Spiros Hatzantonis didn’t choose to become a bespoke tailor. “My mother sent me to apprentice with a tailor,” he recalls. At the time he was barely a teenager, and living at home on the Greek Island of Kos. But he was sent to work: “I was one of the breadwinners.”
By the age of 18, Spiros had moved to Athens to continue his trade. Then he served in the Greek army for several years before coming to Canada. “It was difficult," he recalls, speaking softly. "I didn’t speak English but it helped that I knew the trade and I didn’t need to speak.” Spiros’s work has always spoken for him.
Now, decades after arriving in Canada, Spiros runs a unique and thriving business at his eponymous store, Spiros Tailors, on the Danforth (near Chester). He opened his first store at Danforth and Pape a few blocks to the east in 1975, after working for other Greek and Italian tailors. He bought the building that houses his current location in 1977.
Entering the small unassuming space, you are surrounded by shelves of luxurious fabric ready to be transformed into hand-made suits, equestrian attire, athletic uniforms and movie costumes. Spiros refuses to namedrop his A-list clientele, which includes Canada’s top executives, professional athletes and Hollywood stars. “We always keep a low profile. We respect everyone’s right to privacy,” he says, proudly admitting, “I did make the suit for the first gay wedding in Canada.”
