The Best Mistake in the World

So, Erin had his second fitting yesterday with the Tailor, and there was a slight... Problem.

See, when the Tailors got the suit back from the Saville Row tailors who were making the suit, they discovered, shockingly, that the tailors had made the suit out of the wrong fabric.

Ooops.

And so, Germanicos Tailors, the consumate professionals that they are, aren't going to make Erin wait for another suit to be built. Well, we are (we asked for the right suit, and they're going to give us what we've ordered), but in the meantime, they are also going to give us the suit made in the wrong material to Erin at no extra charge.

That's right - Erin's birthday present has now been doubled at no extra cost. Two bespoke, tailor made suits for the price of one! That's my kinda math!

In other news, the suit currently available will have a few more adjustments made to the suit before it's completion, as there were a few places where the fit wasn't quite right. We'll be getting a phone call soon to find out when we'll next be seeing the tailors...

The Awakening!

So, as expected, Getting Erin a suit has pretty much ramped up his desire to reassert his style again. He's looking all of a sudden at fashion blogs, and looking at vests, suits, etc.

This has also gone for me. You see, he found this lovely little suit. And I'll admit, I'm a little tempted. I mean, it's an actual blue suit, that's under $80! I mean, it will completely not match Erin's suit, and I'm not entirely sure how appropriate it would actually be to wear it.

But I'd own a Blue suit. And that would be extremely awesome! :)

Tailor Time!

Yesterday the Tailor came, and we had a good couple of hours spent with Erin and the Tailor designing the suit, and taking Erin's measurements. Indeed, as advertised, thousands of suit swatches came out as Erin got to choose exactly what he was getting with his brand new suit.

In the end, the suit decision was as follows:

• Solid charcoal twill
• Single-breasted
• Three button suit
• Shawl lapels (no satin)
• Single pockets
• Maroon lining and silver piping
• Inside the jacket will be embroidered in silver: "Specially Tailored for Erin Kyan"
• Flat front pants.

Along with that, we also designed Erin's shirt, which ended up:

• White shirt
• French collar
• Pleated back
• Square cufflink cuffs.

From this point, it will probably take another four weeks for the initial construction, after which there'll be a second fitting, to get everything just right, and possible third and fourth fittings. We're expecting to have the suit in our hands in around 6 weeks or so, give or take.

In the meantime, we're likely to go shopping. Erin has already gone shopping on his own for some nice cufflinks (pictured to the right), and I plan on taking him shopping soon for a nice tie and a good pair of shoes. Fortunately, time is on our side - we have at least a month before the outfit is likely to be complete. This is the unfortunate side effect of getting clothes made to order, but I think you'll agree that the results will most certainly be worth it!

I'll be honest with you, I'm half wanting the give the whole tailored suit thing a try myself. Imagine, two hot, sexy boys in tailored suits. Yum!

The Big Reveal!

And so, it all came down to this - Last night, Erin's gift is finally revealed to him. For those of you not able to be there last night, here's the video of that revelation:

And we're there!

So, today is Erin's Birthday. Yay! In less than 12 hours the big reveal will happen, and Erin will finally get to know exactly what's been being planned behind his back for the last few months.

Now, I've been told that a couple of people are planning to contribute at the party, but we have a final total of all pre-birthday contributions, and it's breaking all expectations! All up, we've managed to contribute:

$2169.03!

That's just absolutely phenomenal! Tomorrow, After I recover from the large number of Margaritas that Erin's likely to try and pump into me, All the photos and videos from the event will be posted here, and publicly elsewhere (As, I now finally won't have to use very badly-designed private messages anywhere!).

Here's hoping the big reveal goes off without a hitch!

That's a lot of money!

So, after tallying all the donations that have come in over the last weekend, guess how much we're up to?

You'd better believe we're past the $2000 mark!

In fact, our glorious total, as of right now, is $2013.58 precisely. That, ladies, gentlemen, both and other, is downright awesome! Just stupendous!

Cutting in close, but there you go...

With all the househunting and moving issues, I'd been having some issues with figuring out how and where I was going to book the tailor. However, it's finally looking like we're going to be moving after Erin's birthday, so this morning I finally got around to booking the Tailor!

