Tailoring a suit in Los Angeles in the 1980s


I've had a charmed life, and I've been very lucky, being the blue-eyed boy (literally, in my family, all of my brothers have brown eyes), and have never needed to have a suit custom-made (or bespoke if you prefer). I really never needed tailoring, except for the first suit I bought, back in the 1980s, when I was 29.

If you're confusing a sports coat and slacks with a suit, that's understandable - most men don't ever wear suits, but it's something that I wanted to do when I grew up. A suit, by the way, matches top to bottom and is sold as a set. It's about the simplest item of clothing a man can wear - no need to ponder what jacket goes with what pants - they match. And if the suit is brown or tan you wear brown shoes, and if blue or grey you wear black shoes. Once I started wearing suits to work even I couldn't get it wrong!

My first suit was purchased at a discount place in downtown LA. I tried it on, it seemed to fit, and it wasn't until later that I realized that it needed some serious adjusting. I lived in the San Fernando Valley, near Woodland Hills, and if you're familiar with that area, you know that it's fairly upscale. Not snooty, like Beverly Hills, but a place where you could find a good tailer - one that could not only make a suit from scratch, but could take one and tailer it to fit you properly.

I really have no idea where the tailoer was, other than in Woodland Hills, near Warner Center, where I worked. When I showed it to him, and expressed some anxiety that he would be able to make it fit me properly, he told me that he made suits for Lee Haney, who was the current Mr. Olympia at the time. I figured that he knew his job!

And he did. Unlike like a sports coat, a suit coat should fit the torso, and follow the lines of the body. Slacks should have a gentle break on the top of the shoe, not all bunchy and baggy, and definitely not too short! I paid a lot of money to this tailor, and listened carefully to him.

After that, I knew what cut of suit to buy, and I could go to the local dry cleaners to have the pants cuffed. The sewing ain't rocket science, but knowing how a pair of slacks should break is something that I had to show.

When I moved to Phoenix a few years later, I didn't wear this suit much, which was heavy wool, and instead sought out tropical blends. Even then, in Phoenix, the jackets were only worn while walking into the building and walking out. I found a decent tailor, who just did hems and could sew buttons in for suspenders, on Central Avenue near Grand Canal, but like I say I never needed much more. Once I learned what I should wear, I could buy suits off of the rack.

I haven't worn suits in years, and since I'll be donating my body to the Medical School in downtown Phoenix, I won't even need a suit to be buried in, so I donate my suits to Goodwill, all in excellent condition. Hopefully some young person will look sharp at a job interview!
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