The Recycled Suit

I have always believed every man should have a good suit.  So now Jeff has one.  It is far from his daily dress code.  He works in mining and exploration, and typically gets either really cold, filthy dirty or soaking wet in a day, trudging through the backcountry, often going where no man has gone before.

He was on a job like this, based in Shania Twain's home town of Timmins, Ontario, when we first learned he would need a suit -- not for work, but for an occasion upon his return to Vancouver.

So off he went, to the Timmins Square Mall, all alone. 

From across the country I experienced a minor panic.  There's no Harry Rosen in Timmins, not even The Bay.  The last time Jeff bought a suit was in junior high.

This was totally beyond my control. If he actually found a shop, what would they sell him? Would the car salesman of suits steer him wrong? Would the jacket fit right across the shoulders?  Would they hem the pants too short?  Worst of all, would it look cheap?

Jeff did just fine. He chose basic black, a classic jacket with a crisp white shirt and black tie.  The pants don't have too much fabric, they don't have too little either.

My fiance is neither cheap nor particularly frugal, but he paid half price for the ensemble.  He wore it to that Vancouver event, and then at his best friend's wedding in Yellowknife last summer.  He will wear at our wedding too. 

He quotes the first half of the latest tuxedo rental ad making the rounds and tells me: "on your wedding day all eyes will be on her, but her eyes will be on you".

I think he looks great in his classic black suit from Timmins that now comes with some great memories.  But then I think he'd look great in a burlap sack.