Last evening, I went to a reunion party with my former colleagues. We met at a relatively high-class restaurant, and because it was kind of cold, I wore a suit jacket and a vest to the party.

Before I retired from work, usually I would buy a set of suits, off the peg, every year. (Except for my daughters wedding, I bought myself a tailored one.) Therefore, there were a lot of jackets left after I no longer needed them. In July, when I moved from Neihu District to the Dazhi area, I gave most of them away and left less than ten jackets. The jacket I wore last evening is the one I favor most.

It is not the one I bought from department stores; rather, it is a "tailored" one. In 2010, when I was visiting Shanghai on a short business trip, a local colleague told me that I could get a "tailored" suit in two or three days. With curiosity, I followed that colleague to a place where an "underground" tailor, without any brand or a formal shop, made a dark blue jacket for me in only two days, just before I left Shanghai. The quality and craftsmanship of the jacket are the best I have ever had. The price? I cannot remember. But it was much cheaper than anyone I could get in Taiwan.

My colleague told me the "business" was an attraction to some tourists visiting Shanghai. I wonder if such a "business" is still available there.