Annette Olowo-Ake at Perfect-Fit Alterations, the business she and her husband Mike have operated in Fondren for 34 years, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Jackson. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
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.
Jasmine Epps stopped by Perfect-Fit Alterations for party dress measurements by Annette Olowo-Ake, Jackson, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. Olowo-ake and her husband Mike have operated their alterations business in the Fondren District for 34 years. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
Annette Olowo-Ake at Perfect-Fit Alterations selects threads she will use to hem a customer’s slacks at the business she and husband Mike have operated in the Fondren District for 34 years, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Jackson. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
Walk into her alteration shop and be immediately greeted with a smile.
Annette Olowo-Ake at Perfect-Fit Alterations, shares a laugh with a customer who stopped by to say hello as she replaces buttons on a customer’s slacks at the business she and husband Mike have operated in the Fondren District for 34 years, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Jackson. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
“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.”
Annette Olowo-Ake at Perfect-Fit Alterations threads her vintage Tacsew T175 blind stitch hemmer sewing machine, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
The hands of Annette Olowo-Ake, owner of Perfect-Fit Alterations, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Jackson. Olowo-Ake learned her craft from her grandmother. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
“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 my to say, hi.”
“I can do it all, and I do it all,” said Annette Olowo-Ake, as she shortened an oversize t-shirt for a customer at her Perfect-Fit Alterations shop in the Fondren District, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
Annette Olowo-Ake, owner of Perfect-Fit Alterations, describes how she will use a “blind hem” to lengthen slacks, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Jackson. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
Annette Olowo-Ake at Perfect-Fit Alterations shows what a “blind hem” looks like, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. The stitching does not show on the outdside of a pant leg. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
“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.”
“I’ve known him since he was a med student. Now his kids are doctors,” said Perfect-Fit Alterations owner Annette Olowo-Ake of long-time friend Dr. Jim Aron, a 30-plus year customer, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
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.
“I like making these baskets. Of course, I make the ribbons and every basket I make has a litlle something different,” said Annette Olowo-Ake, owner of Perfect-Fit Alterations, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
“She brought me a picture. I stitched and glued on every last one of those feathers,” said Annette Olowo-Ake, owner of Perfect-Fit Alterations regarding a prom dress she re-created for a customer, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. Credit: Photo courtesy of Annette Olowo-Ake
Annette Olowo-Ake, owner of Perfect-Fit Alterations, shows a photograph of a customer’s prom dress she created, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. Credit: Photo courtesy of Annette Olowo-Ake
“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.
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