or: When “sparking joy” is not enough

This black cashmere coat is my first tailored piece of clothing. This doesn’t include the various articles my Mum made for me growing up – including my high school uniform with two skirts to see me through Grades 8 to 12 – yes, they were quite short toward the end. Anyway, by “tailored”, I don’t mean an item simply having the hem taken up. I mean a whole new item, created just for me. From scratch.

It was my first trip into China. I (and my husband at that time) joined one of our  neighbors and some of her friends (we hadn’t made any of our own as yet as we were at the early stage of our Hong Kong adventure) to go to Lo Wu, the commercial shopping area of Shenzhen, just over the border.

This particular area is great for all sorts of products, originals and various qualities of fakes. As a first timer, it’s a good idea to go with someone more experienced since they are likely to know the better places to go. Especially for tailoring.

We were in good hands.

I wanted a coat because I was freezing in HK. It was the middle of winter and coming from an Australian summer, the contrast was too great for me. I had always wanted to own a long coat too. I think this started with seeing some Americans and Europeans on tv and thinking coats looked good. 

My neighbour had an awesome coat however it was a little shorter than what I wanted. It was a great pattern for a tailor to follow and this particular tailor had made this coat for her.

This shopping complex has a massive floor of material, all sold by different stores within the bigger store. It was overwhelming. Bombarded with so much color and textures, as well as noise, I couldn’t find anything. Yes, noise. People haggling can be loud when done en masse.

And there it was. A beautiful piece of black cashmere offcut on sale. Nervous about asking a price since that would indicate my seriousness and the beginnings of negotiations (which I wasn’t as comfortable with at that time as I am now) my neigbour assisted. Once we agreed it would be enough for a coat, the bargaining tactics began.

Both sides agreeing on a price, I took my fabric to my neighbors tailor who then took me back to the material hall for the lining. Thankfully I didn’t need to negotiate that time either and I could watch the experts haggle in Mandarin. 

One week later, I was back to Shenzhen to collect my completed coat.

It was, and still is, beautiful.

The last time I wore it was January 2016 in Tokyo, Japan. I was going home from work and there was still a chill in the air. Earlier in the month it had also been worn in my first ever snowfall commute. It was a morning of giggles for me as I marveled at the glistening snow, how lucky I was to be there, the contrast of the grey sludge on the path as the snow melted and fellow commuters trudged through it when I slipped. Ahhh the novelty…. my giggling continued.

This coat has kept me warm in many HK winters where the wind is biting (well, it’s biting to me) as it charges through the various pathways the buildings guide it down. The wind stops at my coat and wreaks havoc with my hair instead.

I always felt smartly dressed in this coat. It’s waist perfectly fitting mine, the length exactly right and worn over my various suits, I almost looked forward to winter. Almost.

This black coat sparks joy whenever I see it and whenever I wear it.

I feel great in it.

It looks sophisticated and classy and serves its purpose well.

I don’t need it anymore.

I hope it sparks joy in its next wearer as much as it did for me.

 

* Thanks to Frank Sinatra for the title to this post.