Ten years ago, Upper East Sider Judy Famigletti moved to New York City at 60 and turned a favorite childhood pastime into a successful business. Let’s Dress Up, Famigletti’s beloved princess party and playdate space on the Upper East Side, lets children’s imaginations run wild, as they dress like princesses, partake in tea parties, and become absorbed in the creative environment that the space is known for.
But this past October, an electrical fire destroyed Famigletti’s vintage dolls, dollhouses, and the many other personal belongings she’d contributed, along with her entire space.
“The hardest part was losing my things…because that really was the beginning of the business—turning what I did as a girl into the business,” Famigletti says.
With help from her landlord, who painted and refurbished the space, Famigletti was able to revamp Let’s Dress Up in just over two months. Though the items she had contributed were irreplacable pieces, she was able to re-stock the UES location with costumes, decor, and more from her recently closed location in New Canaan, CT.
Let’s Dress Up will re-open to the public this weekend, as Famigletti invites friends and neighbors to stop by and check out the space’s new look and added programming.
“It’s a very different look; the original look was vintage, with my old dolls and dollhouses,” she says. “ It’s full of mirrors; [the kids] like to look at themselves all the time…it’s younger-looking and brighter.”
However, the biggest change to the new Let’s Dress Up space is its new programming. In addition its birthday party offerings, Let’s Dress Up will now offer Princess Mini Camps on days off from school (one starts next Monday), 90-minute blocks of structured Princess Play, and weekly classes, which will begin this spring.
“It was difficult,” Famigletti says of the fire and the loss of her vintage belongings. “But then I thought to myself, I’ve been here 10 years, it probably needs to be redone. I turned it around; I turned 70 this year… and I really wanted to build this.”
Let’s Dress Up, located at 345 East 85th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues) will host its grand opening on Friday, December 18, from 3-5pm; Saturday, December 19 from 10-4pm, and Sunday, December 20 from 11-4pm.
To learn more, visit letsdressupnyc.com!
