In this business, you find everything. Some people come in wanting to look impeccable for an event or needing something to give them a little confidence for an important meeting. Perfectly lovely, that. But every now and then, someone walks through the door with a completely different goal. Not just measurements, but meaning. That’s how we met Erin, and frankly, it’s a conversation that has stayed with us.
Erin didn’t just want a new suit
He was looking for a feeling woven into the fabric. ‘The green suit is my justice,’ he told us, bluntly. Bluntly. You could see it in his eyes too that this wasn’t about a trend; it was about making a statement. He wasn’t choosing a colour from a catalogue. He was showing us a chapter of his life.
He called it his ‘power suit’. Brilliant, isn’t it? He even laughed at the situation, comparing the transformation to the Incredible Hulk. ‘When he transforms, it’s his anger. But it’s his righteous side that comes out.’ For Erin, this suit wasn’t for hiding. It was to give that inner motivation, that quest for what is right, an elegant and respectable way to manifest itself. Honestly, that’s the best description of our work we’ve ever heard: we don’t make disguises; we create armour for your convictions.
Right, so what was our job?
Well, it wasn’t just about getting the leg length right. It was about tuning into that frequency. Translating a metaphor that worked for the leg of a trouser, an intuition for the contour of the neckline. We talked a lot about the structure. He opted for a double-breasted model because it looked solid, as if it could ‘amplify energy fields’, as he put it. We found a wool with a pleasant, full-bodied feel, in a green that wasn’t just a colour; it was an atmosphere. Deep, vibrant and with a touch of gravity.
But the real magic, the kind that really gave me goosebumps, happened over our chat when he shared his secret. It was all in his name. Erin Marcel Phillips. His initials: E.M.P. He had realised that they reflected Einstein’s more than well-known equation (E=mc²). For him, it was an incredibly personal synchronicity. ‘Everything is connected,’ he said, with quiet satisfaction. His own identity was a recipe for energy.
That’s fantastic, isn’t it? What can you say about something like that? You don’t just write it down. You give yourself over to it body and soul. We imagine that the outside of the suit would be his public statement: that bold, green sense of justice. But the inside, the lining that only he would know, would be his private universe. We became true code breakers for an afternoon, fiddling with everything until we realised that the two “L’s” in his surname, Phillips, could be turned sideways to form the equal sign. Suddenly, we were embroidering E=mc² on silk.
Of course, we didn’t stop there. We created a pattern that gave the impression of looking at a tunnel of crackling green energy, just as he had imagined. We put his name in an orange ray. And on the other side, we hid the names of his loved ones: a small secret constellation just below the collar, just for him.
The day we revealed the finished lining? Well, it was quite a moment. As we explained everything to him, such as the clever L’s, the effervescent energy, and the secret names, he stood completely still. What we’ve created was telling him that he is the author, and that’s his own story. And there it was. We had only provided the pen; he had written the entire novel.
It was extraordinary to see him in his full suit for the first time. The green was no longer just fabric, it was him. The suit fit him like a glove, but more importantly, it felt right. It was a deeply personal idea that was now alive and vibrant. He not only straightened his back, but stood firm in his truth.
That’s what we’re all about at DR Bespoke. A bespoke suit is basically created by having a frank conversation where someone says, “this is what matters to me,” and then we roll up our sleeves to help them wear it. It’s about hearing stories of comic book heroes and physics and realising that they both tell the same story, but each and one in its own way.
Erin’s story is a bright, green reminder that we all have a narrative stored inside us. Sometimes all a story needs is an attentive and stylish listener to help it reach the world.
How about we have a chat about your story? Come talk to us at DR Bespoke.
