Vest Dressed

For Christmas, Diana handed me a gift certificate to have a leather belt made at Phillip Sparks. Her son, Tom, works there part time and it was a chance to visit the place he had talked so much about. His first year as a fashion student had been rather disappointing, as it began during the Covid lock down and his classes were all virtual, something that might work for many subjects, but not for the hand-making program he was embarking on. He elected to wait on his second year and began hunting around for part-time work that would give him some related experience. On a whim he walked into the shop wearing a suit he had made and introduced himself. By a stroke of luck, Phillip was in the shop and had time to talk with Tom. He invited Tom back to do a sewing test by making a shirt. In hindsight, it was a bold move and proved to be an important turning point for Tom’s trajectory.

Phillip later tells me that Tom reminded him of himself at that age. The fact that he said he would sweep the floors just to be around the work seemed to strike a chord. As a teacher, I would have assumed many of his students would seek to apprentice with him, but this didn’t seem to be the case.

We had heard about Saturday afternoons at the shop, and the end of day cocktails referred to as “tailor’s tipples” and booked a visit accordingly. Right away I knew I was going to have to do something more elaborate than a belt so I looked in my closet and found a tweed vest I had bought at Cordings in London and decided that I would like something similar. Thus began my delightful foray into bespoke tailoring.

In discussing its future use, we made a few changes to the style. Since I contemplated wearing the vest without a jacket, we added a collar and lapels. The pockets were positioned and one of them designated to fit a cellphone. Fabrics and lining material were chosen, buttons picked, and a muslin was made.

Over the course of a few weeks, and several more visits (always on Saturday afternoon), the vest took shape and was fitted and finished. It’s one of my favorite pieces now and I wear it equally for special occasions and whenever I need to feel a bit excentric. When I wear it, I often get into a conversation about the making of it.

Tom still works for Phillip, and he has made his own vest. Candidly, I take some credit for this modest resurgence. At the same time, I enjoy knowing I have something entirely unique and savour the pleasure of wearing it and acknowledging the connection I have with the makers.