01945 Winter 2018_V3

06 | 01945 WINTER 2018-19 | 07
Sew good
BY THOR JOURGENSEN
Charlie Katsoulakos describes his
well-used Singer sewing machines as "old
but good." The same praise could apply
to the 92-year-old tailor whose sign with
its distinctive needle and spool hangs
above Pleasant Street.
Working off of a neatly-arranged
sewing bench, Katsoulakos accepts
walk-in requests to stitch ripped or torn
clothes while customers wait and waves
off customer offers to pay for the repairs.
He points with pride at wedding photos
showing bridesmaids wearing his tailored
dresses with precision-cut hems standing
next to poorly-tailored dresses.
Quick with a smile and in business
for 55 years, Katsoulakos' definition
of advertising is word-of-mouth
compliments passed on from customers
to friends and acquaintances.
"Whatever I do, it's done right. Very
PHOTOS: SPENSER HASAK
rarely does someone come back with a
complaint," he said.
Katsoulakos has worked with scissors,
thread and needles since the age of 14
when he learned the tailor's art from
his father. He was a teenager when the
German Army conquered Greece and
brutally occupied the country. When the
war ended, father and son worked together
making, mending and altering clothes.
"We had a store in Athens but the
economy was so bad we couldn't both
make a living," he said.
He left Greece in 1955 and landed a
job in a New York City clothing factory
two days after arriving in the country.
The language barrier proved difficult and
Katsoulakos took a Greek friend up on
his offer to move to Malden.
"I rented a room and found a job. All
of the stores were busy," he said.
He also met his wife, the late Helen
Zantos. They were married within
six months and dove into hard work
and raising their son, Michael, and
daughter, Cathy. Katsoulakos worked
days in a tailor shop and spent evenings
doing alterations for clothing stores. A
Swampscott store owner admired his
work and urged him to open his own
shop in Marblehead.
"He said there were more people with
more money," he recalled.