Celine

Hi, my name is Cyd and I am a client and friend of Celine Vallejos. Celine is a very talented, dedicated seamstress who has been in business for at least 55 years. She is 81 years old (born June 26, 1941) and struggles with impaired vision from glaucoma, with which she was diagnosed several years ago, hand tremors and severe chronic back pain. She is struggling to keep up with the rising costs of running her business and mere survival.

I sat with her yesterday and we had a tearful exchange as the reality that she must soon stop working looms, but she is at a loss for how to realistically retire and survive financially. "I don't want to die sitting over a sewing machine", were her words to me.

Celine received her degree in clothing design from the Academy Central Mendia in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is originally from Paraguay and emigrated to the US in December of 1968 at which time she purchased Maggie's Alterations in Corona del Mar.

She was an esteemed tailor for celebrities the likes of Mrs. John Wayne, Harriet Nelson of Ozzy and Harriet, and Mrs. Pat Nixon. Celine did the alterations on the gown Mrs. Wayne wore to the Oscars when John Wayne won Best Actor for his role in True Grit.

Please contribute to this fund so that Celine can contemplate semi-retirement and keep the condo where she lives now. She has worked tirelessly to keep her clients beautifully dressed and properly tailored for decades at ridiculously modest prices. It is now time to show her how much we appreciate her and all that she has done to make us look our best through this Go Fund Me campaign. She needs our help and is too humble to ask for it.