illiland's New Tailor

aron Von Lodge was the head of a small country known as Lilliland near Switzerland. The time was the early 1900s.

Everything was going very well in Lilliland and the vacationers and tourists were enjoying themselves. The Baron was often told that the visitors enjoyed themselves so much that they would extend their vacations for a few extra days and book arrangements for the following year before they left Lilliland.

The Baron often wandered around pretending he was a visitor for the first time. "What can we do to make sure that visitors enjoy themselves in Lilliland?" he would ask himself. As he walked around the castle he noted that the castle guards were very typical. They stood at attention with their uniforms cleaned and brass buttons polished. Their uniforms looked very formal and the guards were not allowed to look at the tourists. A tourist could stand next to a guard for a short time for picture taking but that was all. The members of the elite group of castle guards behaved like an old army with all the soldiers decorated like generals, the Baron thought. This was not really what he wanted.

The Baron called in his chief advisor Professor Hamblin to review his current thoughts about the use of the castle guards. The Baron said to the Professor, "If Lilliland is a neutral country and has no military army or navy, then why do we have guards that look like they do, in old fashioned uniforms?" The Baron wanted the guards to be able to speak with visitors and show them the way if they became lost and needed assistance. The Baron consulted with a few tailors about new uniforms, something that looked less formidable and more friendly and helpful, and not like a military unit.

The tailor who was selected was a new resident from France and he came up with the idea of a navy blue blazer with the Lilliland Coat of Arms on the pocket, a light blue shirt, striped tie, and gray slacks with black shoes. The Baron liked the drawings of the new uniforms and the tailor was instructed to proceed. After the tailor had made some of the new clothing, the Baron tested the idea out. He had half the guards dress in the old uniforms and the other half dress in the new blue blazers and gray slacks. They were stationed around the castle. A count was taken of how many visitors would approach the guards in the blazers who were not standing at attention, and how many would approach the old guard standing at attention next to the entrance.

The new uniforms ended up with the larger count and they were adopted for everyday wear, and the old uniforms were put aside for parades and official banquets and receptions. The Baron wanted Lilliland to be a friendly place to visit.