For those interested, we will be using Germanicos Tailors for Erin's suit, for a couple of highly laudable reasons. Firstly, They'll come right to your home with all the samples and swatches to make the suit and shirt, which means Erin doesn't have to go anywhere. Secondly, they're happy to work with the prospective suited up gentleman to completely customise the suit - something that I know that Erin is going to be well-pleased about! Also, their prices are not that bad, and were the basis for our original goal of $1000.

We'll see how their service goes once we get into it, but considering I've heard quite a few good reviews of their services, I'm quite optimistic!

And it's the Final Week!

We are now officially in the final stretch of this fantastic journey. This Saturday, at a Taco Bell in the City, this grand project will be revealed in all it's glory, and these months of planning and secrecy will come to an end.

But my god, what a fantastic time it has been! I have been witness to so many beautiful, glorious acts of kindness, friendship and generosity. When I first started this, I was expecting most people to give just a tiny amount each, figuring that enough people would give enough that we'd have the suit by Erin's birthday by the skin of our teeth.

Instead, we had the suit pretty much stitched up in about 2 weeks, with more people still wanting to donate. And donate you have! At this stage, with 6 days to go, we have a total sum of $1858!

I know that for a lot of this blog, I have waxed lyrical about people's generosity, but people, this is just an incredible effort!

But! Here's the last run - last opportunity for people to contribute. The card will be printed out on Friday night, so for those wanting to be on the card, you'll need to have your contributions to me by that date. On Saturday, we'll be doing the Big Reveal during Erin's big birthday dinner (I will accept contributions on the Saturday, right up until the Reveal, however!)

For those of you who've lost the original letter Here's the original mailout, with all the information on how to contribute. Good luck to everyone, And remember, the blog doesn't finish on Saturday! Here will continue to be the place to watch as the Suit takes form, and will of course be the place to see photos and videos as they become available.

Thankyou everyone for helping me seize the opportunity to give Erin a fantastic birthday for his 25th, and to give me an opportunity to show just how much he is loved, by me and all of you.

On the final stretch!

Hey followers!

Apologies for no update last week, househunting has been absolutely hectic for the two of us, so I haven't had much time to get personal things done.

However! In the last two weeks we've had quite a few donation from people, bring us $131 closer to our goal! Also, thanks to me setting up the account to get interest, the NAB has chipped in an extra $4 as well, which brings our total so far up to $1695! Which is phenomenal! And we still have just under two weeks to go, for anyone who's still planning to donate, but just hasn't gotten around to it!

Also, (and I'm aware that this is short notice), I'll be attending Kinky tonight in Northcote, if anyone reads this and wants to donate in person. Also, please remember that I'm happy to arrange to meet people to grab donations off them, if they're otherwise unable to attend events and still want to donate. Also, slightly less short-notice, I'm planning to attend Provocation with Erin, so people can also donate direct to me there.

In news regarding the Reveal, it's looking like we're going to end up going out for dnner for Erin's birthday, and it's looking very likely that we'll be heading to Taco Bill in the CBD. For those who are interested in being there for the reveal, please send me an email at kirby1024 AT gmail DOT com so I can include you in the booking!

This, ladies, gentlemen, otherwise and neither, is going to be utterly fantastic!

A full-blown mailout!

With just under a month to go, I'm starting to do the rounds again, reminding people who otherwise might have forgotten. This does mean the tedium of mass-mailing on fetlife, but for Erin's suit, it's worth it!

I'm also, at this point, starting to relook at the distribution list, and start adding people who might have fallen off the initial list (or who weren't online initially) to spread the idea out far and wide. At this short a timeframe, it's time to go for gold, pull together as a team, and any number of other hackneyed sporting analogies!

This week, we've not received any donations, so our tally remains at $1555 (which is nothing to sneeze at!). Even if we get no more donations in the next month, I'm pretty happy with the donations we've received, and I thank everyone who's contributed, once again!

