There are adages about sewing that make one smile.

“Sewing isn’t just a hobby, it’s a way of life.”

“Sewing is my happy place.”

“Sewing is like magic, but with fabric.”

All true for Annette Olowo-Ake, who with her husband Mike, owns and operates Perfect-Fit Alterations, located in the Fondren District in Jackson. The business sits tucked just west of North State Street on Mitchell Avenue. 

For 34 years, Olowo-Ake has made magic with needle, thread and fabric, whether she brings a teenager’s glam dress dream come true from a photograph to altering the length of a tee shirt to an emergency popped zipper fix or broken button. She admits, she really is in her happy place. 

Walk into her alteration shop and be immediately greeted with a smile.

“My grandmother taught me to sew,” said Olowo-Ake. “I was an accounting major. And yes, I had an accounting job,” she shares with a slight eye roll. “But I kept drifting back to sewing. I realized I loved my sewing more. So, here I am.”

“One thing accounting taught me, though, was how to manage money.”

“My husband and I started out with no loans of any kind. You know what we did? We saved our income tax checks and each time, we would buy one piece of equipment. We paid ourselves a salary. But that was it. No dipping into the bank account for frivolous things.”

“Over time and different locations, we built up a following. We built up a business,” she says proudly. “This place here was originally my husband’s shop. I was over on Old Canton Road. But as the years passed, as we got older, we simply decided to just have this one. And it’s been a blessing.”

Covered in bits of thread and wearing more varied sizes of pins in her work smock than a pin cushion, Olowo-Ake doesn’t miss a beat, from taking measurements for a party dress, writing up a customer’s requests, answering the phone and shouting out a greeting to a previous customer who “didn’t want to hold you up, I just stopped by to say, hi.”

“She’s good people and a good, good friend,” said Dr. Jim Aron, checking on clothing he’d previously dropped off and needing broken buttons replaced on a pair of slacks. 

“I’ve known him since he was a med student driving a beat up old truck,” said Olowo-Ake, taking a pair of slacks from the doctor. “It’s a little over 30 years, ’bout as long as I’ve been here. All of his children are doctors now. That’s how long we’ve known each other.”

The two hug and the doctor heads on his way as another customer enters the shop, and is greeted by name.

It’s obvious Olowo-Ake is truly wielding magic with fabrics and threads. She’s creating, making memories, friends and repeat business.

“This is an art I learned from my grandmother. It’s kind of sad really, because it’s a dying art. Kids today seem to be more interested in their phones. It’s a new age, though. I don’t fault them. Times change.”

Perfect-Fit Alterations is located at 538 Mitchell Ave. in the Fondren District in Jackson.

Shop hours: Monday – Friday, noon – 5 p.m. Closed: Saturday and Sunday.

The post Perfect-Fit Alterations. A Fondren District fixture for 34 years appeared first on Mississippi Today.