From the moment he got engaged, Cal DiJulius knew he wanted to incorporate his mother’s wedding dress into his own wedding look. Cal’s “artistic ally” as a child, she passed when he was just 11 years old. “Growing up in Ohio, I was always playing dress up with her,” remembers Cal. “She was in the beauty industry, used to go to fashion week, and would bring me along with her.” His mom even bought him a sewing machine that he used to design dresses from a young age. “It was very full circle and fitting that in some way I would wear her dress because I wore them all the time anyway,” he says.
Ultimately, Cal wished to have her with him in spirit at his wedding to Kyle Baker in Sweden. “When someone passes 16 years prior, you’ve been through a lot of life without them,” reflects Cal. “Of course, you miss them every day, but there are major moments like weddings that you really realize they’re not there.”
Photo: Jean Lapin
Cal was determined to create a suit using elements of her dress—a grand, ‘80s-style gown with big puff sleeves, lace, and plenty of beading. “I’m grateful that was the trend at the time because there was so much fabric to work with,” he laughs. At first, friends were sending referrals of tailors for him to hire. He adds, “Then I asked a New York housewife—honestly a friend—and she was like, ‘You should go to Tanner Fletcher.’ So I just made a consultation, and they were all about it.” He brought the design duo, Tanner Richie and Fletcher Kasell, the idea of weaving in lace and beading throughout a tuxedo design and had them run with it. “I was like, ‘Honestly, I would love to kind of see what you create from this because you’re so talented,” says Cal.
