‘I can make it happen’: True North recruits veteran tailor to stitch custom Dale Hawerchuk jersey

A Winnipeg tailor created a giant jersey for the Dale Hawerchuk statue at True North Square. Joseph Bernacki has his story.

Tam Nguyen is not afraid to take on almost any alteration—big or small.

He’s taken pride in his work since he first opened Tam Custom Tailor in 1986. When True North Sports & Entertainment asked him to outfit a statue this spring, Nguyen was game.

“Sure, why not?” Nguyen said.

“I can sew. I can do it. I can make it happen.”

Nguyen quickly got to work on a jersey made for Dale Hawerchuk’s likeness looking out from True North Square.

Organizers gave him three regular-size jerseys to fashion into one large one. The next task was coordinating how to fit it once it was made. Nguyen had an idea.

“I say, ‘Hey, the zipper,’ so I’m lucky that I have a really long zipper, long enough to put on both sides,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen’s ingenuity only took a couple of days to put together, and True North said they did their best to keep the reveal a secret. It’s a collaboration that celebrates Winnipeg and the whiteout.

“It’s larger than life,” said Kory Harnum, manager of community relations for True North Sports & Entertainment.

“That’s why we brought Tam in because he’s such an expert on that and he does such a great job. Whether it’s a road or home game, we’ve been putting the jersey on the morning of. Crowds just flock to it.”

Harnum said Dale Hawerchuk’s family were big supporters of the idea right from the start.

“The first thing we wanted to do when the idea came was to reach out to his family and make sure that they were okay with us donning him in a white jersey, and they were over the moon,” Harnum said.

Winnipeg Jets fan Danylo Solar walks by the statue often. He said the custom-fitted jersey adds a touch of class to a man whose legacy was built with the Jets.

“I think it’s kind of special making something that beautiful for someone that loved the city,” Solar said.

“I know what he meant to the city; my parents (were) always talking about him and how special he was.”

Nguyen has had the opportunity to work with current and former Winnipeg Jets players when they bring in suit jackets and pants for alteration. He was all smiles when he saw his custom project unveiled for the first time this spring.

“When I see it done, and it looks great, I’m happy, I’m overjoyed. I say, ‘I did it,’” Nguyen said with exclamation.

“When I do something, I want to do it with my heart.”