Anna Clary has a passion for fashion.

And lots of patience. The East Point resident designs and makes flower girl dresses and other special-occasion looks for little girls ages 2 to 5. She began sewing at 10 and turned her hobby into a full-time business about 12 years ago.

PHIL SKINNER/AJC (ENLARGE)
Amid the Atlanta Botanical Garden's perennials, 2-year-old Isabel Lawrence (left) and her 4-year-old sister, Josephine, model dresses from Anna Clary's special-occasion collection. The flower girl dresses are full-skirted and magical — what every little girl dreams of wearing in a wedding.
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"When I was growing up, I loved to wear pretty dresses," said Clary, 40, who moved to the Atlanta area in 1989. "I know little girls love the whole idea of dressing up, and I love to design pretty dresses for them."

Modeling two of Clary's designs are 4-year-old Josephine Lawrence, in a sleeveless hot-pink dress, and her sister, 2-year-old Isabel, in pale pink. Josephine liked her dress so much she didn't want to take it off, a typical reaction of little girls, said the designer.

"The girls love to play bride and flower girl," said their mother, Dana Lawrence. But they won't be playacting Aug. 28 — both are going to be flower girls in their aunt Erika Lawrence's wedding at Bethel United Methodist Church on New Hope Road.

Clary's company, Star Anna Moon, is so named because her father called her Star and she has always felt a special connection with the moon.

The designer currently has a line of 10 sample dresses, but clients can change the sleeve or add a trim if desired. She makes each dress by hand. Depending on fabric and time involved, prices start at $50 and top out at $175. For information, e-mail Clary at starannamoon@yahoo.com.