Hope

I went to the tailor this past Saturday. Being that it was a Saturday, I was the ninth person in line.

So I had a lot of time to kill. And I sat.

I love to people watch.

I was struck by one thought.

The tailor is Hope.

No, her name is not Hope. Her name is not important. She's Vietnamese and employs a dozen women who are there, day in and day out, always sewing. They sit behind a curtain, with multiple televisions playing, and sew.

This is not a job I could do. I'm not especially fond of sewing. I've done it. I've made dresses for my little girls, but as children grow, their clothing beocmes more complicated and I had no skills. I can sew a seam. I can sew buttons. I can sew pointe shoes for ballet.

The rest I leave to the experts.

When people come in to the tailors, they bring hope with them.

The bride, who sat on the couch in her wedding gown. She had three weeks until her wedding and needed the bodice of her gown let out 3 inches. The 2 teenage girls who needed their prom gowns hemmed. The woman who brought her entire wardrobe, circa 1963, and wanted it all updated. Including the denim culottes and jacket covered in gold sequins, creating multiple suns covering every inch of the fabric.

Everyone hopes. They hope to be made more fashionable. They hope to be made thinner. They hope to be taller, more compact or refined or whatever they feel is lacking in their life. They bring a dress to the tailor and slump out of the changing room, pulling at the straps or plucking the waist. No one is happy, The dress, the jacket, the vest - it's wrong. It's just wrong and it's no good and will you help me?

And she knows exactly what to do. Every time. She pins, she lifts and she corrects. "But don't you think?", she's asked, again and again. Even though she's the expert, everyone thinks that they know what should be done. No one listens to her quiet words.

I sat and watched - I tend to fade into the background, and so I see sides of people that I don't think they know they are displaying.

The woman who said, "I don't like it when you take in the seam on the side insteaad of the back", the bride who insists on wearing her bra and demands that the dress be fitted around her raggy, taggy bra. The woman who wants an entire wardrobe of more than 40 years ago redone - in an effort to capture a youth that no longer calls -

everyone hopes that she can fix it.

Comments

[xenia katie]

Pretty incredible. I can't even begin to imagine what kind of folks these tailors have to deal with each day. Hats off, indeed-- such talent (and forbearance!).

[addy]

Ya I can sew a button - you should see my attempts at curtains :) Hats off to the talented and tested experts....

[Brandy]

I'm like you. I blend in; people don't notice me and I prefer it that way. It allows me to watch those around me. I've never utilized the talents of a tailor, but from your words your tailor sounds like a miracle worker with the patience of job.

[ek]

Utterly inspired - lovely, lovely writing! thank you for sharing a glimpse into this world!!

[kyooty]

Very true. I think hairdressers are also hope!

[Mary @ A Simple Twist of Faith]

I know this tailor, she is very good.