He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 133

133. Recovery to Daily Life

◈ 3 Months Later. June 1779, Kensington High Street.

London, which had been noisy due to General Howe’s rebellion, was quickly regaining stability, except for a few places that had been destroyed by shelling.

Fortunately, Kensington, being away from the center of London, was not significantly damaged.

Fully recovered from his injuries, Tae-oh resumed his life as before.

After finishing lunch and taking a solitary stroll around the company, Tae-oh paused in front of an open sewer pipe.

‘It seems the smell is less pungent now that it’s been maintained.’

King George had entrusted Lord Llewellyn, the chairman of the Urban Design Experts Council, with the sewer maintenance project for the entire city of London, instructing him to start with the sewers near Tae-oh’s company.

Thanks to this, the stench that had surrounded Tae-oh’s company had been significantly reduced.

* * *

Tae-oh frowned as he walked away from the sewer construction area and looked at the nearby roads.

The manure spilled by horses and carriages seemed more noticeable today.

At that time, hundreds of thousands of horses traversed the roads of London and its surroundings every day, resulting in over 1,000 tons of manure accumulating on the ground daily.

Because of this, it was easy to slip on the excrement while walking on the street, and the unpleasant smell was pervasive because it wasn’t cleaned up promptly.

Moreover, on rainy days, the unpaved, muddy roads mixed with the excrement, creating a filthy scene.

‘I need to pave the entire street with stone blocks, no matter the cost.’

The most common method for repairing roads in 18th-century cities was to use ‘gravel.’

Gravel was easy to transport, inexpensive, and durable, making it suitable for carriages and pedestrians.

However, it was prone to becoming slippery when it rained, and the stones scattered and fell off the road, making maintenance difficult.

Tae-oh was gradually expanding the use of stone blocks around the marriage company building due to these problems.

Stone blocks greatly improved the riding comfort of carriages and were much easier to maintain compared to gravel. They were also aesthetically pleasing.

However, they had the disadvantage of requiring considerable costs for purchasing materials and construction, and taking a long time to install.

However, seeing the stone blocks laid in front of the cafe a few days ago, he was satisfied enough to think that it was worth the money to have them installed.

If the remaining nearby roads and the entire area around the company were paved with stone blocks, it seemed possible to create a clean urban landscape like modern European streets.

It was expected that the atmosphere of the marriage street that Tae-oh had dreamed of would be somewhat created if the sewers and roads were maintained in this way, and if maintenance workers were hired to regularly clean at least the area around the company.

◈ Marriage Information Company CEO’s Office.

Clack-

Tae-oh said as he closed the report handed over by Manager Isabel Moore.

“Good. Let’s proceed with the delayed consultation appointments as planned, and reschedule the wedding venues with existing clients in order of their original appointments starting next week.”

“Yes, CEO.”

Due to the sudden coup [a sudden, illegal seizure of power from a government], many consultation appointments and weddings had been postponed or canceled.

Because of this, the managers were working hard to readjust the existing schedule.

“Oh, right! Are you preparing for the wedding of the person I mentioned?”

“Are you talking about Miss Holmes’ wedding?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Tae-oh did not forget his promise to Edwin Holmes, who had saved his life when he was being chased by the rebels, and sought to repay him.

“Yes, I was just about to report it to you. Miss Holmes visited this morning for a consultation. She said she would like to have it next Saturday, so we are planning to prepare it that way.”

“No, Miss Holmes came this morning? But why didn’t you tell me?”

“Miss Holmes said that you were busy and she was very sorry to bother you, so she strongly discouraged me from telling you.”

“Is that so? I should visit her separately next time. Anyway, don’t do it carelessly just because it’s free, and take extra care to make it a good one.”

“Don’t worry, CEO.”

Knock. Knock. Knock.

As Isabel Moore was about to leave with the approval documents, Gregory Dawson, the information investigator, knocked and entered.

Thump-

“Mr. Dawson, welcome.”

“Yes, CEO. Oh, Manager, you’re here too. The investigation results for Mr. John Phillips, whom you requested last time, have come out.

I was going to report to the CEO and tell the manager, but this is good. Let’s all take a look together?”

Mr. Dawson said to Tae-oh, handing over the data.

“As expected, it was as the CEO predicted. You said there were many suspicious things about his words and attitude, and it turns out he has been going around deceiving people and committing fraud by faking his identity.”

The data Dawson handed over contained forged documents of the family’s genealogy and other forged documents related to property.

The investigation revealed that he had already committed similar frauds and even married in other regions.

He was not a baron [a nobleman] in the first place, but a man from a family of ordinary merchants.

Tae-oh said, looking through the data.

“There must be many victims in the southern region of England as well. We should inform the local magistrate and take measures to prevent further victims.”

“Yes, I will report it to the magistrate right away.”

Gregory Dawson, who had worked in the police for many years, was quick and efficient in handling everything from investigation to filing a report.

In addition, Leslie Powell, who works with him as an information investigator, caught fraudsters with hawk-like eyes.

