InfoSearched
A 25-year-old tailor from Hove hasn’t worn a pair of jeans since he was 14 — because he burned them.
Zack MacLeod Pinsent doesn’t own a single item of modern clothing. Every morning he steps out in a high-waisted floral waistcoat, a long-tailed riding jacket, breeches or pantaloons, knee-high leather riding boots and a top hat — the full wardrobe of a British Regency gentleman, recreated stitch by stitch using techniques that are roughly 200 years old. BBC News caught up with the self-taught tailor in Brighton and Hove to find out why he abandoned the 21st century entirely.
- Pinsent burned his last pair of jeans in a bonfire at age 14, a symbolic break he’s never reversed.
- He taught himself historical tailoring and now runs Pinsent Tailoring, taking up to a year to complete some bespoke outfits.
- His school leavers’ book voted him “best dressed” after he wore historical clothing full-time through sixth form.
From a Box of Great-Grandfather’s Suits to a Bonfire
The obsession didn’t start with a fashion show or a costume drama — it started with a house move. In his early teens, Pinsent’s family relocated and he stumbled across an old box containing his great-grandfather’s suits. He tried them on, found they fit, and started wearing them. Within a year he’d made his decision permanent: he lit a bonfire and threw in his only pair of jeans, the last piece of modern clothing he owned.
There was no going back after that. By the time he reached sixth form, historical dress wasn’t a costume he put on for effect — it was simply what he wore to school, every day, without exception. His classmates noticed. When his leavers’ book came around, they voted him “best dressed,” which is a fairly remarkable outcome for a teenager who’d shown up for years in breeches and a cravat.
Building a Craft from Scratch
Pinsent never trained at a fashion college or apprenticed under a Savile Row cutter. He taught himself, researching period silhouettes, drafting his own patterns and hand-sewing garments using the same tailoring methods gentlemen’s outfitters relied on roughly two centuries ago. Working under the name Pinsent Tailoring, he sources historically authentic textiles rather than modern synthetic fabrics, and some commissions — a full Regency ensemble with all its layers — can take him up to a year to finish.
That patience has paid off in an unlikely way: a global clientele. People from outside the UK now commission Pinsent for bespoke historical garments, drawn by the same authenticity that got him voted best-dressed at school. It’s a business model built entirely on the opposite of fast fashion — slow, hand-cut, one customer at a time.
Wearing period attire is a “huge confidence builder” that makes him feel “10ft high,” Pinsent told the BBC.
Reasons for His Consistent Attire
Pinsent’s argument isn’t just aesthetic nostalgia. He points out that contemporary menswear has flattened into a narrow palette of grey, navy and black, while Regency and Georgian tailoring gave men license to wear floral waistcoats, bold color and elaborate cutwork without a second thought. To him, modern men’s fashion is missing exuberance — and dressing the way he does is a direct rebellion against that dullness, not a costume for a themed weekend.
He treats his everyday wardrobe as living social history rather than performance: the same techniques, the same fabrics, the same silhouettes that would have been worn on the streets of Brighton between the 1660s and the 1920s, just applied to a 21st-century commute. For readers who enjoy tracking how personal style choices ripple outward, it sits alongside other unconventional identity stories InfoSearched has covered, including this profile of a Chinese cowboy with a southern accent and the story of the homeless boy who invented Louis Vuitton.
What makes Pinsent’s case different from a re-enactor’s is the everyday commitment: no jeans in the closet as a backup, no modern suit for job interviews, no exceptions. It’s the boots and top hat on a Tuesday, a fitting with an overseas client on a Wednesday, and another few months of hand-stitching on whatever’s next on the order book.
17 Year Old Builds Tiny House For Only £6,000!
Top 10 Most Insane Waterslides
Deep inside El Chapo’s secret tunnels
Is your campfire trying to kill you? Exploding Rocks & Concrete
The Man Who Cheated Vegas Casinos For Years And Stole Millions