On another note, I've mentioned in the mailout that I'm planning to make sure I have a camera present at the Big Reveal, so that everyone who's donated can see the look on Erin's face when we show him all the hard work we've put into this gift for him. It occurs to me, however, that I should also give people the opportunity to actually be there as well. So, I'm going to give people that option - closer to the date, anyone who's expressed an interest in being there in person for the Big Reveal I'll happily give details of the time and place (for planning purposes, I'm planning on the reveal happening around 12-2pm on Erin's birthday, September the 18th). Feel free to let me know, anyway you can get in touch with me, if that sounds like a whole lot of fun. :)

Weekly Update

So, this week has not been so speedy, but still, a donation of $50 takes us to $1555.00!

I'll probably start sending the next burst of reminders this week - this week we'll pass the "One month to go" point, so that's as good a point as any to start reminding people!

As a note, Erin has (possibly through fault of my own), come to learn that a surprise is coming for his birthday. He has no idea what it is, and he seems to be running with the surprise - it's apparently been so long since he's gotten a genuine birthday surprise that he's relishing the experience. Whenever I remind him about the fact he's getting a surprise for his birthday, he starts bouncing up and down, all excited!

I honestly can't wait until his surprise actually gets revealed to him! I can only imagine the reaction we'll get. And, just so you know, I'll be making sure that reaction is placed on youtube for all of us here to see. Because honestly, so few of you here will be able to be present to see it yourself, and something like that? Really has to be shared amongst everyone!

Weekend Update

Hello All!

So, we've had quite a few people donating a whole lot of cash this week, and it's brought our tally up immensely. As you can see on the sidebar, we have officially reached the $1500 mark!

So, this post I was planning to post another bunch of suit images. This time, I wanted specifically to post some pictures of larger people in suits, because hey, suits look good in absolutely everyone, and some pictures of people outside the norm in good-looking suits is pretty much exactly what this blog's missing is all about.

Now, you would think that, seeing as there's a whole wide internet at our disposal, that it would be pretty straightforward to find larger men in good looking suits. Yeah, not so much. The few sites I found that do big and tall suits don't advertise them terribly well in their stock, and the number of hollywood actors you could define as fat are... minimal. This, I feel, merely justifies the whole reason I'm doing this for Erin, I feel!

Meanwhile, my quest for suit images paid off a little. Here are some pictures of a few large men in good looking suits, for you, our wondrous benefactors. And when the suit is made, and Erin is in that suit, you'd better believe there will be pictures on this very blog!

45 Days to go - Well Past Half Way!

I recently sent out some reminders to people, and wow, did we get a great response! Since our last update, the fund has received $510! This is utterly astounding, and puts us well past our initial requests! The fund has, to this date, received:

$1375.00!!!

This is absolutely phenomenal! There have been quite a few larger contributors this time around which have made a whole lot of difference. I want to thank them a lot for their incredibly generosity, but I'd also like to remind people that we're not expecting large donations from everyone - we'd like people to donate what they're comfortable giving, and what they're able to.

Fantastic work people! At this rate, we'll have everything down to the cufflinks by Erin's birthday!

Moar Money and suits to drool over...

Hey Everyone!

Sorry that it's been a while since the last update - Erin's moved into my sharehouse for the time being, so it's getting more difficult to get time to make posts! However, I get a bit of time right now, so here we go!

In the last while, we've received another $45, bringing us to $845! Fantastic work!

Now, to tide us over for a while, I thought I'd introduce a few suit shots to the blog. Always nice to drool over some nice suits, I think!

Weekend Tally

Hello Everyone!

The donations keep coming, piece by piece - it's really brilliant to watch so many people's generosity, and to hear so many stories about how Erin has had such an effect on people. It touches me, right down to the heart, to hear such things from you all.

This week, another $150 has come through to the account, and I'm still slowly going through Erin's friends on Fetlife, spreading the word (Fetlife - such a wonderful place, but so woefully inadequate for mass-mailing!). That brings us up to $800 with over a month and a half to go. I just... wow, people. I was expecting to struggle with this, but you all have proven me so wrong!

Thankyou everyone who has sent their donations, and thanks everyone else who has pledged, even if the money hasn't yet arrived. This will be absolutely fantastic by the end!

Opening Weekend

My god people, I really had no clue how many wonderful, generous friends Erin had out there.

As you might be able to see by the total, I've updated the tally goal, because we're already at $650 received. That's right - thanks to some of very generous people, we are at 65% of our original goal 1 weekend after I started mailing people out.

