The last few days he’d tried different approaches. First, he had made descriptions of what tailoring actually ment to him both personally and traditionally, and merged it all into a list. Then he had added technical processes – things like ‘pattern-making, measuring, cutting, pad-stitching’ and soforth. But it was all still a riddle to him.

The point was, to understand why he workwise did the things he did, the way he did, and then maybe find some new directions that would give a much better resonance between him and his customers. A new path to steer into. But how to do that? After stitching together garments since he was six years old, and being self-employed for the last 30 years, you undoubtedly had certain routines that you just followed. And that was all okay. But recently he had detected a switch in the world around him, or maybe more of a shift in the community of people that he met and frequented.

References had become harder to make. And he felt that the knowledge he put in his products had become increasingly more difficult to explain. “How on earth do you explain something added into a hem, by hand, that you can’t see, but gives weight, fullness and richness – and stability – to someone that never have had any experience with sewing or tailoring, but at the same time most certainly had been told that the two-dimensional look of it all, the finished appearence in a picture, is the most important thing ever…?” he wondered. The communication of what he did for a living, as a tailor – a bespoke tailor – had become increasingly threatened and difficult to engage in. And as a result, some people just couldn’t see the splendor and joy he could, in his work.

“So, there’s no way around it! I have to solve this. The must be a way to tell the story in someway.”

He went back to his papers. Even though it was late at night… “I can do this!”

After a while he got an idea… “Maybe I could document things with a camera insted…? Or drawings? Or both…?” It was way past midnight when he started looking for his camera.

• Durable
• Comfortable
• Black
• Practical
• Easy to get cleaned
• Warm
• Made into layers, to regulate one’s temperature with
• Breathable
• Combinable
• Easy to travel with
• Not too complicated, should be fairly easy to make, alter and mend if possible

The list was easy to make. But, he suddenly felt something was missing as he went down the line… He read it through once more. And then he got it. Non of the more traditional ‘tailoring-ish’ phrases had been penned into his list! “Hm… I’d better do another list – an additional parallel one.”

He wrote ‘Tailoring for others.’ to the right of his first list. “Now. Let’s see…”

• Luxurious fabrics
• Suits
• Shape
• Padding
• Pattern matching
• Individual slopers
• Pad-stitching
• Worked buttonholes
• Floating canvasses
• Horn buttons
• Sleeve setting
• Correctness
• Own ideas incorporated
• An excess of working hours
• A process of testing different solutions, until finding perfection

“Interesting!” He looked at the two lists and realized that the difference between them was striking. To the left was a list describing mostly practical things. To the right, more traditional techniques. How had it come to this? It seemed like there was a devide between what he made for him self, and what he made for customers. For him it was more practical. His customers often went for a more classical style. He needed more garments and didn’t have a lot of time making them. The customers often treated themselves with fewer, but more exclusive garments. So it seemed at least, from looking at the lists he’d just made.

“I really have to change the names of these lists… I don’t want them to be opposites!” He crossed out ‘… for me.’ to the left and changed it into ‘Practical Tailoring’ and to the right he changed ‘… for others.’ into ‘Classic Tailoring’.

“There! Much better.” It felt good to have turned the lists into two sides of himself – two parts of one – instead of two struggling directions. “I wonder what happens if I mix it all up, and add in a direction? A process?” He went back to tailoring he’s suits and thought some more… “Ah! Now I got it!” He paused from he’s work. “I have to add technique, of course!”

He took a new piece of paper and started writing.