We recently connected with Brianna Butov and have shared our conversation below.
Brianna, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I started ballroom dancing later in life as I was graduating from High School. As I started to do competitions my eyes opened to the beauty of DanceSport Costumes.
If you have ever been to a dance competition then you know, the overwhelming racks of dresses with thousands of rhinestones and of all different styles.
As you can imagine, these dresses were quite out of my budget for someone who just started competing.
So I began making my own dresses, finding the materials needed and rhinestones to bring the dress to life. I also found some basic dresses that I just rhinestoned myself.
I really enjoy small tedious work so stoning a dress was always very enjoyable for me. Especially when you see the before and after.
Fast forward a couple of years, I really wanted to make lavish ballroom dresses for competitors. The only problem was my sewing skills were very basic. I needed a partner to help bring my visions to life!
When I got married in 2019 I learned that my now mother in law, Oksana was a professional seamstress. These are one of those few moments in life when you know something is really meant to be. We started designing and creating dresses for dancers all over the US.
This gave so much purpose to my life and hers. It brings us much happiness to see dancers on the dance floor wearing their custom made DanceSport dress.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I started my dancewear journey in Portland, Oregon. This is very very first started dancing as well as making my own costumes for competition..
Later on when I got married, I moved to Sacramento California. And this is where I got to know my mother-in-law Oksana very well, and she had the amazing gift of making any of my dancesport costumes come to life.
She has over 25 years experience with sewing and custom work. She even made my wedding dress. What a blessing it was to have my mother-in-law make a one-of-a-kind wedding dress just for me.
After a couple of years in Sacramento, my husband and I decided to move our lives to Greenville South Carolina. And we never looked back! We absolutely love Greenville and the culture here as we have gotten acquainted with everything. I got to know of the dance community here in the south as well.
It has been with great honor to see our dance dresses on the dance floor, and with smiling faces.
We love bringing our clients dream dress to lives.
Our name is VOS Dancewear. Everything about your costume is custom from the design, how it fits you, how it is stoned or beaded, and how it moves on the dance floor. We strive to deliver the best quality to our clients.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I believe when it comes to creating any kind of art or design, you need to have patience first of all.
Because of what we do, it takes a lot of detail and time. A dress cannot be whipped up in just a week. It takes time to customize a design that fits your client’s personality and figure. Time to do measurements, pick out materials, do patternmaking, sewing, fittings and embellishing the dress.
You cannot rush, art!
Second is enjoyment. I believe that we should all enjoy our work. Yes, it is hard work and these things take time, but at the end of the day you are showing the world what you can provide for others. The intention behind any piece should have all of your heart put into it. Enjoy what you do, know that you are blessed with this job, to service others, and bring a piece of joy into their life.
Third is adaptability. Not all clients are the same. Everyone has a different style or taste and different figure so you have to design some thing specific for them. Not everyone is going to want the same type of costume so I enjoy sitting with my clients and getting to know them a little bit so I can design something very specific to who they are on the dance floor. I want to bring out the best in them. That is my goal every time.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
Oksana is my partner for so many things but of course she gives me such great perspective on our work together making dresses.
She is the mastermind behind the patternmaking, how somethings should fit someone and she can do all the things that I cannot do! She has such a great eye for style and custom fit.
She is known for her quality sewing skills and giving her best and professional opinion on alterations, custom-made wear anymore.
I honestly don’t know where I would be without her. She has the brains behind all the measurements, pattern making and sewing. She has helped my vision for ballroom dresses come to life. She was the missing puzzle piece I needed to go forward.
We are a team together, we support each other and help each other in so many ways. I’m so blessed to have her in this ballroom dress journey.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Vosdancewear
