This site has now been retired. I've moved to my new site Silverknife, where you'll find new blog posts and all my latest projects and photos. These pages will remain for at least a while, as I know some of you are still looking through the archives, but I'm reposting my travel journals and many other articles on the new site. Come and check it out.
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I'd scoured every charity shop in Bedford (where retro clothing is usually plentiful), and found not a thread. Finally, in despair, I accepted that I might have to pay real money, and walked through Debenhams. Nothing. Row after row of dark grey and black suits, not what I was looking for.
I was heading for the exit, head down, convinced I wasn't even going to be able to achieve my dream even for money that would bankrupt me. And then I realised what I'd just walked past. I turned, and there it was.
A 100% real linen
creamy-white
two-piece
summer weight
single breasted suit.
And it was on sale.
(Which meant it was £90.00, admittedly. But sometimes happiness costs money).
I tried it on. It fit perfectly.
I think I'm in love with a piece of tailoring.
This is actually the first new suit I've owned - I had a couple of secondhand jobs for interviews, but they were bad fits and barely presentable. This is new and pristine, and hangs just right. There's something really odd about how it makes me feel wearing it. It's like being a different person, maybe somebody who had a whole different life. Weird. Exciting. And it goes perfectly with my Panama!
I got my adventuring suit!
Today I bought a couple of pristine white shirts to go with it (secondhand but perfect), one of which has proper double cuffs - so I got cufflinks too (square gold ones with springboks on, too perfect). The suit gets its first airing tomorrow night at a Midsummer Madness party thrown by my mate Santi (creator of the fantastic Midnight Brockley Country and Blues and Bluegrass Hoedown which nearly killed me), which is likely to be a rather extraordinary event. There is talk of robot zombie battles, and interactive Alice in Wonderland.
If I live through this one I will give you all the details not witheld by court process or brain damage. Hope you folks all have a great weekend too.
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