Bob & Sheryl's Summer Wedding

Bob and Sheryl are such an amazingly fun and sweet couple. They first came in for a whole bunch of alterations but then, after a browse, Bob decided that it would be nice to have a light grey summer wool suit made up for his ocean-side wedding. Of course, I was delighted! We honestly don't get a lot of opportunities to make light-coloured summer suits. Most guys opt for dark coloured suits like, back, charcoal and navy because they are versatile and "safe"...

Well, Bob is not a "safe" guy. He's a performer at heart. He loves to dance and from what I heard, he also sang for Sheryl at the wedding! 

He sent these photos in yesterday so that I could see how great the suit looked on him:

Don't they look perfect for each other? :)

I think they totally look like celebrities here!

Thank you guys for sharing your happiness with us. Congratulations on tying the knot!

Warning: Balsam Suits May Induce Uncontrollable Happiness... And The Feeling Of Nakedness Apparently.

When Graeme came in to pick up his suit, it became a smiling contest. It was GRAEME VS ANDA & CINDY. I honestly don't think I've seen a more ecstatic customer than this guy. I mean, he was REALLY happy. Not just happy. Like truly insanely HAPPY! Haha! I watched the way his lips stretched across his face from the moment he put on his pants up until the moment he slipped on the jacket to when he looked into the mirror. It went from ear to ear. No exaggeration! And I will quote him: "WOW! It feels so good! It's so fitted and light. It's like I'M NAKED."

HAHA!! Well, I'm glad our suits make you feel so naked, Graeme! ;)

When I asked if he wanted to be featured on our blog, he... Well, you can see for yourself how it unfolded:

Can you show me those pearly whites, Graeme:

Let's have a look at that back side:

I'm going to do a close-up, if you don't mind:

Show me your million dollar pose, please:

 Can you demonstrate to me how you're feeling right now:

So, overall, how would you rate this suit:

So, as you can see, feeling naked makes you THIS happy. 

Thanks so much, Graeme, for letting us take pictures of you and putting smiles on our faces! 

Epilogue: Graeme didn't want to take his suit off. Oh trust me. He really didn't.  He said proudly, "I'm going to wear it right now to show my girlfriend." He slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked out the door...with a smile still plastered on his face. 

So who won the smiling contest? Not sure, really. Because Anda and I were definitely smiling even after he left. :D

Summer Satin Shorts For Guys

Check out these fancy pants we made! Fancy satin guy shorts, that is. 

They are made of a silky soft premium satin. They come in 20+ colours. Girls, have you thought about wearing an elegant high-shine pair of satin pants instead of your typical evening dress? 

Come have one made or even two! Trust me, these pants can get dangerously addictive! With 20+ colours, you might want one of each. As you can tell, the ones pictured below were all made for ONE person. Haha!

If you don't want satin, we have linen too! And those also come in dozens of colours as well! 

Janis and Rachel Ties The Knot!

I am so thrilled to share this post! Thanks to Edward Yong Photography, Balsam Tailors is able to show off this lovely couple who tied the knot this past weekend! We actually got a chance to work with both Rachel and Janis prior to their big day. We had the wonderful opportunity to make Janis' dream tux and alter Rachel's wedding dress :) 

Congratulations you guys! I'm so happy for you! And you look so amazing all dressed up.

Go check out Edward Yong's website for more of Janis' suit and Rachel's dress!

The Navy League. Coming Together To Look Extraordinary!

I've posted a handful of navy suits in the recent past and I'm honestly going to say, it doesn't get old for me. Every customer of Balsam Tailors is unique and so are their suits. They've all been absolutely amazing to work with and I'm so glad to have met each and everyone of them! I love seeing the big smiles on people's faces when they come out of the fitting room and see themselves clad in a custom-built suit made perfectly to conform to his/her unique body shape.

Take a look at our line-up of awesome navy suit wearers:

-Tristan- 

Doesn't he look handsome in our 3-pcs suit and shirt? My jaw pretty much dropped when he put the whole suit on. Good enough for the cover of GQ, you think? He's getting married later this year in this suit! Congratulations, Tristan!

-Jennifer-

She was so gracious and enthusiastic about having her pictures taken even while she was on an important business phone call (You'll notice that in the second picture, one of her hand is missing. That's because she's holding onto her cell phone! Haha!). We thoroughly enjoyed chatting with you! Thank you, Jennifer! Please come back and visit us soon :)

- Michael-

Not only did we have the fortune to make his brother a suit but we also got to build Michael his very own one too! His parents are truly amazing people. They are so sweet and thoughtful. Sometimes they will stop by just to say hi or sometimes they will pop in and give us little treats like egg tarts or Starbucks gift cards! Oh yah, I also was lucky enough to be chosen by them as their Valentine's Day photographer a couple years back. We love this bunch so so much. Balsam Tailors really can't thank you guys enough for your generosity and continued support! Thank you, thank you guys!!

How To Look Good In A Double-Breasted Suit

While black suits look sleek and sophisticated, they can be a bit too overbearing for certain occasions.  Shades of blues and shades of greys are the popular alternatives. These colours are great for events with a more relaxed atmosphere.

Meet young Hans. He is the little brother of Ethan whom I wrote a post on about 2 years ago ---> click here to read.

Hans had a scouting event to go to yesterday and he had to look his absolute best. Him and his mom decided that a custom body-hugging double-breasted suit would do the job. He needed to stand out. They brought in a picture of a suit they wanted us to replicate.

We had to make one change to make the suit work on Hans.What needed to go was the width of the lapels. Double-breasted (DB) suits were very popular in the mid-30's to late 50's. Most often, they had the super wide 5 inch lapels, which looks way too offensive the modern eye. The suit in the picture they brought in had exactly those.

Having a DB suit fit snugly is very importantly because of the two rows of button down the front. They create the illusion of a wide jacket. Looking like Spongebob is not the goal here, although, I must say--Spongebob does have this underwater nerdy charm that girls would fall for. :P

Top off your slim DB suit with a regular-width tie, a fun pocket square, bright socks and penny loafers for that Southern French gentleman charm...just like what Hans has put together for himself:

Accessorize Your Suit With A Book

Meet Peter. No, he's not a rabbit. He's a young, bubbly, smart and charismatic UBC student. He's also a very happy man. I don't know why he's so happy but my instincts tell me it's because of the *cough* $499 wool-blend slim-fit navy blue suit we made for him? Could've been the sun too. Who knows...

I never asked him about the ear-to-ear smile because I think some things in life are better left unasked. I did, however, asked him about the book he was reading:

Sheryl Sandberg is the COO of Facebook, ranked as one of the top 50 most powerful women in business in the Fortune's list. In her book, she offers an in-depth look backed up by hard data of why women struggle to keep up with men when it comes to leadership roles in their industries, as well as her own personal advice and techniques for women on how to push their careers forward. Sounds like an interesting read and something I might pick up. Here's a better description of the book and reviews on it: click here.

Looks like a very impressive book with all the 4/5 star reiviews. But you know what else is impressive? THIS:

Peter in our suit, just signing a piece of paper but looking like a million dollars ;D