A 1978 dinner jacket, brought forward

Bath · Worn at a guild dinner. Kept in the family.

Vintage cloth does not forgive a heavy hand. The jacket was opened, not gutted. We lifted the collar, set the sleeve a touch shorter, and left the original lining — a little of the decade should remain.

The trousers were another matter. They were recut to a contemporary rise so they could be worn with a modern shirt, not a ruffle.

The son wrote that his father recognised the jacket and did not recognise the decade. Both were the point.