ZAPO Brings Formal Fashions to McKenzie

The story starts in Zapotlanejo, Jalisco, Mexico. Jackelyne Padilla, just a little girl, walks through her dad’s hometown in awe at the fashions on display in the town’s shops. Every year, her family would visit the town. Every year, Padilla would say she wanted a similar store of her own.

Friday, January 2, Padilla, now 19, saw her dream come to life with the grand opening of ZAPO, McKenzie’s only formal gown shop. She named the store after the city that sparked her love for fashion, and she introduced the tagline, “The Crib of Fashion,” also in honor of Zapotlanejo. The small store sits next door to Dilla’s Sewing, her parents’ tailoring and embroidering business.

Padilla took inspiration from high-fashion boutiques in Zapotlanejo while planning her own store, but she also infused some personalized characteristics. From floor to ceiling, the small shop is sleekly decorated. A black ceiling looks down on the marbled floors of her store, and dazzling dresses hang on gold racks. Padilla utilizes several mannequins in the store, showing off some of her most eye-catching fashions.

Situated on the left wall, though, are some dresses customers won’t be able to find anywhere else.

Growing up, Padilla was very interested in fashion and clothing. Her parents opened Dilla’s Sewing when she was eight years old, and she grew up playing in the store. She remembers playing with random pieces of textiles and fabrics, making dresses out of her parents’ scrap pieces.

Padilla’s early understanding of clothing design gave her the special ability to design her own dresses for the store. Padilla, with some tailoring assistance from her parents, created a rack of custom homecoming dresses using fabrics donated by a known designer for Miss Universe contestants. Padilla’s dresses are labeled with a ZAPO tag and cost significantly less than other featured dresses in the shop.

ZAPO also carries dresses by popular brands including Ellie Wilde and Sophia Thomas. Dress sizes range from double-zero to 16, and prices range from $99 to $600.

“Compared to other boutiques, I feel like our dresses are pretty affordable,” said Padilla.

Additionally, since the store is connected with Dilla’s Sewing, customers can receive in-house alterations.

The shop caters most specifically to customers looking for prom or homecoming dresses, and ZAPO carries all kinds of styles, from ruffles to sparkles to lace. Padilla said she finds it important to listen to customer input and pay attention to demand when choosing dresses to sell at her store.

“I want to be on top of trends,” said Padilla. “And, because I’m younger, I feel like I can keep up with what the girls want in a sense. My target audience is kind of my age.”

As a young entrepreneur and first-generation American, Padilla is in a unique situation. She is also a full-time student at Bethel University, studying biology on the pre-med track. She often looks to her parents for inspiration.

“They have a business, which wasn’t easy for them either,” said Padilla. “They are the kind of people that I want to be. They’re always working hard, 24/7.”

Looking into the future, Padilla has many goals – for ZAPO and for herself.

She wants to get the word out about ZAPO and watch it grow, she wants to one day sell pageant dresses and she wants to start her own collection of dresses.

She also wants to complete her degree and attend Bethel University’s physician assistant (PA) program.

“I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, kind of, so I don’t wanna let that dream go,” Padilla said. “I feel like I can do both.”

As she progresses in school, she has the support of her entire family. Her younger sister, Stephanie, 15, helps run the store when she can. Her mom also helps in the store if needed.

Before she opened ZAPO, Padilla’s parents told her, “No matter what you do in life, always do what you’re passionate about. Every time you go into work, it doesn’t need to feel like work. It needs to feel like something that you want to do.”

Now, even on Saturdays, Padilla is awake at 6:30 a.m., ready to have fun and help girls find dresses. Despite being a one-woman operation of marketing, accounting, ordering and selling, Padilla is living her dream.

“It doesn’t feel like work to me,” Padilla said.

ZAPO, located at 183 South Main Street in McKenzie, is open Wednesday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.