The Cupertino Courier
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Alterations expert weds boutique and tailor shop
By Crystal Lu
Simin Rouhulamin is a self-taught tailor who began sewing at age 13 in her homeland of Iran. Her mother never gave her step-by-step instructions, but she picked it up by watching and practicing.
Today, Rouhulamin is the owner of Alterations X-press, a tailor shop at Cupertino Square, which began selling wedding dresses this month. Unlike typical wedding dresses with puffy skirts or long trains, the ones sold at Alterations X-press are slinky and can also be worn as party gowns. Each costs under $500. There are also evening gowns in other colors.
"The holiday season is coming, so I hope these dresses will sell well," says Rouhulamin.
She says she decided to sell below-market-priced wedding dresses and evening gowns ordered from catalogs for two reasons. First, she heard rents in Cupertino Square would soon go up and considered it necessary to cope with a higher rent. The second was to realize a dream.
"It has always been my dream to have a boutique and tailor shop in one," says Rouhulamin. "This is a start."
Customers rave about Rouhulmin's abilities with a needle and thread.
"Simin is the greatest gift to alterations," says Mary Contini, a Saratoga resident who has been a regular customer for more than 10 years, "Her skills are incredible!"
Contini says her five daughters also have their alterations done at the store.
"I don't go anywhere else for alterations," says Bob Bridges, a resident of Santa Clara. "Simin does all I need to have done on my suits."
Rouhulamin married at 18 and was a housewife in Iran until immigrating in 1992 with her husband, 8-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son. They fled Iran mostly because their background would make their children unable to go to college there.
Rouhulamin started pursuing her passion for clothing by taking fashion design classes at West Valley College. However, she found the classes too theoretical.
In 1995, Rouhulamin was hired at Alterations X-press, which was owned by Azi Pillow. She jumped ship to Neiman Marcus in 1998 and worked there for six months until her former boss retired and sold the business to her in 1999.
Rouhulamin has more time for her business now that her children are grown. Her 23-year-old daughter, a biology major at San Jose State University, is engaged.
"She'll pick her wedding dress from my store and I'll alter it to be exactly the way she wants it," says Rouhulamin.
