Sewing in Circles (15 page)

Zoey chuckled. “Now comes the hard part,” Zoey said. “Figuring out what to
wear
!”

Pop-Up Shop Bop

It's been nonstop sewing! As soon as I finished making the clothes for the gift fair, I had to start making the clothes for the next exciting event: Daphne Shaw's pop-up shop for her tween clothing line! Daphne's selected two of my pieces to display in the shop. It's
meant I've been superbusy and have barely had any time to spend with my friends (sorry, Priti, Kate, Libby . . . and everyone else!), but I'm sure it will be worth it! And I've been making this dress using—guess what?—leftover screen-printed fabric with my friend's painting. It was his idea, and I'm really excited to wear it.

I'm driving up with Allie and her mom—we're going to tour the City Fashion Institute in the morning and then attend the opening that evening. I can't wait! I hope my dress is fancy enough. Allie said she thinks it will rock the red carpet. I'll let you know!

“I can't believe we're here!” Zoey exclaimed in the car with Allie and her mom as they crossed the bridge and viewed the New York City skyline.

The weeks between the gift fair and the opening had been really hard work—making all the pieces Daphne ordered for the pop-up shop and keeping up with her schoolwork at the same time. But it was worth it, because tonight she'd see her clothes being sold in a real department store next to her mentor's!

“First, we'll go to the fashion institute for the tour, then check in at the hotel,” Mrs. Lovallo said.

“Are you excited to look at the school?” Zoey asked Allie.

“We looked at a few liberal arts colleges over the summer, but this is my first fashion design school. Dad thinks I should get a liberal arts education before I focus on fashion.” Allie sighed. “You know, ‘just in case.' ”

“My dad is the same way,” Zoey said. “But my aunt Lulu said that I should follow my dream and do what I really feel passionate about. It seems to have worked for her!”

The fashion design school seemed like heaven on Earth to Zoey as they toured it. She couldn't believe that there was a place where she could go to school to learn all the ins and outs of making and designing clothes and running a fashion business.

There were whole rooms filled with sewing machines and dress forms, and a fashion library where students could research the history of design.

“I want to apply here when I have to think about
going to college!” Zoey exclaimed. “I wish I could go now instead of having to wait.”

“Yeah, it's pretty exciting to think about being able to spend more time on learning about the things I'm
really
interested in,” Allie agreed.

“Now that we're done here, let's check in to the hotel,” Mrs. Lovallo said. “I've got a surprise for you both before the opening tonight.”

After they'd put their bags in the hotel room and hung up their dresses for the opening, Mrs. Lovallo took the girls down the street to a beauty salon.

“I booked us all appointments to get our hair and nails done,” she said. “It's not every day a girl gets to walk the red carpet!”

“Thank you!” Zoey said.

Allie and Zoey helped each other pick out polish colors for their nails, and they were seated at adjacent manicurists while Mrs. Lovallo got her hair done.

“Zoey,” Allie asked hesitantly. “Are you mad at me?”

“No,” Zoey said, surprised at the question.

“Are you
sure
?” Allie persisted.

“Well . . . I guess I'm upset that your relationship with Marcus ended the way it did, but you can't force yourself to like my brother if you like someone else,” Zoey said. “I just wish you'd been more honest with him, is all.”

“So . . . why didn't you visit my booth at the gift fair?” Allie asked.

“What? I thought you were avoiding
me
!” Zoey said. “And things got so busy.”

“I was busy, too,” Allie said. “But I finally went to your booth because I thought you were mad at me for not lending you display materials. And we'd promised we wouldn't let things get weird.”

“I
was
a little mad about that,” Zoey admitted. “I was desperate, and it seemed like you didn't want to help that much.”

“I'm sorry,” Allie said. “It's just that I had a plan for how I was going to display my stuff, and I didn't know what I'd do if I gave you more. I don't have Marcus and Aunt Lulu to come up with the great creative solutions you ended up doing.”

“But you're more creative than most people I know!” Zoey protested. “I still don't understand
why you wouldn't help a friend. Are you sure there wasn't something else going on?”

Allie was silent for a moment, and then she said, “You're right. I have a confession to make. When I read on
Fashion Insider
that you were going to have two pieces in Daphne Shaw's pop-up store, I got jealous.
Really
jealous. I don't know what came over me at the gift fair, but I realized later that I kind of didn't want to share my display things because I felt like you already had so much going for you and it wasn't fair. I feel horrible about it now—like, I'm the worst friend ever. Can you forgive me?”

Zoey was shocked at first, but then she remembered how she started to feel jealous that Ezra's silk-screen items were selling better than her stuff. And that wasn't nearly as big of a deal as having two of her pieces in Daphne Shaw's pop-up store.

