The Stories About Suits

Maybe Shanghai opened its port earlier, so suits were also popular earlier. In my childhood, I like to wear suit , because wearing that kind of clothes feels generous and convenient. At that time, my parents asked someone to make a brown suit for me. I also inserted a handkerchief in the upper left pocket. With a straight waist, I looked dignified. I took a group photo with my brother in Parker Photo Studio. It's about a quarter past now, and this yellowing photo is still in my album.  

Later, the family was in financial straits, and most of the clothes and shoes of the family came from their mother's hard work. In particular, she knits sweaters, which are worn by the whole family. Therefore, I jokingly called her "the director of the sweater factory". Now she has been gone for several years, but I still wear her sweater. Of course, she can't make a suit.

It is said that Raymond is a first-class suit in Shanghai. Recently, I saw a passage telling the story of Raymond and other famous shops in Shanghai moving to Beijing: 50 years ago, Indian Prime Minister Nehru Kobayashi made a suit in Beijing, but he was not satisfied with it. After many changes, he still felt that it did not fit. So the officials of the Foreign Ministry accompanied him to Shanghai and asked the Fengbang tailor to make changes. I was born in Shanghai, my ancestral home is Yuyao, and my mother is from Zhenhai. I have long heard that "Fengbang Tailor" is an expert in making suits. Little Nehru was very satisfied with the crisp, comfortable and beautiful suits they had modified. For this reason, Premier Zhou Enlai instructed Shanghai's "Raymond", "Bowei", "Hongxiang", "Cunning", "China", "Cathay Pacific", "Prande", "Violet" and other clothing, hair cutting, photography, dyeing, catering and other industries to move dozens of service stores to Beijing. Later, several famous clothing stores were merged into one to make clothes for the main leaders and the public servants going abroad. In the time of the disaster, because it was located in Dongjiaomin Lane, some people wanted to change it into an "anti imperialist clothing store", but there were also foreign friends there to customize clothes, so such a name was naturally inappropriate. So it was renamed "Hongdu Clothing Store".

At the beginning of the reform and opening up, the blue and gray Chinese tunics and dual-use shirts that people used to wear have greatly changed. Bell bottoms and miniskirts are extremely fashionable, and suits are becoming popular. Some "leftists" were extremely dissatisfied with this and launched a campaign to "eliminate mental pollution". They cut bell bottoms, prohibited wearing miniskirts, and tied their hair with shawls, but could not resist wearing suits. At that time, our company also customized a suit for each employee.

At this time, I also aroused my interest in suits and planned to spend money to make another suit. Coincidentally, I went to the China Association for Science and Technology for an interview. They set up a service department in the Science Hall of Friendship Hotel to sell daily necessities. An acquaintance took us to have a look. I found a piece of blue grey wool was particularly attractive, and the price was not too high, so I bought a suit of materials. So who should do it? At this time, an international reporting colleague introduced to me that a tailor in Sanlitun produced a very good suit. So I looked for it. It is a private shop. In an old building, the floor is still wooden. The shopkeeper was a lanky old man, about 1.7 meters tall, wearing a pair of reading glasses and speaking Ningbo dialect. During the conversation, he learned that“ Hongdu Clothing Store ”Retired. It's also a Feng Gang tailor. In a word, please ask him to do it. His workmanship is really exquisite, and he is satisfied with wearing the sample suit only once.

Unfortunately, in 1985, I went to Japan with a delegation of scientific and technological personnel, but the suit was not made yet. I had to wear social clothes to go there, but I didn't feel inferior.

Of course, my suit was not made in vain. I only wear them for serious occasions. Two years later, my uncle living in Taiwan traveled to Shanghai, Xi'an and other places, and stopped by Beijing to visit my sister and brother-in-law, my parents. Since I haven't seen you for more than 30 years, I naturally received you with a grand reception. I wore my own customized new suit, invited him to dinner at home, and accompanied him to Tiananmen and other places for a walk. He said to me, "This suit of yours is fit, neat and beautiful. Who made it for Nong?" I replied that it was Feng Gang tailor. He was so happy that he said, "Good! Good! Fengbang Tailor's work is authentic!"

More than 20 years have passed. I remember that when I went to Donghuamen Street, there was a "Peromont Clothing Store", which seemed to be as famous as "Raymond" and "Bowei". The shop is very grand, white marble and tile decoration, carved room columns, spacious and bright, but the price of suits is not cheap, I dare not pay attention. Naturally, this price has become commonplace in some famous clothing stores. Fortunately, my own suit is still preserved. I tried them last year, and the pants looked thin and worn, and could not be worn. However, if the jacket was worn in early autumn, it would still be crisp. I keep it like an antique.

　　“ Dress Although I wear it, my heart is still Chinese... "Zhang Mingmin sang My Chinese Heart, and the gospel always reverberates in my ears.