Custom(er) Stories: Jamie Perkins

Videographer, YouTube legend and all round dapper dad, Jamie Perkins, sat down with us to chat about his story, passions, life during the COVID-19 pandemic and of course, his style inspirations.

Tell us about what you do for a living?

I’m a videographer by trade. I love exploring life, people’s stories and the world in general through the lens of my camera with the emphasis of sharing positive stories and experiences. One of my friends once labeled me a journalist with a positive bias. I’m not sure if that was a compliment or not but I think the shoe fits. In a world where drama seems to dominate the media I’m always trying to find the good through my lens and share it with others in hopes of putting some smiles on people’s face

Take us through an ordinary day….

I’ve been making youtube videos for 9 or 10 years now. I started making Vlogs long before it was cool and before I knew I could one day make a living out of it. It was just something I did for fun and through it I met a really great community of people who would watch and interact with the videos which I really loved. 

Fast forward to 1 million + followers and Youtube has allowed me to fulfil a lot of the things on my bucket list and turn them into work and I’d like to acknowledge the amazing community of people who watch the videos when I talk about this because it’s thanks to them I’ve been able to do any of this stuff! I’ve got to Vlog with The Pope at the Vatican, I’ve test driven a lot of my dream cars, I’ve gone on amazing adventures with my kids and it’s also allowed me the luxury of being a stay at home Dad with my two little girls due to the flexibility of my schedule which is the greatest thing about it. 

How has COVID-19 affected what you do? Has it given you more time to plan and work, or has it made it tougher to find inspiration and creativity?

Covid has definitely made my job a lot trickier especially with the lockdowns. I definitely feel a lot less creative when I’m stuck at home and it also makes creating travel content (which I love doing) a lot harder. But I really can’t complain. I’m lucky that I’m still able to work from home even though it’s a bit more challenging than before.

What are your passions and interests outside of work?

I love cars. I’m not exactly a car nerd. I couldn’t tell you the precise specs of every car on the market. But I know what I like and I love to drive. When I’m behind the wheel, be it on a relaxing drive through the Dandenong Mountains or when I’m lucky enough to get on a race track I’m in my happy place. I’m also a big kid and I love taking my kids on adventures. Yeah I’m that annoying Dad you’ll see at the trampoline park who looks like he’s having just as much fun as his kids and that’s because I am lol. 

Talk to us about your personal sense of style. How do you usually dress, day to day? How does that change for special events?

I’ve always loved fashion. I was actually a suit salesman for quite a number of years myself. I tend to dress to my mood. Sometimes I just want to be cosy and I wear a lot of loose fitting hoodies and chinos. I have an obsession with chunky knits. Every winter I’m always on the lookout for interesting knits. The chunkier the better even though our weather doesn’t allow for us to wear them for too long. But on the flip side I love to get dressed up. There’s something about wearing a nicely fitted suit that makes you feel a little extra confident about yourself. I’ve always liked suits that are different but in a more subtle way. I love suits that have texture to them and love interesting fabrics. 

Tell us about designing your own suit at InStitchu. Did you find the process simple enough? How clear a vision did you have for the final product?

I really enjoyed the process of creating my own suit from scratch. I walked into the store completely open minded. The only thing I knew I wanted was for it to be double breasted and have pleated pants. But I was pretty open minded for the rest of it. I really enjoyed the experience of sitting down with a Stylist and going through the fabric books and discussing my ideas as they came to life in front of me. I walked away with a suit that really felt like it was mine and felt a sense of pride when I put it on for the first time which was pretty cool. 

What about the suit itself? Describe it for us.

The suit I created was a blue double breasted suit. I wanted it to have a classic feel to it but I also didn’t want it to be mistaken for a business suit. I went for double pleats and cuffed pants. I also added patch pockets to the jacket to make it a little more playful and less business like. Speaking of playful I had a lot of fun with the lining and added a blue elephant fabric inside of the jacket as well as embroidering my name on the inside of the jacket as well. When I first put on the suit it fit me like a glove and I couldn’t be happier with the end result. 

To design your own custom, tailored blazer, try our online design tool, or alternatively make a video appointment or showroom appointment.