Thanks to them, many fraudsters, such as a man who tried to marry by disguising himself as a naval officer, and a married woman who tried to extort money by pretending to be from a noble family, were caught and handed over to the court.

Thanks to their efforts, the credibility of Theo’s Marriage Information Company was further enhanced, and an atmosphere was formed where even just having one’s name on the company’s membership list was recognized as a trustworthy marriage prospect.

However, this high level of trust had a somewhat unexpected result.

Many young men and women tried to join Theo’s Marriage Information Company as a supplementary means of proving their identity, which greatly increased the workload of the information investigators.

Tae-oh hurriedly asked Sergeant Townsend for help and expanded the number of information investigators by four more.

◈ Savile Row Street, London, England

“Whoa, whoa, we’re here, sir.”

At the coachman’s cry, Tae-oh got out of the carriage with the tailor shop employee who had come with him.

The tailor shop employee was holding a thick bag.

Inside the bag were several ready-made clothes made by Theo’s tailor shop.

The place Tae-oh looked for whenever he felt that the overall shape or style was lacking but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, was Smith’s Tailor Shop on Savile Row Street.

In particular, the tailor named ‘Gilbert White’ in this tailor shop was so skilled that he could transform ordinary clothes into luxurious and stylish ones.

So, when Tae-oh first tried to open a tailor shop, he had Gilbert White in mind as the chief manager of the tailor shop.

However, because he was such a skilled person, the tailor shop was adamant that they could never let him go, and it was impossible to poach someone who had already signed a contract.

With no other choice, he tried to recruit someone with similar skills to Gilbert as the chief manager of the tailor shop, but because the comparison target was clear, he couldn’t find anyone he liked.

If he hadn’t known Gilbert, he would have easily found a manager, but after knowing his skills, it was difficult to choose carelessly.

So, the position of chief manager of the tailor shop remained vacant, and he ended up bringing clothes to him for advice from time to time.

Clang-

As the bell hanging on the tailor shop door made a cheerful sound, Mr. Smith quickly poked his head out.

“Aren’t you Baron Sanderson? Welcome.”

Now that Tae-oh was a celebrity, almost everyone in London knew that he had received the title of baron.

“Yes, Mr. Smith. Have you been well?”

“Of course, haha.”

However, his smiling expression suddenly darkened when he saw the thick bag held by the tailor shop employee.

“Baron? Did you bring those clothes to have Gilbert fix them?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“I’m sorry, but Gilbert no longer works here.”

“Yes?”

“No, not only here, but he won’t be doing any tailoring work in the future.”

“Are you saying he quit his job?”

“Yes, he has completely left this industry.”

Tae-oh couldn’t understand. He hadn’t known him for a long time, but he was a tailor with great passion for clothes, so how could he leave this industry completely?

“If you don’t mind, can I know why Mr. White quit his job?”

Mr. Smith explained the story.

Gilbert White’s outstanding skills were recognized by everyone working in this industry, not just Mr. Smith.

However, anyone who is outstanding in any field tends to develop in a creative way that is different from the existing one.

Gilbert, who hated the existing stereotypical appearance, made clothes in a shape different from the customer’s request, and the nobleman who received the shape was greatly angered, and the incident occurred.

“It was the Earl’s family [a high-ranking noble, below a Marquess], who had quite a temper, and Gilbert not only didn’t apologize, but even said that the shape he made was much better and that the Earl’s fashion sense was terribly old-fashioned.

He must have been very angry because the clothes he had worked hard on for several months and thought were pretty good were devalued.

I have been watching Gilbert for a long time, so I understood his attitude, but the Earl’s family was very disappointed that they had entrusted him for several months and expected him to make it in a strange shape.

It was the first time they used our store and I heard that they usually buy a lot of clothes, so I thought it would be good to get them as regular customers. But because of Gilbert, things went wrong and I even had to refund them, so I was a little angry.”

In the end, Gilbert White was not only severely scolded by the Earl, but also had to hear harsh words from Mr. Smith.

And with that incident, Gilbert declared that he could no longer work and quit the store.

“He didn’t just say that in a fit of anger. A few days later, I went to see him when he had calmed down a bit. He said he was sorry then. Then Gilbert apologized to me too.

But he said he had no intention of coming back. He said he was fed up with making clothes in shapes that he didn’t like while trying to please customers.”

The history of British suits dates back to the time of Charles II in 1666, more than 100 years ago.

From this period, instead of extravagant and flamboyant court attire, a simple three-piece suit consisting of a jacket, vest, and trousers became the dress of a British gentleman.

Due to the chaotic situation caused by wars, the Black Death [a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-14th century], and the Great Fire of London, and the Puritanism [a religious reform movement], the simple and frugal lifestyle was transmitted to clothing as it was.

Because of that influence, British gentleman’s suits were dark, stiff like uniforms, and designed to be stuffy so that a strong sense of loyalty to the country, like soldiers, would permeate.

‘Gilbert must have felt that stuffiness while making clothes….’

