A Day in The Life: Bristol’s Local Tailor Hits the Road
Easter is traditionally earmarked as a public holiday, but not so at Brown in Town. As Bristol’s local tailor found out..
Given that my girls were migrating East to stay with la familia near Chichester, I had the Easter break penciled as a golden opportunity to stay behind in Bristol and attempt to reduce the mountain of paperwork which was casting a shadow on one’s desk; I might also have harboured a desire to give the studio at No. 73 a spring clean, and, possibly, enjoy a cigar, or two. At least that was the idea.
But the tailoring gods seemed to conspire against me – or perhaps they were in cahoots with one Saffron Darby – presenting, instead, an opportunity to conduct several fittings for some close friends, all of whom reside East of the border. And so it seemed churlish not to join one’s family on their road trip.
Now, given that we were to be heading East, there presented itself yet another tailoring opportunity, one which had been on the horizon for some time – a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a blazer for a motor racing legend: how could I refuse? And so we set-off, the car laden with suits, cloths and Fox umbrellas (for the forecast Easter Sunday rain).
The first fitting of the weekend was agreed for Good Friday which arrived like a shock to the system; our daughter deciding it would be nice to join Mummy and Daddy in their bed, and, so, instead of being roused by Grace Blake’s daily dawn chorus of “milk, make milk..Daddy” at 06:00, I instead awoke with a foot in my mouth and only a slither of bed preventing me from falling out of it!
Setting off at 07:00, when I am more accustomed to taking tea and biscuits in bed, I relaxed into the driving seat as winding country roads unfurled all the way to the Garden of England. With the sun rising over Sussex, and rarely passing another motorist, it was simply divine.
First fitting of the day, actually, the first 3 fittings given that Brown in Town had been commissioned to fashion not only a 3 piece suit, a dinner suit and also a shirt took place at 08:30, and may have set a new precedent for Bristol’s local tailor as the earliest fitting yet – which we’d prefer not to repeat!
Following a hugely gratifying hole-in-one, or, rather, three holes-in-one, and a further commission for an additional 3 piece suit and an additional five shirts, Bristol’s local tailor was off to his next appointment; to discuss the aforementioned commision of a blazer.
This fantastic opportunity incorporates a sartorial twist, but one which I am sworn to secrecy over for the time being. However, not only was the meeting honour enough, but to be given a guided tour of the ‘wheels’ upon which so many of the motor racing titles had been won, was, a very thrilling moment for me – and possibly one of the proudest moments of my fathers life, well, certainly of my life anyway.
Moreover, it was, and is always, rewarding to meet someone that remembers life before jeans and trainers and who speaks fondly of the days when all sportsman would wear blazers, and indeed, ties (often club ties, and indeed club blazers).
So, after we agreed that a traditional single breasted blue blazer of worsted wool, was the style of choice, the finishing touch was surely going to have to be a pair complimentary grey (worsted) trousers, naturally: if it’s one thing that Bristol’s local tailor takes most pleasure from, it’s an appreciation of the old rear guard where tailoring is concerned.
Consultation satisfied, and, given one’s proximity to Lewes, E. Sussex I thought it would be remiss not to stop in at The Swan for some light refreshment and a pint Harveys Sussex Best Bitter, in order to catalogue the week’s adventures.
Come Record Store Day, which this year was Saturday April 19th for the uninitiated, Bristol’s local tailor found himself joining the queues at Pie & Vinyl in Southsea and enjoying the atmosphere which we’re afforded but once a year as we join thousands of vinyl enthusiasts the world over to be in with an opportunity to procure rare releases by their favourite artists (alive or dead). Vinyl bounty inhand, Brown in Town were rewarded yet further still with another hole-in-one, following the final fitting of the weekend. And what a weekend it was too!
We hope that you’ve all enjoyed as memorable an Easter as we have..