regardless of whether I work with a person or not.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thehouseofbreton.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehouseofbreton/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehouseofbreton
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-house-of-bret%C3%B3n-indianapolis

Image Credits
From R to L 1: Joe Charles 2: Melissa Ergo 3: In my studio 4: Kelly Lemon 5: Eileen Call 6: Amanda DeBusk 7: Amanda Summerlin 8: Lily Guillen