Those with unique abilities in any field tend to have a desire to pioneer new appearances with different thoughts and imaginations from the existing ones.

So, in this world of menswear, which is called a ‘slow genre’ because there is little change, Gilbert must have felt bored and dreamed of a slightly different change.

When this era passes and an era comes when individual free thoughts can be expressed, many changes will inevitably come to clothing.

With the rise of the Enlightenment [an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century] and Romanticism [an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century] based on love, and the abundance enjoyed by the Industrial Revolution [a period of major industrialization that took place during the late 1700s and early 1800s], the dramatic change in clothing in England was the near future that would soon come.

However, it was not easy for older aristocrats who were steeped in the customs of the old era to accept.

Instead, the younger generation would definitely feel a great charm when they saw Gilbert’s menswear.

* * *

A few days later, Tae-oh visited the home of tailor Gilbert White.

It was an unexpected visit, but Gilbert greeted Tae-oh warmly and asked how he was doing, perhaps because of their past relationship.

“But, I don’t know why you came to such a humble place, Baron?”

“Mr. White? You know that a large three-story tailor shop has opened next to my marriage information company, right?”

“Yes, of course. I’ve fixed some of the clothes there a few times.”

“Yes, that’s right. In fact, I’m confessing now… I had Gilbert White in mind as the chief manager of that tailor shop from the beginning.”

“Yes? Me as the manager?”

Gilbert looked surprised.

“Yes, that’s right. But at the time, Mr. Smith strongly opposed it, and I couldn’t say anything because it seemed unethical to poach someone who had been working in that field for a long time and had built up trust for a business that had just started.”

“…….”

“But now you’ve completely quit your job on Savile Row Street, and Mr. Smith says that if I can persuade Mr. White, he won’t object to you working at our tailor shop. He said that Mr. White’s talent is too good to waste.”

His face was fleetingly bewildered by the unexpected offer.

However, he soon returned to his original calm face and shook his head.

“I’m really grateful for your words, but I no longer have the desire to do tailoring work. It’s definitely the job I like the most and have done all my life, but I felt that the various situations I encountered while working were too difficult for me. I also don’t like clashing with customers every time.”

Tae-oh smiled and said.

“Yes, that’s why I came. I can promise you for sure that there will be no such problems if you come to our tailor shop. Feel free to make the clothes you want without worrying about anyone.

Other employees will take care of selling and repairing those clothes. Oh, of course, you can supervise that process at any time if you want.”

Gilbert looked puzzled.

“I… just have to make the clothes I want? I don’t know why you’re willing to do that for me. What if none of the clothes I make are sold?”

“Haha. You don’t have to worry about sales or profits at all? Even if not a single piece is sold, you will receive a fixed weekly salary as the chief manager of the tailor shop.

If the sales volume of ready-made clothes is high, we will give you more in addition to your weekly salary.”

For him, who had been making clothes to meet someone’s needs all his life, Tae-oh’s words were unbelievable.

“But… even if I try to make the clothes I want, it won’t be easy to get the fabrics. In some cases, I need a variety of special wool or cotton, etc. But there’s no way that textile factories will deliberately make such special small quantities of fabrics because it’s not profitable, right?”

Gilbert always felt frustrated because the materials and qualities used in clothes were mostly similar.

That’s why he was always filled with the desire to design clothes with the materials he wanted.

However, he was hesitant to ask the owner to get the fabrics, and it was not easy to buy the fabrics he wanted.

“You don’t have to worry about fabrics at all. We can have them made in advance as much as you want and need.”

“Yes? No, how?”

“Actually, I have a textile factory in Manchester. If you just tell me the quality or size you want, Mr. White, I can cut and provide it to you perfectly.”

“……!”

All the conditions were enough to shake Gilbert’s heart.

“Oh, and. I happened to see a women’s dress that Mr. White made when I went to Smith’s Tailor Shop.”

“…That’s just for fun…”

He seemed embarrassed because it was an unfinished piece of clothing.

“Yes, yes. I know. I heard it from Mr. Smith. But the skill of making women’s clothes is too good to be kept as a hobby, right?”

“Yes?”

“And since our company’s tailor shop handles both men’s and women’s ready-made clothes anyway, you can make anything you want, regardless of what it is.

It doesn’t matter if you fail while making it. You can make the clothes in the shape you have in your head as you please, and if you don’t like it, you can just throw it away.”

“…….”

Emotional turmoil was felt. It was time to drive the wedge in.

“Mr. White. Don’t you want to make Mr. White’s own clothes that you have always dreamed of? Not the kind of clothes that you always change and change according to someone’s instructions, but the kind of clothes that people line up to buy the clothes made by Mr. White.

Many people wear it like a trend on the street, and they look forward to Mr. White’s clothes in a new look again.

French fashion magazines cover Mr. White’s clothes in England, and it leads European fashion, how about making such clothes in our company’s tailor shop?”

Before Tae-oh could finish speaking, Gilbert’s eyes sparkled.

Tae-oh could also feel that the passion he had in his heart was reviving.