Oral History Interview - Louis Beckett
Object
Video File
Object number
2018.64
Physical Description
Filmed oral history interview with Louis Beckett.
Material
Digital file (.mov)
Digital file (.wmv)
Digital file (.wav)
Digital file (.mp3)
On display?
No
Inscription
"Guys my age never used to buy trousers or go to the shop, you’d get them made. Everybody had their tailors. You’d go and shop for your material when you’d get paid. Over the Waste, Chapel Market – because they used to have them on the stalls. So you’d get different vibes when you’d go to those places to than if you’d go to the shops.
You used to buy the material and you’d practically invent. You’d go and get something made, because it wasn’t that expensive, you know what I’m saying. It was within everybody’s scope to be able to do that, for mostly any event. And what you’d get was original. The youths using some of the fashion going on now and depending on inventive the tailor was. Most of them used to be Jewish.
But middle class people weren’t going to tailors - they would go to Burtons The big shops and buy a whole suit kind of thing or they’d rent one. We were getting stuff made like weekly. Waistcoats, the big double waist band thing here with the afro-cut. I mean, when you look back… And don’t forget the shoes, they were platform. You can imagine how ridiculous. And collars, collars were the big thing as well – we weren’t shy about collars. But it was just about having fun and looking good."
You used to buy the material and you’d practically invent. You’d go and get something made, because it wasn’t that expensive, you know what I’m saying. It was within everybody’s scope to be able to do that, for mostly any event. And what you’d get was original. The youths using some of the fashion going on now and depending on inventive the tailor was. Most of them used to be Jewish.
But middle class people weren’t going to tailors - they would go to Burtons The big shops and buy a whole suit kind of thing or they’d rent one. We were getting stuff made like weekly. Waistcoats, the big double waist band thing here with the afro-cut. I mean, when you look back… And don’t forget the shoes, they were platform. You can imagine how ridiculous. And collars, collars were the big thing as well – we weren’t shy about collars. But it was just about having fun and looking good."