Houston fashion designer teaches herself to sew by watching YouTube

HOUSTON - As COVID-19 continues to cause more companies to close and more people to lose jobs, one Houston woman hopes her story will help inspire you to think outside the box for employment.

In this Positively Houston, meet Fashion Designer Chasity Sereal who has her own company, where she designs and makes some of the most beautiful dresses and gowns but you wouldn’t believe how she got started.

"I learned to sew by watching a lot of YouTube videos, a lot of YouTube How-To Tutorials," Sereal explains. You heard her! The amazing apparel Chasity Sereal makes now is thanks to lessons she learned online, which she calls "YouTube University."

"I was a young mom. So I knew school was kind of like on the back-burner and I was just like I’m not going to give up. I’m going to teach myself." And that she did.

Sereal specializes in custom clothing for women, like one wearable work of art she showed me a picture of.

"See it has chains hanging from the shoulders. I literally made that dress from scraps that I had leftover from other dresses."

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This self-taught seamstress soon found others enjoyed her work as much as she loves creating it.

"Rapper Paul Wall’s wife wore one of my suits to the Grammys. Actress Tammy Roman from Basketball Wives has worn a few of my pieces. I participated in New York Fashion Week twice and that is just an indescribable feeling."

The Humble High School graduate’s gowns are so gorgeous even an international icon came calling. "Mattel reached out to me. Last year, Barbie celebrated their 60th anniversary and they did a tour and I was hired to be a role model for the Houston stop," Sereal says with a smile.

Chasity Sereal Fashions, like many companies, has taken a hit in the pandemic. "I recently had to say goodbye to my studio due to COVID" but Sereal says it’s just another bend in the road, not the end of it. This designer is still dreaming of having showrooms in Houston and New York.

"Another dream is to get some pieces on Beyonce and just create a legacy for my children."

Sereal's two daughters are her motivation. She’s also engaged to be married, creating her own wedding dress after designing bridal for many others and remaining positive even as life, sometimes like fabric, may unravel.

"No matter how tough life can get it’s still always possible to go after your dreams. It might be harder. There might be a lot of obstacles but it’s not impossible. Don’t give up".

You can check out her fashions here.