Coco’s Alterations
Coco Blakely knew she had a passion for tailoring when she was a 13-year-old girl growing up in Arad, Romania.
In Europe, tailor shops are a part of a generally less off-the-shelf culture, and she found herself fascinated whenever she accompanied her mother to the tailor. She began studying with a tailor, and soon she was doing all the tailoring for her high school’s uniforms.
But Coco never thought of it as more than a hobby until she came to the United States. She had a son, Joseph, 13 years ago, and 10 years ago opened up a little shop on Torrance Boulevard to help raise him and pay for his education.
“I changed the hobby into a job by necessity,” Coco said of opening her own shop. “…This way, I do what I want. I am just a mom. I am not a businessperson.”
Her son, Joseph, has spent much of his childhood hanging out at the shop, which has become a downright beloved part of the neighborhood.
“Well, first of all, she is European – she knows fabric, she knows cut, and she knows make something fit,” said Geraldine Dirks, a customer of 10 years who has come to Coco’s for everything from minor repairs to family wedding dresses. “She is actually not just somebody who does alterations – she is a tailor. And she won’t do something just for the sake of doing it.”
Coco is well known for her wedding work, which she particularly loves.
“I am a big wedding person,” she said. “I like to work with wedding dresses, and with the brides. They are freaked out.”
Coco’s shop is one of the places that has become more than a business. It’s part of the fabric of the nearby community.
“I like the people,” Coco said. “I think why they keep coming back is because I know them, I know their families. Okay, I fix the dress – but there are other things next to the dress.”
Coco is also somewhat of a Yelp star. Reviewers on the online review site rave about her combination of expertise, skill, and low cost.
“She is good, quick, straight to the point, and cheap,” wrote one reviewer.
“Thanks to the customers,” Coco said.
Coco’s Alterations, 815 Torrance Boulevard, Redondo Beach,310-316-0837.
Runner-up:
Mattuci Tailors, 530 South Pacific Coast Highway, Redondo Beach. 310-316-0070
