Suiting up

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/05/2016 (2899 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A tuck here, a hem there; 14 young men in this year’s graduating class at Winnipeg’s only exclusive indigenous school, Children of the Earth High School, got suited up Monday.

The suits are free, along with the dress shirts, ties and accessories thanks to donations of custom-made suits and tailoring courtesy of local menswear company EPH Apparel and a retired businessman who took a principal’s plea to heart.

School principal Jackie Connell said it all started when she, knowing her inner-city students would find it impossible to afford suits for their graduation, asked fellow board members at the Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg if they had suits they could donate.

One of the board members, Ralph Jackson, took her up on the appeal and did her one better, emailing business colleagues, friends and relatives when he got home.

The very next day, Jackson told the Free Press, he got a call from EPH’s Alex Ethans to outfit the entire graduating glass of young men for free.

Monday, one after another, the kids chose gently used suits that tailors, including the store’s co-owner Alex Ethans, then measured for alterations, helping them accessorize at the same time.

It was a gas, a kind of male version of the seven-year-old Gowns for Grads program in which young women who can’t afford a prom dress can pick one that’s been donated.

“I feel out of the ordinary,” said Jimmy Boulanger, 19, as Ethans and another tailor moved around him with a measuring tape and a pad and pencil. “It feels pretty classy… My girlfriend says it’s cute and I look handsome,” Boulanger said, looking up from a text reply to his all-dressed-up selfie.

“I think the boys are loving it,” Ethans said, “And once we get the alternations complete, they’ll look flawless.”

The suits are all gently used, left over from fashion shows and wedding shows, a donation that EPH has done in the past, suiting up new immigrants for work and the Elmwood High School for its grad a few years back.

“We’ve got clothing here that’s barely used and it’s worth it to give back to the community. We have a rare opportunity due to the fact we have all this custom apparel,” Ethans said.

Young men being suited up for the first time were shy and Monday, they took turns patiently drawing choices for racks of suits, shirts, ties, handkerchiefs that lined the back half of the store, behind a tasteful reception screen.

“I’m really excited. It’s cool getting a suit and this is really generous. Without it, I probably won’t have been able to get myself a suit,” said Gordon Parisian. The 18-year-old lives on his own at Pan Am Place.

Raymond Flett chose a black pinstripe suit that fit him perfectly, right off the rack. “It’s a suit that’s meant to be,” he said, smiling. “And the polka dot tie and pink tie pin? I like how this suit pops off the pink,” he chatted. He’s planning to apply for law school after grad.

The suits double for job interviews after grad, said student Kastin Mekish, in a shadowed, grey-checked number.

Brendan Govereau chose jet blue and a tailor suggested a pink shirt: “This is a new experience,” he smiled, “And I’m always up for new experiences,” he said.

“Brendan’s a young dad,” the school principal said, looking on as the grads got measured and fitted. “His little guy is in our daycare and his partner is also in our school. He’s so proud of his little guy, he’s two and you know he’s a tremendous dad and I know it’s a challenge to be a young father when you’re in school,” she said.

The suits will be ready in early June. “I don’t know about shoes,” said the principal, when asked what the kids will do for footwear. “Maybe someone will come forward. If someone is willing to help us out, I’m willing to accept,” the principal said.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca