(no subject)

[every_blossom_blooming]

Nina stood outside A Stitch In Time for a moment, considering and hugging a folder to her chest. Then she pushed the door open, glancing back at the bell as she passed through. It wasn't the first shop she'd walked into that had one, but she rather liked the sound of that one.

She hesitated just inside the door. She'd never quite done anything like this before, not for herself, and she wasn't entirely sure how to go about it other than by what she could guess from past clients or Kaz Brekker.

And she didn't often ask Kaz Brekker for advice on anything. But at least he had given her the name of his tailor.

The day saw her in a dress to suit the weather, though she had started carrying around a shawl with her at all times, just in case.

Comments

[every_blossom_blooming]

"I like it," she said with a smile. The cotton had sheen to it but it was still cotton, and would breathe well beneath the wool. The last think she wanted was to be soaked with sweat in her lovely winter coat.

"I know this is a job for you, but I do appreciate the time."

[krempuff]

"Of course. It is my job, but this part of it is probably one of the most important. If I don't find out what you want, then you won't be happy with the results. And if you're willing to spend this sort of money on something--no matter how it's paid out--then it should be something you're happy with."

Krem pulled the bolt of cotton off the shelf and put it with the crimson wool. He would get the thread and notions after he'd gotten her measurements and sent her on her way.

For now, Krem smiled at Nina and ushered her toward his measuring platform. "I hope you don't mind. Figure we might as well cover all the important parts today. Do you plan on wearing boots with this, or would you prefer something that you could wear without as well?"

[every_blossom_blooming]

"I'd certainly wear boots with it, but I can't imagine they'd be high heeled ones very often. Let's plan for more or less flat footwear." And if her boots showed from beneath the coat she didn't think it'd bother her.

Nina stepped onto the measuring platform. It had been a while since she'd had anything properly tailored to her figure.

[krempuff]

With that consideration, Krem settled into it. He measured along Nina's spine, from the nape of her neck to her ankles, and then again from her nape to the small of her back. From shoulder to fingertips, and to wrists. Around the arm at the shoulder and wrist, around the neck.

He smiled, briefly at her between each set of numbers and, before he began the more intimate set of measurements, he asked, "Are you comfortable? I can tell you how to take the next few measurements yourself if you prefer. Not everyone likes someone else so close."

Measuring Kaz, for instance, had been a special practice in speed.

[every_blossom_blooming]

"I don't mind," she assured.

She'd been fitted for keftas since she started training, with new measurements taken whenever she had a growth spurt. So Nina held her arms out so Krem had room to work to measure her bust, waist, and hips.

"Unlike Mister Brekker, I won't start growling if you take more than two seconds."

[krempuff]

"It's less the growling, and more the horse-kicks, that I worry about," Krem quipped, but it was so bluntly deadpan that it might as well have been serious.

Nina spread her arms, and Krem worked professionally, or as professionally as one could when measuring the curves of an attractive, buxom young woman.

[every_blossom_blooming]

"I suppose he would kick, wouldn't he?" She rolled her eyes, a smirk quirking his mouth. "Well, I'm not nearly so rude, especially when you're being so professional."

She'd definitely dealt with tailors that tried to get a little feel, or just stared. Maybe she had kicked one or two of those. Or done a little worse with a flick of her fingers.

[krempuff]

Krem would be the first to admit that there had been more than a few times that he had pushed the boundaries of professionality and familiarity. He tended to do it with people he was familiar with, or ones that he thought he could get away with it. He thought he might have been able to linger at Nina's waist or hips a moment or two longer than was truly necessary.

He wasn't going to.

He smiled as he stepped away from her, jotting down the last of her measurements, and considering her sketches. "Do you mind if I keep these until I get the drafting done? I should be able to get you in for a rough fitting by...the end of next week? And we can discuss the price of the piece then. I'll have the drafting done, and it will give me an idea on the actual cost."

[every_blossom_blooming]

"Oh, of course. You could keep them indefinitely, if you'd like. Though I might be a bit mean and say I'd rather you not use the design for anyone else... it's very special to me. To where I come from."

Nina wasn't sure what she'd do if she saw anyone wearing something that looked like a kefta. Get her hopes up, for one. Suffer disappointment, for another. And probably get a bit petty.

[krempuff]

"I'd hate to accidentally recreate it because I have the sketch around," he said with a smile and a shake of his head. "Better to hand over all original ideas to their creator so their out of my hands once the drafting is done."

He grabbed his scheduling book and jotted a few notes, then looked up at Nina. "I'll see you next Friday, around four o'clock? I should have the drafting done, so we can do the first fitting. It won't be to color, but it ought to be to weight. You'll have an idea of how it feels, more or less."

[every_blossom_blooming]

"Perfect. Thank you, my dear. I can't wait to see the next step."

Nina smiled, pleased and excited and-- and just happy that she might ave something of her own that reminded her of home. "Do you need my contact information or anything?"

[krempuff]

"Oh, yes, just on the back here," Krem said with a soft lift. He grabbed one of his business cards and flipped it over, where there were a few blank lines, specifically for this reason--either to receive his information, or a client's. He handed Nina a pen with a smile.

[every_blossom_blooming]

Nina carefully wrote her name and her phone number for him, her handwriting the precise hand of someone accustomed to sending reports that must be read.

"Excellent," she said as she stood up straight again, her green eyes bright with expectation. "I can't wait to see what we can make together, Cremisius."