The Best Of Life

It’s a liberating feeling when you can thumb your nose at those limiting store sizes and have your clothes made to measure.

I’m a small man. I’m classified as XS in clothing terms, or petite. Make that petit – I’m a man after all – but there is no such size in men’s clothing sections. For there are very few men like me whose pant size is 26, which, according to my tailor, only requires less than a meter of fabric.

Because I am not a regular guy when it comes to clothes sizes, I’m left to search high and low for what I need. It’s not easy, because I’ll find the design I like but it doesn’t come in my size. My only resort most of the time is to make my own clothes. Let’s not talk about shoes: if I could only find a local shoemaker who could make me stylish size 5 designs that I have to search for overseas (and he or she would be sitting pretty with a fat monthly income from yours truly).

My only choice is to order made-to-measure clothes. It’s costlier than buying from the store, but what a difference it makes. My clothes fit just right with my proportions, not too tight, or too loose. For me, even if I gained some weight and could find what I wanted in store, I would stick with my tailor. Once you have perfectly fitting clothes, there is no going back.

Recently, my tailor was overwhelmed by orders and I had to get in the waiting line, like for a popular dentist or the hot skin doctor. I realized how important he had become to me in presenting myself to the world.

They call the clothes in stores “ready to wear”, but is it really? You cannot take it in here or there to fit your body. The real ready to wear clothing is that which is just for you.

+ Samuel Mulia

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