Many things have changed since 27th Century Boutique opened its doors in 1975, but the Hamilton clothing shop is still going strong and this week it is celebrating 40 years in business.

Owner Sharon Bartram has been involved since the beginning, devoting the past four decades to running the shop and helping customers find fashionable clothes that make them look good.

In return, customers have shown loyalty and by doing so they have helped the boutique survive through leaner times such as the recent economic recession.

When asked about the secret of the shop’s longevity and success, Mrs Bartram said: “I love serving people and I love dressing people.”

When she talks about customers, she does so as though talking about very close friends. When she travels to trade shows overseas to purchase the latest fashions she keeps an eye out for outfits and items she knows would suit certain customers. On her return she will call that person to let them know there is something she has brought back that she feels will suit them.

“I like to make people look good,” she said.

It was her late husband, Kirk Bartram, who opened 27th Century Boutique as a men’s clothes store. It was originally based in Chancery Lane. Mrs Bartram recalls the shop’s name was inspired by a 1970s record In Pursuit of the 27th Man by Horace Silver.

In the early years, she helped at the shop while also working at Butterfield Bank. Then she decided to focus all her energy on the boutique as it expanded to include women’s fashions as well as men’s.

The shop relocated to the corner of Burnaby Street and Church Street in 1990. Soon afterwards the Bartrams branched out, opening The Hair Studio and Beauty Salon, a business that flourished and is now run by the couple’s daughter Kim-Keta.

Mr Bartram left the boutique full-time in 1999 to set up a concession at Tobacco Bay Beach, while Mrs Bartram continued to look after shop, which moved to its present location at 92 Reid Street in 2005. The hair studio and beauty salon is run from the upper floor.

Mr Bartram died seven years ago, after a short illness. Mrs Bartram said she lost not only her husband of 30 years, but her business partner and friend. She took over the management of the Tobacco Bay Beach concession for the remaining two years of the contract, while continuing to run the boutique.

Looking back, she is proud of the way the shop has helped others, not only customers, but as a stepping stone for young people who came to work at the boutique and went on to enjoy successful careers.

“I feel good to have helped so many people, particularly young people to get started. I believe in helping others when you can,” said Mrs Bartram.

The boutique’s fashions have shifted somewhat over the past 40 years.

“I was 24 when I started, I’m now 64, and as the years have progressed I have changed the fashions,” she explained.

That’s not to say the boutique does not cater for a wide range of people — it does. And Mrs Bartram has seen customers from the early years bring their children, who are now young adults, to shop at the store.

A love of fashion and clothing is something that runs in Mrs Bartram’s family. Her mother Enith Zuill was a seamstress and upholsterer at the Hamilton Princess for much of her life, while many of Mrs Bartram’s sisters also sew and knit.

And family members have worked at the boutique in past years. Mrs Bartram’s niece Karla Preece has been with the shop for 17 years, and is part of the current team, which also includes Linda Paynter.

As the boutique this week notched up its first 40 years, Mrs Bartram said she still loves running the store and interacting with customers, many of whom, after so many years of loyal support, feel like an extended family. She said serving and making customers happy is her biggest enjoyment.