“I understand,” Zoey said. “I'm glad you told me the truth.”

“I've been feeling really bad about it. And then the gift fair didn't go as well for me this year as it did last year, which just made me feel worse,” Allie confessed. “How did it go for you?”

“Pretty well,” Zoey said. “But I sold more of the scarves and headbands with Ezra's silk-screened paintings than I did of my own clothing designs. I guess they were right about clothes not selling so well at the gift fair.”

“Those scarves were cool,” Allie said. “But what I really want to know is . . . do you hate me now that I told you all that?”

“Of course not!” Zoey said. “We all have our moments. If it wasn't for you and your mom, I wouldn't be going to the opening at all, and I'm really glad you're coming with me.”

“Me too,” Allie said. “I can't wait. You know what, though—I think my mom's even more excited than I am!”

Daphne sent a car to pick them up at the hotel and bring them to the department store for the opening.

“I can't believe it's really the night of the opening,” Zoey said. “I've been so busy sewing the pieces, I haven't had that much time to get excited.”

“But you're excited now, I hope?” Mrs. Lovallo asked.

“Yes!” Zoey exclaimed. “I've got butterflies!”

As soon as they walked into the store, Daphne's assistant Jessie, who Zoey remembered from her visit to the designer's studio, took them over to the press area, where there was a red velvet carpet, a gaggle of photographers, and a few reporters and cameramen from TV stations.

Zoey couldn't believe this was real. She closed her eyes and opened them again to make sure everything was still there. She noticed her hands were shaking, but she didn't know if she was more nervous or more excited.

Allie brought her back to reality. “I never realized that the red carpet was just a fake wall with a bit of carpet in front,” Allie whispered. “Crazy, right?”

“Me neither,” Zoey said. “I thought it was a really long red carpet!”

Just then Daphne slipped through the crowd and surprised Zoey. “You made it!” Daphne said, giving Zoey a big hug. She turned to Allie and Mrs. Lovallo. “And you must be Zoey's wonderful friend Allie, and I take it you're Mrs. Lovallo? Great to meet you both.”

Allie lit up when Daphne called her “wonderful friend,” and Zoey hoped it made up for any jealousy she might have felt earlier.

Daphne walked them on to the red carpet platform, and they posed in front of the background wall, which had the new Daphne Shaw tween logo all over it.

“Over here!” one photographer after another shouted, and Zoey, Allie, Mrs. Lovallo—and Daphne, of course—kept smiling and looking toward the cameras.

“My face hurts from smiling,” Zoey said as they walked off the carpet.

“I know how you feel,” Daphne said. “I've been in so many photos, I think my jaw is locked in the smile position. Now, go enjoy yourself—and make sure to try the miniquiches. They're excellent!”

The pop-up store was a huge, white circular platform at the very center of the department store's main floor.

“Very classy,” Mrs. Lovallo said.

“Look, Zoey! There you are!” Allie exclaimed.

Sure enough, there was a clothing rack with her
skirt and top hung in a variety of sizes she'd just recently sent to Daphne. She couldn't believe the clothes she'd made in her house not long ago were now in a real department store, with official-looking price tags attached and bar codes and everything. Above the clothes was a sign that said
DESIGNS BY SEW ZOEY
alongside a photo of Zoey and a small blurb that explained how Zoey and her blog had helped inspire Daphne's tween collection.

“Let me take a picture of you girls next to Zoey's clothing rack for Mr. Webber,” Mrs. Lovallo said.

Allie and Zoey took one serious photo, and then they goofed around and pointed at the picture of Zoey.

“I thought there were going to be just old people here, but there are a bunch of other kids,” Allie said.

“It's the launch of a tween line, honey,” Mrs. Lovallo said. “Ms. Shaw probably wanted to invite some fashion-forward customers who might spread the word.”

“I'm glad there are other kids here,” Zoey said. “It makes it less intimidating than if it were all grown-ups.”

“Zoey!” Ceci Miller, who had been a fellow judge on
Fashion Showdown
, came over with one of the other judges, Christophe LeFrak. She gave Zoey air-kisses. “Congratulations!”

“Yes, it is exciting that our young judge inspired Daphne's new line,” Christophe said.
“Félicitations, ma petite.”

Zoey introduced them to Allie and her mom, and they were chatting when Oscar Bradesco, the host of
Fashion Showdown
, came to say hello.

Both Lovallos seemed totally starstruck to meet him. When he walked away, after kissing Mrs. Lovallo's hand, Mrs. Lovallo said, “I can't believe I just got air-kissed by someone I've seen on TV!”

Zoey's phone buzzed. It was a text from Ezra.

How's it going?

AMAZING!
she texted back.
Can't wait to tell you all about it!