This girl is no groom. Kelsey Liefson is a young woman excited to exchange vows with her soon-to-be wife Tara Martin.
The newly engaged Calgary couple is planning for their upcoming wedding this October. The date is fast approaching.
While Nelson is close to choosing her bridal dress, Liefson has nothing to wear for her special day.
“I still want to feel like that but do that in my own way and not have to do that with a dress,” Liefson explained.
She has reached out to four tailors inquiring about a custom-made suit. All turned her down. The couple can’t understand why.
“It was like: ‘Women don’t wear suits so, no, we don’t do that,'” Liefson said.
“It’s not like I have four legs. I am an upright human being and I don’t know where the difference lies when it’s custom.”
“I’m looking for a menswear-inspired outfit. It’s the: ‘Sorry, we can’t fit women.'”
Her fiancée was annoyed at the vague responses because they gave the couple no explanation why they were rejecting them as clients.
“I felt it was discriminatory against women in general,” Martin said. “You don’t have to be gay to want to wear a suit and not a wedding dress on your wedding day.”
“I didn’t think it was homophobia; I thought it’s just because you were a girl.”
Global News reached out to the tailors who turned the couple down. Only two responded stating they specialize in menswear and don’t have a tailor on staff experienced enough to make a suit for women.
The couple doesn’t buy the response.
“We don’t see the difference between putting a measuring tape against a man and putting a measuring tape up to a woman,” Nelson said.
At least one Calgary tailor agrees.
For decades, Umberto’s Custom Tailors has been catering to female clients.
“I learned this trade from my father and if you know how to measure and cut and sew and tailor, there should be no difference,” Claudio Migliaccio said. “It won’t matter whether you’re a female or a male.”
He’s extended an invitation to Liefson to come and get a hand-crafted suit made “just for her.”
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