Warren Street Summary

After Nan, a seamstress with the talent to be a designer, has a fight with cheerful Shirley, a steady customer for two years, she feels fed up with people not wearing deodorant and nitpicking her work. Nan is busy when the obese woman first visits her shop but feels sorry for her having to wear the things that she does and makes her a beautiful, bright wardrobe. Nan appreciates that, unlike most of her customers, Shirley does not complain about her life. Nan allocates eight customers a day for one hour each and spends most of the time sewing. This keeps her work manageable and gives her time for her long-time lover, Colin.

When Colin jokes cruelly about Shirley's size, Nan reprimands him, saying that she feels protective of the sweet woman. Months later, as Nan is working on a wedding...