Hot Climate Wedding Attire For Men

Peter is getting married in Mexico and his brother (who's had alterations done with us previously) brought him into our store for a custom made vest and pant combo. Peter already had a specific colour and style in mind, so all we had to do was find the right colour cloth in a light-weight wool suitable for Mexico's sizzling hot temperatures. 

There is a misconception that wool suiting would be too hot for hot climate places. It is not true. In fact, wool moderates body temperature. It insulates when you're cold and pulls moisture off your body when you're hot and sweaty. 

Less expensive and cooler alternatives could be linen or cotton.

Congratulations, Peter and fiance on your wedding!

We gave him a lustrous satin back to create a more elegant finish. 

Lace Shift Dress

This is one of our latest creations made out of pink lace:

It was modelled after this but with a different lace, colour and sleeve length:

Photo Source

Michael & Ivy's Wedding

A few months ago, we were asked by Michael and Ivy to produce a very unique piece called a frock coat that was popularly worn by men of the Victorian and Edwardian era. We honestly don't get a lot of requests from guys to have long coats made for their weddings anymore because the trend for the groom nowadays is to have a suit made in such a way that he will be able to wear it again for work after the wedding.

We knew it'd be a very special wedding since the couple had revealed that their wedding date will be on Halloween and that guests were going to dress up in accordance to the couple's chosen theme.

Have a look at Michael and Ivy's wedding pictures here. 

I love that Michael added a pop of jewel tone to his ensemble! So vibrant and elegant-looking!

Thank you Michael and Ivy for inviting us to help make the wedding day theme complete :)

Our Neighbour, James!

James works one store over. He's one of the trusty bike mechanics who I see test-drive their clients' bikes around the block every so often.

It was a nice surprise to see a familiar face walk in.

"I need a suit for my friend's wedding," said James with a big smile.

"Oooooh," I shot out of my chair wide-eyed and grinning. "This is going to be fun!" I thought. The reason is because I've never seen James in anything other then his very casual work clothes or without grease on his hands. Haha!! I knew it would be a total transformation.

Because of James' naturally thin body frame, I knew immediately he would look perfect in a slim fit suit.

Lo and behold, the black suit we made for him was indeed the perfect style and fit on him! I also really dig his high-shine shoes.

We were all pretty excited... Actually, it was impossible to contain our excitement. We were happy. James was happy. He was soooo happy that he ran over to the bike shop to show his colleagues, haha:

I love my job. I love seeing the smiles on people's faces when I first show them their suits and then watching the smiles grow even bigger once they try on their suits.

Thank you for modeling for us, James! You look so awesome in that black skinny suit. Speaking of awesome, I have this to show you all. James showed it to me on his phone and it made me laugh:

On certain phones, voice messages can be transcribed into texts. The quality of the texts is dependent on the caller, the background noise and the microphone.

James showed me a message that someone at Balsam Tailors left on his phone. What shows is that "awesome Taylor" called. Obviously it was "Balsam Tailors". Imagine how confused James was when he got this message. :P

Charcoal Suit & Cognac Shoes

There is always a story to every suit we make. I like Dale's.

He came in one day with an off-the-rack suit that had details he really liked and didn't like. He couldn't decided if it was the right suit for him. I asked him to put it on so I could make an assessment.

It was a medium grey suit that was fitted through the waist, hips and tailored through the thighs. He liked the overall look of it. I immediately noted that some adjustments were need in order for the suit to fit perfectly. With the alteration cost plus the purchasing cost, his suit would run him close to a price that would be the equivalent of one of our custom suits.

Having made that calculation, we decided that a custom suit would be a smarter choice: Firstly, a custom suit would be cut to fit his unique body shape and secondly, he could pick the details he wanted on his suit that he liked from the other suit he brought in. You know what the best part about this story is? ... Dale's new custom suit would cost him less than the store-bought suit with the alterations! :)

Take a look at Dale's suit up at the top. He picked a rich dark grey that is very popular with the gents. When he came in to try on the suit, he happened to be wearing this season's most popular shoe colour: cognac. They pair up quite nicely, don't they? :)

Give A Gift That Will Fit!

Buying gifts can be quite a painful task. What can you buy that the gift-receiver will truly enjoy (and if it's not to enjoy, you want it to at least fit, right)?

I, personally, love gift certificates. They're so practical. You can give me a $50 Safeway gift card for Christmas and I'd be the happiest girl in the world.

To give you folks out there an extra gifting option, Balsam Tailors is now offering Gift Certificates* for your gift-shopping convenience. These certificates are good for accessories and one of a kind custom-made items like:

-SUITS
-SKIRTS
-DRESSES
-BLAZERS
-WAISTCOATS
-PANTS
-BLOUSES

*Certain restrictions apply.

Give your beloved or whoever you want to impress a unique experience of getting something custom-made! :)

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!