With so many people donating, and so many more people pledging money within the next couple of months, I've realised that we kinda need to adjust the goals somewhat here. $1000 was enough to get a reasonably cheap, tailored suit, but I'm almost certain we're going to get more than that, and I know that a lot of people still want to donate, and I want people to still contribute! So, as well as the tailored suit, any extra money donated will be going to the following, in order:

1. The Suit
2. A waistcoat
3. A good, tailored shirt
4. Formal shoes
5. Belts, Cufflinks, Ties and other suit accessories.

Also, as a note, I'm planning to have a card that will include the names of people who have contributed to the gift. I'm keeping a register of people I know have contributed, and if I know their names, I'll be putting it to the card. This is a good time for people to let me know if they do not want their names on the card (in which case you will be known as "Anonymous" on the card), or if they explicitly want to be known by a pseudonym (such as, say, Fetlife usernames or such).

Once again, I am utterly gobsmacked by the incredibly generosity that so many of you have offered already, and I'm certain that Erin will be gobsmacked even more when the gift is revealed!

Keeping Track

So, when I started sending people information about Erin's birthday surprise, I sent it to a whole bunch of different places via any number of different means. What this meant, unfortunately, was that getting information sent around to everyone is going to be a pain. A real pain.

So, I'm setting up this blog so that anyone who is interested in tracking this lovely little birthday suprise can do so, easily and simply. I'll send the link out to everyone, letting everyone know about what's happening. I'll make sure to update the Donation tally as things progress, and let people know the progress of the plans to get the Suit arranged.

Since Erin's hanging around my place at the moment, I'm going to wait until Tuesday until I make the first update (also, because any payments made over the weekend should go through by then). I'll make sure to spruce up the blog a bit by then!

The Original Mail-out - with the donation details

Hello Friends of Erinkyan!

For those of you who aren't aware of me, I'm Erin's boyfriend Lee, and I've set up this blog for a purpose. A very secret, birthday surprise-like purpose.

In just over two months, it will be Erin's Birthday, and in the last year or so, Erin has become a lot more interested in fashion, and buying clothes that make him look good. As his boyfriend, I absolutely want to support him in this endeavour. In particular, there's one part of his wardrobe that I'd really like to help him out with.

See, Erin has not had a suit that fits him in years, not properly. Not just because he can't afford it, but because his body size makes it incredibly difficult to find off-the-rack suits that will work for him. I'd love to go suit-shopping with him, but of course, that would just end in disappointment and bad feelings, even if we did find a suit for Erin, and I don't want to put him through that.

So, I have another plan.

I have been looking into the possibility of getting a Tailor to make Erin a suit. I've done some looking around, and of course, these things are very expensive - I'm looking at around AU$1000 to get a full suit made for Erin, assuming I can't find someone else cheaper.

As such, I'd like to ask for a little help from Erin's friends.

In the next 2-3 months,I'm asking if anyone is willing willing to donate money, no matter how small the amount, to the Erin's New Suit fund. I'm planning on donating a pretty sizable amount myself (I'm putting around $300), so I'm mostly looking for about $700. I'm asking people about this so early in advance because I want people to be able to contribute if they want, even if they can't quite get the money right now.

Please remember - this is planned to be a surprise! The idea is to get it all arranged behind Erin's back so the first hint he gets is when he's getting measured at the tailors.

I'm offering any number of ways to donate to the Erin's New Suit Fund:

Paypal: Donations can be made to erinsnewsuit@gmail.com, anonymously or otherwise.

Bank Transfers: Those living in Australia can transfer funds directly to the following bank account:

Name: Lee Davis-Thalbourne
BSB: 083-315
Acct: 175982800

Those who don't want to transfer electronically can directly deposit cash to this bank account at any NAB branch.

Non-Australians can send Telegraphic Transfers to this account if they so desire, although I recommend Paypal as it's likely to be much, much cheaper, and a lot more convenient. Send me a private message, and I will happily provide all the details necessary to transfer the funds if you're overseas.

In Person: Alternatively, I will be trying to be present at multiple events and parties over the next few months, and am happy to accept donations of cash from people in person. I am also happy to arrange to be places for donations to take place.