Sartorial, according to the Oxford Living Dictionary, is defined as: ‘relating to tailoring, clothes or style of dress.” Used in a sentence, a dapper dresser might have ‘sartorial’ elegance.
Meet Tristan Sartor, an APSU Junior studying Communications and Theater.
This 20-year-old embraces a lifestyle of the young urbane gentleman and he just returned from a ten-day study abroad in London. Traveling with a score of APSU students, staff and faculty, this was Sartor’s “first of what [he] hopes to be many trips to Europe.”
He said, “They really do appreciate fine clothing here. I feel right at home.”
Sartor is a pilgrim of sorts. London’s famous tailors and their royally endorsed finery were the aims of this particular quest. Saville Row shops like Gieves and Hawkes, Benson and Clegg and the Huntsman (famous for being the backdrop of the film “The Kingsman: Secret Service”) were top on the list.
Jermyn Street shops stole his attention away and he happily procured a proper English waistcoat from Favourbrooke, a showcase for traditional formal wear. Sartor visited Drakes, Benson and Clegg and Harrods. It was in the basement of Harrods where he discussed the finer qualities of Cuban cigars with a businessman from the UAE and a lawyer from Singapore.
If there was one aim that marked the entire journey, it was Sartor’s desire to get an original Bowler hat from Lock and Co. The Coke, (also known as a derby, billy-cock or bob hat) was made world renowned by Charlie Chaplin’s character, the Tramp. Sartor’s cherished purchase is known as a Town Coke. He selected it in brown.
Traveling with Tristan through the streets and Tubes of London, one couldn’t help but notice how locals and tourists alike, slyly glanced and openly stared at his spectacular outfits.
Women of all ages smiled at his jaunty walk and his shock of red hair that slipped out from under his newly acquired hat.
Children were the most open in their admiration. Young men who seemed to share his taste for the men’s wear of London squarely assessed him and his outfits, seeming to measure how they compared. Sartor, for his part, felt right at home.
This once-upon-a-time child actor who has been seen in numerous productions in and around Clarksville seemed right at home on center stage.
Sartor commented more than once during his study abroad, “I feel like I fit in here.”
A natural and expressive storyteller, at proper British breakfast of beans, scones and hard boiled eggs, he entertained his fellow travelers with a tale of singing Rhodesian hunting songs with an expatriate from Zimbabwe.
Wearing what can only be said to be a tribute to some of the most famous tailors in the world, he visited the Sky Garden atop the Shard for breakfast, took High Tea at the British Portrait Gallery and even had a chance to get a bite of cheesecake at the Waldorf Hilton in Covent Garden.
All this and so much more in just ten days. What a wonder that a person so young, blessed with a clear view of what he cares for, can find passage within APSU’s Study Abroad Program and make a life’s dream come true.
For more information about other Study Abroad opportunities, visit the International White House on the Clarksville campus, located at 325 Drane Street.
