Arlette Johnson, the charming and sophisticated French woman known as CoCo, wants everyone to know her alterations and tailoring business has moved – but not very far.
After recently selling her consignment shop of 18 years located at Miracle Mile Plaza, she moved the alterations and tailoring component of that business right around the block to 731 22nd Street. In April, she sold the high-end designer consignment business to Gloria Pariseau, who continues on the path of dressing women in previously owned exquisite fashions.
CoCo’s moved on from selling the likes of Escada, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and St. John consigned clothing and now offers chic, new, wash-and-wear clothing and accessories mostly made in the United States.
“Things that are moderately priced can look good,” she said.
CoCo’s Alterations and Tailoring moved to a bright, spacious space on a street that runs perpendicular to the rear of her former shop. Walking into the 1,200-square-foot shop, there’s a leopard-print rug with a chandelier hanging above it, white stone roman statues and nicely dressed mannequins. A customer immediately gets the sense she is in a fashion-conscious and freshly renovated space.
A person dropping in for alterations and tailoring by the highly talented couture seamstress Julia Ayaz, can get easily sidetracked by the long rack of bright-colored pants, tops, dresses and capes for sale. There is also a large cabinet with accessories and designer jewelry by Chanel, Swarovski, Terry Stack and Kenneth Jay Lane.
For example, there are the Pretty Woman polyester pants in various aztec, floral and geometric designs with bright and muted colors ideal for the Florida lifestyle and climate for $46. Also comfortable and stylish are the tiered black tank-style dress by Reina, White Natural fishnet top with tiny olive pom-poms and Caribe rayon and nylon velvet V-neck shirt cut on the bias.
There is an assortment of capes that swing widely and can be worn different ways for various looks. These are perfect for a dressy event – a party or the theater – or can be worn more casually with blue, black or white jeans. These come in brown pebble stone, leopard and cheetah print for $139.
And loyal to her French fashion roots, she carries some items from Paris, including a white fine knit dress with silver sequins and slitted short sleeves by Grifflin. This comes in gold too.
“I was looking for something unique and versatile,” CoCo said. “A lot of people go for expensive, while others can’t because of the economy. But they still want to look great.”
In the next room is the mainstay of the business where the couture tailoring skills of Julia are in progress.
Couture is the fine art of sewing by hand specifically to the wearer’s measurements and stance, one that requires great skill, dexterity, experience and confidence working with beautiful fabrics. The talented and friendly seamstress has sewn for over 40 years, having learned from her seamstress mother during her youth in Istanbul – altering, making hems, reconstructing and custom-making clothes.
She sews in a refined manner – not in the way of a machine operator at a clothing factory. Julia uses sewing methods practiced in the European ateliers of Paris, Rome and London. She uses a needle and thread or else a machine when it’s suitable. She can make a bound buttonhole, convert darts to ease, create a patch pocket, interface a hem, hand-stitch a fly zipper, and fit sleeves, among other things intricate, technical and patience-testing. She also knows how to crochet and knit.
She can also take apart a dress to reshape it or recut it, she can redo collars on men’s jacket, change a shirt collar into a V-neck or other neckline and custom-make a garment.
“We demand perfection,” said CoCo. “Everything has to be just so.”
Julia got her start sewing by watching and helping her mother who sewed pants, blouses, dresses and more from their home in Istanbul. After finishing high school, she went to work as a seamstress in Turkey, and then in the U.S., where she went to work for the former Florida department store chain, Burdines. She learned a lot from one master tailor who was from Eastern Europe and another one who was from Italy.
Later, Julia co-owned a tailoring business in West Palm Beach called, “Sew It Seems,” until joining CoCo in 2010.
Excited about the new location for her alterations and tailoring business, and the clothing she is selling, CoCo tosses a sparkly silver fishnet accessory over her shoulders to model different ways of wearing it. “It’s like a piece of jewelry,” she says. “It’s what you do with it that makes the statement.”
