Three weeks ago I was contacted by a retailer. They had a photoshoot planned for this week with one of their vendors, but that vendor had abruptly and unexpectedly pulled out of their stores leaving them with nobody to dress the model. Three weeks is tough when we haven’t yet fit the person, but is doable. Then they dropped a bomb on me. Two, actually.
Retailer-He’s a basketball player- he’s 6″11″.
Me-Yikes. So how soon can I see him to measure him up?
Retailer- Actually, you can’t. He’s in Senegal until the day before the shoot. But our vendor already made a suit for him, maybe they can get you the specs.
In a highly unusual move, the vendor, who is our competitor, helped me out with specs.
“But wait”, retailer said. “We made tons of alterations to that suit so you had better speak with the stylist to see if he remembers what we did”. Which he did, sort of. He told me what he thought they had done, but wasn’t entirely sure. What they wanted was very close-fitting, and as you get closer to the body, you have that much less room for error- it’s easier to fit a mitten than a glove.
So I took the initial specs, spoke with the stylist, then looked at a bunch of photos of the basketball player online, and made a guess. A very risky guess. What happens if I get there for the shoot and what we made doesn’t fit? I was sweating bullets.
The day of the shoot, we had our first fitting, which was being filmed by the retailer (no pressure!) There were, as expected, issues to be fixed. And since their tailors were all very busy, I ended up on a sewing machine doing the alterations (not my favorite thing in the world to do). I didn’t have time to fix everything I wanted to, but I think we saved the shoot.
Wow. I'm impressed. He looks pretty damn good.
Good save-clearly you did an excellent job of the re-fitting.
Very well done! The shoulders are excellent.
(Nice tie, BTW.)
Looks great. Dig the lapels on the vest.
Well done. So your hand is in a pretty good state?
The suit — and the model — look like a million dollars. You did an amazing job.
Looks pretty darn good! I totally understand that situation.
I had a similar experience myself two weeks ago. Maybe there's something in the air!
That is really amazing. Congrats. They call you pros for a reason.
Thank you for your comments!
As for my hand, I still can't feel it. I'm learning how to adapt, but some things, like shirt buttons, give me trouble. The model was struggling with his shirt so he asked me for help and I was no better!
What a treat to see you in action.
Impressive. Great work!
Impressive. Tailoring under pressure is a rare skill. Congratulations on such a worthy outcome!
Wow, that's darn inspiring. He looks great and you are the reason why. And I'm going to use the glove and mitten analogy with some sewing friends to explain when to be particular and when to give it a rest!
This guy it TALL!!! Great job, Jeffrey! Very impressive and inspiring story 🙂
The fit is incredible, I esp appreciate the pant. Congrats!
Whew! Toughie! Hope this leads to more good work for you — and great fit!!! You definitely proved you're a team player with this one! Great problem-solving and logic working this out!
Wow. I can't even begin to imagine the pressure that would have put you under!!! And my goodness, that man's legs go on forever. From what I can see from the pictures – he looks great, so you've clearly done well! Is there anyone who actually likes doing alterations…?
Wow! He looks great!
I'm sorry to hear that your thumb is not back to 100% but glad that you're coping. Good luck with further recovery.
Yeah, that's looks like Gorgui Dieng who just got drafted by the Twolves from U of L. Very cool. Everybody looks wonderful.
Hi Jeffery,
Just returned home from a trip away, and so excited to see an email from your blog
What an impressive photo shoot and your work – you more than pulled it off, as all your followers knew you would.
I really hope that the feeling comes back as it must be so frustrating for you. Patience will pay off in the long run, it just takes time to heal.
So admire your talent Jeffery, wish you would bring out a book for us. Your work is so elegant and something for many of us to aspire too.
Gosh that Guy is tall!!!!!!
Thanks again for your comments!
Bonus points to The Lyle- it is, in fact, Gorgui Dieng. We were shooting in Minneapolis.
Marysia-Thank you. I am in talks with a number of publishers, but textbooks of this sort usually take about two years to produce so it will be a long while off…
Hello jeffrey……..am new on your blog but ur updates are quite interesting…..plss I'll like 2 get a preview over how to give the shape when cutting a jacket
Jeffery, you are a fabulous tailor!!! Mr. Dieng looks like you poured him into that suit. If I were him, I'd hire you as my personal tailor. EXCELLENT job. Excellent.
Fabulous fit. It's great to see you at work. How stressful it must have been to be there.
He look amazing, you can tell the perfect cut instantly!
Wow, nice work man. He looks perfectly proportional which is no small feat for someone that's almost 7 feet tall. Excellent.
He looks incredible!! Excellent work!!
Impressive; blood, sweat and a few tears were no doubt needed to meet the inhuman schedule. Who had the last say on the cut, you, the company, the photoshoot stylist, the first suit maker?
Just got the Nordstrom men's shop catalogue and saw the photos of Gorgui in your suit. Nice! You (or your hands, at least) made it into print, btw. Very cool!
-Brock
I am a bit late on this. But i think that is my shirt! he was not easy to fit.
he had very sloping shoulders
Carl G
Hope you enjoyed Hubert White, Jeffery–they're my favorite Twin Cities clothing retailer. Come back to the frozen North soon!