Che Guevara Look-Alike Treks In Tailor-Made Clothes

What's this? I don't write for a month and then BAM! 2 posts in a day?!

Sooo, wondering what this post is about? It is exactly what the title says. Our customer "Andrew" (an alias) wanted to remain anonymous, so I can only give you front & back shots and butt shots of him. He really reminds me of Che.

Andrew is a real character. A young adventurer/explorer with old-school taste living in the modern world. He lives in jungles, paddles up rivers and climbs mountains in beautiful expensive clothes and gets them repaired over and over again as they wear out. He prefers to write about his adventures in his journal instead of recording them with a modern day digital camera like all the rest of us boring folks.

We're making him a  set of  nice wool waistcoat and pant that he will wear for probably the next 10 years...

I have a feeling we'll be doing a lot of mending for him... ;) 

 Standing rigidly for a fitting.

Making the pants leaner.

Unfinished backside of his waistcoat.

This Year, I'm All About LEAN!

One of the perks about working at a custom clothing store is that I HAVE TO wear nice clothes made by us. Haha! For the past two Springs, I was totally into the whole pleated carrot pant look. This year, I've decided that I would slim down the silhouette and sport some leaner, sleeker-looking hip hugging dress pants. But I kid you not, this SPRING, for guys, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE PLEATED PANT LOOK. Let me dig up some samples and show you in my next post. 

It's really cold and windy out today. I had trouble unshrugging my shoulders! But nevermind that. Just look at my pants!!!!

OK, this one's better.

Close up pant shot. I love the checks. And navy is such a great colour. Pair it with a thin brown belt to make it less like office-attire.

Get What You Really Want

Spotted something you like in the magazine? Rip it out, bring it here. Saw something you like online and you're inspired by it? Print it out, bring it here. Dreamed of something you like last night? Jot it down, bring it here.

Whatever it is that you want your body to be clad in, the Balsam crew will be happy to make it into reality.

One of our long time customers was inspired by Princess Di's vacation dress, one she wore in the Carribbean on March 23, 1990. She liked it and requested a similar dress made in white.  I can see her wearing it to a lovely Spring garden party with a wide brim hat and dainty white gloves :)

She hasn't tried on the dress yet since the fitting. I can't wait to see what the finished dress looks like on her!

Stay Warm in a Hot Chocolate Suit

Holy! Wait a minute here. It's January?! I looked outside my window this morning and thought it was still November. Darn rain clouds! It's easy to forget what month we're in considering most of our months are indistinguishable. Fluffy white snow would've been a more welcoming sight.

Us Van City folks are experts in staving off the evil wet winter blues, aren't we? We're world champions of perpetualy cold, dark, drizzly weather.  Vancouver is where you'll see day blend seamlessly into night. So seamlessly, that we can't even tell day from night or night from day. Waking up would be a big confusion if it weren't for those alarm clocks screaming into our ears in the early morning, to remind us to get our little butts out of bed and into work.  We make our fellow Earth mates down in the Southern Hemisphere confused. They wonder why we put ourselves through such needless torment--living up here in the North and all.

Winters are always tough here. It's never truly the ideal white winter that we all dream of. We get mostly the wet stuff in Vancouver. 

Alright, it's not that bad. There are perks to living in this gloomy city: If you wait long enough, say maybe about 9-10 months, you get a wonderful 2-3 months of mild summer. What's not to like about that?!

That's one perk. I'll let you figure out the rest when you warm weather folks come here.

While all you Southern Hemisphere people get to bask in the abundance of sweet sweet sunlight, us Vancouverites have gotten pretty creative when it comes to keeping ourselves toasty. Fuzzy blankets, blazing fireplace, woolie socks, steaming hot cocoa, brawny boyfriends to curl up to, sizzling hot girlfriends to cozy up to, fine tailored suits, and...

YAH, that's right! We have nice suits! And Balsam Tailors make them. TAKE THAT!

Balsam Tailors make scorching hot suits. That's how we roll up on the West Coast. ;)

And George here, is decked out in all Balsam gear. Shirt + Suit.

You've got mad skills George! Hope you're keeping warm in that h-h-hot chocolate suit.

And thanks for sending in this picture!

Story of An Unfortunate Cat - Part 2

Warning: The following content is very inappropriate for young children and the squeamish. Proceed without guilt if you like that sort of stuff...

............................

My previous post ended with Whiskers lying face flat on the work table and her wondering about her fate. This post starts off with her face flat on the work table and her tail cut off. 

It's a cruel act. But she's only made of yarn. You know that right?

Whiskers in her state of unconciousness: "Wow, when I wake up, I will have on the most beautiful dress in the world, made to my measurements. My fellow critters will be so envious of me."

Whiskers still unconscious: "I can't wait to see what I look like!"

Whiskers slowly waking up: "Something doesn't feel right. I'm missing something. A button, perhaps?"

No no, silly Whiskers! We hacked your tail off... And now, the little girl who will receive you as a gift will love you like a normal yarn cat. ;)

So what's the moral of this story? 

I'm not sure if anything can actually be learned here. And if you can come of with a moral, you're probably a sick one.

Just kidding. Balsam LOVES you!  

Story About An Unfortunate Cat

Hello everybody. My name is Whiskers. The man who had just bought me from the store brought me into Balsam Tailors this morning--for what reason, I do not know. But what I do know is that I will become a special gift for an adorable little girl this Christmas. -- Also, please stop staring at the yellow hair growing out of my ears. It makes me feel very uncomfortable.

On the way to Balsam Tailors, I overheard the man who bought me mumble to himself that I had a weird appendage sticking out from under my lovely dress. I hope he knows that that weird appendage is my tail.

I am aware that my weird appendage sticks out too much and is clearly visible from the front. But I was made this way and it can't possibly be my fault.

Oh wait, why am I lying face down on the table like this?! I hope this is a place where I get pretty clothes made and my being on the table is part of the process.

STORY ABOUT AN UNFORTUNATE CAT TO BE CONTINUED...

(Disclaimer: The cat doesn't really talk. But this story is based on actual facts. Also, no real live animals were hurt in this event.)

Is Your Son A Popular Kid At School? What? No? Read On!

Star-spangled pockets! Nothing says "Hip!" better than gold star badges.

The odd colour button. It's a new trend. Don't ask, just follow. Grown up guys can wear this too!

Shoulder tabs with chirping birds. Tell me that's not awesome.

Glittering gold cuff buttons. Wow!

It's not often that we get requests for custom-made children's clothes. Most parents would rather buy cheaper off-the-rack alternatives for their kids (because they know their darlings grow like lovely weeds) than splurge on expensive clothes that would only be worn for several months.

But when parents have that extra cash kicking around in between their kids' growth spurts, they might choose to satiate their fantasies of dressing up their little ones in luxurious apparel.

Whatever the reason you have for wanting to make your kids look super adorable, stylish and popular in school, we're ready to give you a helping hand!