Description

Author Gay Talese explains that since growing up in the tailoring and dressmaking shop of his parents in New Jersey, he has maintained a taste for family craftsmanship.

Transcript

The Fashion of Gay Talese Btbigthink.com What are you wearing today? Bt bigthink.com/gaytalese Gay Talese You know sometimes I wear clothes that are made for me by tailors and sometimes they got the special stores where I like the merchandise. Now this jacket I’m wearing is— I have a favorite store in Paris. I sometimes go to Paris once a year at least and I always go to the store. It’s called Francesco Smalto and this is a Smalto Jacket. I purchase often things from there. I like the very continental cut. Very distinguished, it’s the finest off the rack tailoring you could get I think. Now the tailoring I usually wear are clothes that are made for me by relatives of mine who are also in Paris. My Christiani, my cousins Christiani and Francis Christiani, Antonio Christiani their father was the elder Antonio was a mentor to my father. They’re Italians that went to Paris in the case the old Christiani. In 1911 and they had a shop for 50 years on the Rue de Lappe and they made all my clothes and I have tailor made clothes from other people. The tie is certainly not made for me. I go to special places to have the ties. I have a tailor that I know and I live in the east side of Manhattan and there’s a shop that sells ties that I go to and have shirts also made. The shirt maker is called Addison on Madison but their not on Madison they used to be. They now moved to a private place. The story is no longer on the street. They have a little back business but I get all my shirts made for me. Btbigthink.com