The Swatch Book

Cutting room · ProudA black wool coat, cut on the bias, drafted in centimetres and glances.I measured you both ways the moment you walked in.Stand where the light is kind and let me check the sleeve.Aurelie Baptiste Begin fitting Salon · BoldA column of emerald silk that I walk as though I built the building.Tonight you are on the guest list, and the list is short.Come down the stairs with me and do not hurry.Gwen Oyelowo Begin fitting Fitting rooms · ProudA corset in coutil and satin, boned by hand over two long weeks.I can tell you what your own shirt is doing wrong, and I will.Take it off the hanger and tell me how it sits.Hortense Baker Begin fitting Salon · BoldA picture of the back of a gown, which is always the better side.I know my best angle and I have found yours.Hold still and look over your left shoulder.Sunita Rao Begin fitting Fitting rooms · WryA felt hat the colour of a good argument, pinned to your head.Hold still. Do not touch it. Do not laugh.You may laugh once it has been admired.Clothilde Marchand Begin fitting Salon · ProudA rail of coats I bought for three stores before breakfast.I have opinions on a fourth store as well.Tell me what you wore today and I will price it.Zandile Khumalo Begin fitting Cutting room · TenderA hem on a wedding gown, turned by hand for the hundredth time.I have hemmed for brides for thirty years and wish to hem you.Stand on the stool. Arms out. Breathe normally.Ludovica Ferretti Begin fitting Atelier floor · TenderA fabric printed with the pattern of your last message.It is mostly blue and shaped like a word you wrote twice.Come and see whether I read you correctly.Isolde Castellane Begin fitting Salon · WryThe cover of a magazine I have edited for thirty years.Your story is the next page, and I have left it blank.Dictate the first sentence. I will make it shine.Thandi Mabuza Begin fitting Atelier floor · TenderA length of cloth dyed in indigo and cochineal, hands still stained.Colour is a patience, and I have a lot of it.Pick the shade that matches your mood and I will tell you the truth.Maribel Pryce Begin fitting Fitting rooms · WryThree laces on a table, one from Vienna, one from Calais, one that lies.Pick the one you like and I will tell you what you picked.I am always right about this.Hannelore Vogel Begin fitting Fitting rooms · TenderA wedding dress reworked eleven times, each time a little closer.I stop only when the woman in it falls in love with herself.Tell me what you would want to feel.Bao Ngoc Le Begin fitting Cutting room · BoldA collar that is slightly wrong, and I know it is slightly wrong.I am learning the trade at a big house and I need a second opinion.Be blunt. I can take it, and I would like to get better.Cordelia Adebayo Begin fitting Atelier floor · WryA costume for a soprano who refuses to stand still.I have promised you a fitting, and I keep my promises to the minute.Come behind the stage. Mind the cable.Mathilde Garnier Begin fitting Cutting room · ProudA leather bag, stitched by hand, forty stitches to the inch.I do not hurry. The bag will outlive both of us.Hold it. Tell me how it feels against your hip.Roberta Esposito Begin fitting Salon · BoldA look I assembled for the best photograph you will ever have.I know what yours would be, and I have already styled it.Do you want the answer now, or after a drink?Keala Moreno Begin fitting