I Hang Out With the Rich and Famous

Ever heard of Sam's Tailors?

Neither had I but I guess that's because I haven't run in the correct circles - until now anyway.

Leslie wanted to get some custom made clothing and despite the number of people approaching her on the street wanting to make clothing for her, she chose Sam's, which has a great reputation.

The shop is hidden away off a main road with a small unassuming sign that you can't really see as it is obscured by numerous other signs. It is an L shaped shop about twenty feet across at its widest and longest, with two change rooms and a bathroom. The sales staff had four young women and three older men, one of which is Sam, who is not Oriental.

Leslie first decides to have shirts made. She picks out some cotton and some linen in three different colors and the questions begin. "What kind of collar do you want?" "What length of sleeves?" "How many buttons on the sleeve?" and it continued.

An elderly gentleman, quite stooped over, steps up to Leslie (he is not as tall as her shoulder) and whips the tape measure off his neck. In less than a minute he has measured her up and is off to start on her shirts.

Leslie decides to have a skirt made as well and chooses another fabric and answers a much shorter list of questions. A different guy, taller, not as stooped over and younger steps up, drops to his knees and measures Leslie. He too is off in a flash.

We are to return that afternoon for a fitting.

All the time Leslie's been doing her thing, I've been identifying the celebrities on the walls of the shop. Michael and Janet Jackson, Kate Moss, Colin Powell, the Bush men, Preston Manning, Jean Chretin, Madleine Albright, Sarah Palin and various heads of other countries that I don't recognize, but I can read the labels. There are also numerous other people who are famous enough not to have a label, but whom I'm not wordly enough to recognize. Here's Leslie with Caroline Kennedy.



Leslie's fitting takes two minutes as she doesn't need any alterations and we are instructed to return the day after tomorrow for the finished products. Although they can usually make your clothes in 24 hours, the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens are in town and the shop is overrun by cute youngish men getting suits made.

When we return, Leslie's clothes fit her like...they were custom made....which they were! The come with labels that say, "Hand made at Sam's Tailor". Leslie can now casually insert in conversation, "My tailor in Hong Kong made this for me."