By Currents News
An Ohio master tailor is living the American dream now that he’s dressed Vice President JD Vance for Jan. 20’s presidential inauguration ceremony.
In the sewing room of a custom men’s clothing store that bares his name, 90-year-old Romualdo Pelle, an immigrant from Italy, reflects on his life’s work in fashion saying, “it’s my life I guess, my way to express myself.”
Despite his age he doesn’t need glasses to thread a needle, and doesn’t need to put on airs either. “Are you kidding me? A hillbilly from Italy with a small town for maybe 15,000 people,” he says when asked if he every dreamed of tailoring suits for a U.S. vice president. “No, I would never dream of that.”
He’s been sewing since he was nine yeas old, having learned the skill from a godfather before he immigrated to the states in 1960. His career as spanned more than history, and now includes some notable customers from Vance to Neil Armstrong.
Vice President Vance has now been seen around the globe in Pelle’s handiwork, and the order he placed for the inauguration weekend includes eight shirts, six ties, four suits, three belts, two overcoats and two pairs of gloves. The store’s co-owner Chris Berre says Vance has been a loyal customer of theirs since he first stepped into politics and won a Senate seat.
“The fact that he’s taking time to find a small business in what is now his hometown and supporting a small business in the story like Romulo has, it’s surreal,” he tells Currents News.
Vice President Vance even hand-wrote a note to the tailor that reads “For Romualdo, with admiration for tour hard work and dedication. Pelle says there’s been “so much sacrifice” to get to this point, but with sacrifice comes honor: he’s outfitting the vice president of the United States.