Pictures of the week: What Ali Wore by Zoe Spawton

Every morning, just after 9am, a dapper Turkish man called Ali walks past the cafe in Berlin where Zoe Spawton works as a waitress.→
Photograph: Zoe Spawton

Ali – Spawton doesn’t know his surname – is, at 83, quite the sartorialist. Fond of solid blocks of colour, he is often seen in camouflage, or denim jeans, jacket and cap, or a smart, three-piece suit with a matching tie and hat.→
Photograph: Zoe Spawton

He teams pinstripe suits with a trilby or, on dressed-down days, wears NYPD-style black jackets or army-green parkas. He carries an elegant duffel bag or a neat brown pack – the Carrie Bradshaw of Neukölln.→
Photograph: Zoe Spawton

Spawton spotted Ali and, after a while, muddling along through her poor German and his poor English, explained that she would like to photograph him. During their shoots, she discovered that he works six days a week as a tailor, has 18 children living in Turkey, and has lived in Berlin for 44 years.→
Photograph: Zoe Spawton

His poses include an off-kilter stoop that, some days, is more pronounced than others, and a fixed, soft stare, occasionally with a hint of a smile.→
Photograph: Zoe Spawton

What drew Spawton to Ali? 'His attention to detail, and the way he puts his outfits together,' she says. 'His dress told me about his pride and confidence.'→
Photograph: Zoe Spawton

Spawton has nearly 40 photographs of Ali on her blog, alioutfit.tumblr.com, and now takes her camera to work every day in the hope that he will walk past wearing something particularly spectacular. She has tried to explain that he has become an online sensation in his adopted city, but she thinks the concept of Twitter is beyond him.→
Photograph: Zoe Spawton

Meanwhile, their friendship grows: after returning to Berlin from a two-month trip to Turkey in February, Ali gave Spawton a bracelet and a bag of hazelnuts. And last month he invited her to a wedding, with her mother.→
Photograph: Zoe Spawton

He wore a crimson suit with matching overcoat, shoes, tie, baseball cap and worry beads – and probably upstaged the bride.
Photograph: Zoe Spawton