Thanks to Ming Sison, couturier and owner of Possessions, 1543 N. Wells St., you don`t have to worry about whether that dream outfit on the hanger will turn out to be a nightmare on you.
For $100 to $400, Sison will design an outfit or alter one of her pre-existing creations to accommodate any figure-voluptuous to boyish.
”I hate to see any woman on the street in a uniform,” says Sison with a shudder, referring to a ”one-size-fits-all” mentality she believes exists in the world of off-the-rack fashions. ”My goal is to create clothing with an understated elegance, with softer and sleeker lines, that offers affordability and individuality to the professional woman.”
Besides ”Designs by Ming,” Possessions offers Sison`s hand-painted men`s ties and accessories, and knit dresses, skirt/top combinations, mohair sweaters, and hand-crafted jewelry custom-made by area artists.
”I am mainly a self-educated fashion designer,” she says wryly, adding that for 15 years, until she opened Possessions in December, she worked full- time as a bookkeeper in the accounts payable department of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Sison, who came to the United States from the Philippines 20 years ago, caters to the professional woman and says that the years she spent behind a desk in a corporate setting gave her the opportunity to walk in the shoes, so to speak, of her clientele. ”Years of seeing masculine suits on women taught me what I wanted to change about the working woman`s fashions,” she says with a laugh.
Possessions is open from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday; and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.