By Robert Kalfus
Yonkers residents Michael and Tara Daly will celebrate the christening of their first child, daughter Shannon Cornelia Daly, this Saturday, Nov. 10, in St. Barnabas Church on 241 Street in the Bronx – the church where they married little more than three years ago.
Tara was having a dress tailored at La Robe by Leah on Central Park Avenue when she thought of having her satin and lace wedding dress re-tailored into a christening dress for her firstborn daughter.
“The work done by LaRobe by Leah was more beautiful than I thought it would be, and better than I could have wished for,” said Tara. “La Robe by Leah makes unique, one-of-a-kind dresses.”
She said she doubted that she will ever again wear her wedding dress, and so dedicated it to become her daughter’s christening gown. She entrusted cutting her precious wedding dress and repurposing it as a christening gown to the talented and experience of La Robe by Leah.
Tara and her husband said they hope to enlarge their family with more children – she has five brothers and five sisters, and Michael has two sisters – and “there is enough left of my lace and satin wedding dress to make a christening suit if we have a boy.”
Tara and Michael met in 2004 when introduced by mutual friends at the former Arthur Daly’s Irish bar on McLean Avenue, now Moriarty’s, and became engaged to be married Oct. 18, 2014 – on her 30th birthday. They enjoyed a wedding reception at the Fountainhead in New Rochelle, which they lament is now closed.
Michael, an accountant for Consolidated Edison, and Tara, a speech therapist for the Eastchester School District, were both born in the Bronx, but Michael was raised in Yonkers and they are raising their family in the Lincoln Park section.
La Robe by Leah opened at its present location 17 years ago in 2001 at Central Park Avenue in Yonkers, continuing to operate a retail bridal shop offering custom-made clothing for women, children and men; bridal gowns and bridesmaid dresses; and alterations.
Leah Katz learned her skills as a 12-year-old from her father, who learned from his mother, a seamstress, how to use a sewing machine. At age 17, Leah continued learning how to produce fashionable dresses at a school in Paris, and continued to enhance and improve her dressmaking skills. Leah continues to alter as needed and creates unique dresses and wedding gowns for her clients.
The store is easily accessible with parking spaces directly in front, facing 1692 Central Park Ave. Contact La Rose by Leah at 914-337-5887.
