Includes bibliographical references: p. 291-292.

"Taking as its starting point a son's decision to alter his father's last remaining suit for himself, this is a deeply brilliantly crafted and universal story of fathers and sons, of fitting in and standing out. For years, journalist and amateur tailor JJ Lee tried to ignore the suit hanging at the back of his closet. It was his father's last suit. JJ's decision to finally make the suit his own serves as the launching point for this powerful book -- part personal memoir, part social history of the suit. As JJ cuts into the jacket, he begins to piece together the story of his tumultuous relationship with his charismatic yet troubled father. JJ also recounts his own ups and downs during the year he spent as an apprentice at Modernize Tailors - the last of the great Chinatown suitmakers in Vancouver - where, under the tutelage of his octogenarian master tailor, he learns invaluable lessons about life. Woven throughout JJ's tale are stories of the suit's own evolution, illuminating how this humble garment has, for centuries, been the surprising battleground for the war between generations. With wit, bracing honesty, and great narrative verve, JJ takes us from the French Revolution to the Zoot Suit Riots, from the Japanese Salaryman to Mad Men, from Oscar Wilde in short pants to Marlon Brando in a T-shirt, and from the rareified rooms of Savile Row to a rundown shop in Chinatown. A book that will forever change the way you think about the maxim "the clothes make the man," this is a universal story of love and forgiveness and breaking with the past"