Slight thread drift.

The chap that was the chauffeur for the owner of an Airline (BMI) no longer with us.
When he got the job he was told to go down the clothing stores where they would fit him out with a suit.
At the tailors he was asked how many stripes to add to his "pilots" suit, he inquired how many are there, to be told up to four, so he became a "Captain" overnight.
I often thought it looked funny to see a Captain hopping out of the front of the car to open the door for the owner.:)

I wondered what kind of useful intelligence could be harvested in a tailors shop after reading John le Carre The Tailor of Panama . Makes me wonder what the New owners will do with all the data that is stored in the files at this shop . Just the inside leg measurements by themselves , how many left handed , left footed would all be useful information / misinformation to a rival .
The old shoe tinkers could tell a lot about a person by the wear on the shoes . I imagine a tailor would know a lot about the character of the customer by the choice of cloth .

More thread drift, but there’s already been chat about bankers.

The only joke (ish) I ever heard from a banker was from a Cox’s & King’s chap at a resettlement/retirement financial briefing.

He covered at length all the options, commute or not, options as to what to do with the lump sum; all options, options, options.

And then he said: “And now we come to Death in Retirement. This of course is not an option…….”

At least I think he was joking………

More Drift … the arrogance of Tailors.

I needed replacement Mess Dress overalls (trousers for the unaware) to replace a pair lost in combat at a Dining In. And so to Messrs. Moss in Covent Garden (near my office at NATS) for the measuring of Sir. Sir specified 14” bottoms to the legs … “Oh, Sir, one can only wear such with Dress Boots” said the tradesman, patronisingly to the peasant RAF officer. In resoonse, “One does.” The process continued in suitable silence.

They fitted beautifully until the waist shrank for some obscure reason.

It is a well know fact that mess dress tailors have a secret cloth that shrinks with age, thereby requiring the owner to return and spend more money on regular alterations, usually with a rush premium. My 35 year old mess dress required 4 alterations since new. It's diabolical I say !

The only good news is that I cut a dashing figure in my classic Naval Mess Dress, unlike my friends in the RCAF who looked like the doorman at a once grand but now sadly faded hotel...

Hat, Coat, Brief Case, Umbrella, Roller Bag, Emergency slide.......

No apology needed … I suspect many here will also understand.

I’m just amazed that my full-length, made to measure, Dress Boots are still in fine fettle and still fit after … 55 years! German Chrome Black Leather, and £6 at the time in Singapore. Ah, if only waists behaved like feet and stayed constant!!

Bought my No.5 mess jacket in 1972 at Moss Bros from a selection of cancelled orders. The two tailors who dealt with me were just like the pair in the Fast Show "Ooh,suits you Sir".

It got a bit faded over the years and the facings became a bit tatty, but it lasted me for 30 years!

Before my father bought my first "interview suit" he explained the mystery of "which side does sir dress?!" Until then I thought the matter was random, but clearly not.
RHS, on a need to know basis.

LHS myself. The only thing I ever bought from Gieves was a Bomber Command tie and they were unnecessarily patronising about that.