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Revision as of 18:30, 11 April 2022 by LightandDark2000 (talk | contribs) (Reverted edits by 68.97.131.85 (talk) to last version by WikiCleanerBot)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Tradesperson who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally For other uses, see Tailor (disambiguation). "Tailoring" redirects here. For the clothing made by a tailor's measurements, see Bespoke tailoring. | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Tailor" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
A tailor is a tradesperson who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.
Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now properly refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers, and similar garments, commonly of wool, linen, or silk.
The term so used thus refers to a set of specific hand and machine sewing and pressing techniques that are unique to the construction of traditional jackets. Small and medium size retail tailors often provide their services internationally, with individual tailors and cutters travelling to various cities, allowing the customers to be met locally, measured on one trip, fitted on another and thereafter supplied with (a) garment(s) without the inconvenience of themselves travelling overseas. Even small tailoring businesses without an international following will sometimes travel from one city to another within their home country, and quite a number will visit customers at the customers' places of work or homes.
Traditional tailoring is called "bespoke tailoring" in the United Kingdom, where the heart of the trade is London's Savile Row tailoring, and "custom tailoring" in the United States and Hong Kong. This is unlike made to measure which starts by using pre-existing patterns within which relatively few individual style preferences can be satisfied. A true bespoke garment or suit is completely original and unique to each customer. However, the term 'bespoke' is widely used by makers of garments not within the strict original definition of the term and the legal battle to prevent what was once regarded as a misuse of the description has now been lost.
Famous fictional tailors include the tailor in The Tailor of Gloucester, The Emperor's New Clothes and The Valiant Little Tailor. A more recent example is John le Carré's The Tailor of Panama.
Types
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As the tailoring trade has evolved, so too have the methods of tailoring. There are a number of distinctive business models which modern tailors may practise. While some may practise many, there are others who will practise only one or two. Moreover, many tailoring houses, particularly in parts of Western Europe (including the UK) have distinctive individual styles for which they are well known by the better informed users of tailoring services.
Local tailoring
Local tailoring is as the name implies. Typically the tailor is met locally and the garment produced locally. This method enables the tailor to take professional measurements, assess posture and body shape to make unique details to the garment. Clients get to choose fabrics from samples, after this the tailor drafts a pattern; to which the tailor than marks it out with French/tailor's chalk. Local tailors will typically have a showroom or shopfront, although sometimes the tailor would come to the clients preferred building or hotel. Hong Kong Tailors and London are the most famous for high quality bespoke tailoring. It typically takes some two or three fittings and about 50 to 70 working hours to handmake one suit. However, in England (as in Italy and France), the best of bespoke suits may involve a wait of several weeks from first fitting to final supply, whereas the process in the Far East is often very much faster.
Made to Measure tailoring
Made to Measure tailoring involves ordering a garment from an out-of-town tailor enabling cheaper labour to be used. In practice this can now be done on a global scale via e-commerce websites. Unlike local tailoring, customers must take their own measurements, fabric selection must be made from a photo and if further alterations are required the garment must be shipped. Today, the most common platform for made to measure tailoring is via online tailors. Typically, instead of drafting a pattern from scratch, made to measure alters an existing pre made pattern to customer specifications.
Online tailors sometimes offer to pay for needed alterations at a local tailor. Another new option is the concept where a free suit mock-up is made to the provided measurements and shipped to the customer first. The suit mock-up can be tried on and worn to see where any adjustments are wanted. The final suit is then tailored to the new specifications provided by the suit mock-up fitting.
Even though Made to Measure tailoring, in the sartorial world, is considered salesmanship instead of tailoring, it still is in the category of tailor because it includes a client getting his garment tailored to his specifications.
Traveling tailor
Unlike tailors who do distance tailoring, traveling tailors provide a more personal service to their customers and give the customers an opportunity to see the fabric samples and meet the tailor in person. Traveling tailors travel between cities and station in a local luxury hotel for a short period of time to meet and provide the same tailoring services they would provide in their local store. In the hotel, the customer will be able to select the fabric from samples and the tailor will take the measurements himself. The order then will be shipped to the customer within 3–4 weeks. Unlike local tailoring, if further alterations are required the garment must be shipped. Today, most traveling tailors are from Hong Kong, traveling to the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and Japan.
Regional styles and cuts
Just as there are various methods of tailoring, there are also styles that differ regionally. This is due to different climates and cultures in the world, causing "house style" cuts of the trade.
British cut
The British cut of tailoring can be defined by various ways of inner construction. Since the United Kingdom has a cooler climate than (for example) the Mediterranean, the cut of the British is more heavy, with a more military influence. This style of canvassing has 3 layers, a wool or camel-hair canvas for the body, a horsehair chest piece for the breast area, and a flannel domette for a more masculine pronounced bulk. The shoulders of the British are more padded. The fabrics used by the British are in the range of 9-13 oz due to the colder climate. This style of cut can be credited to Henry Poole & Co, and H. Huntsman & Sons. The British are also credited in creating their ever-so-popular trademark, the Drape Cut.
Italian cut
Like the British cut, the Italian cut is defined by its inner construction. Since Italy lies in southern Europe and has a warm climate, the Italian tailors developed a cut that was light and cooler to coincide with the conditions. What they developed is called the Italian/European cut. This cut is more light, with fabrics ranging from 7-9 oz. This way of doing canvas has a range of 1-2 layers, a linen body canvas, and a light horsehair canvas. The Italian shoulder is more natural, and sometimes has a “shirt sleeve” with a roping head. The cut is also slimmer than the British, with a more casual setting. The tailors credited with these cuts are Brioni and Rubinacci.
American cut
The American cut of tailoring is a mix of the Italian and the British ways. The American cut is more baggy and full, with a natural shoulder that is lightly padded. American tailoring usually involves doing light canvas, where only the canvas and the flannel domette are used. The most well-known cut developed by the Americans is the Ivy League cut. The tailors credited with this cut remain anonymous.
See also
References
- Bridgland, A.S. (2013) . The Modern Tailor Outfitter and Clothier Vol 1. UK: Read Books Ltd. p. 3.
The Oxford English Dictionary states that the word 'tailor' first came into usage around the 1290s, and undoubtedly by this point, tailoring guilds, as well as those of cloth merchants and weavers were well established across Europe.
- "British vs Italian vs American - Suit Fashions & Silhouettes". Gentleman's Gazette. 2019.
- Deckert, Barbara: Sewing for Plus Sizes: Design, Fit and Construction for Ample Apparel, Taunton, 1999, Appendix B: How to Find, Select, and Work With a Custom Clothier, pp. 142–143.'Meru'(Merollu_plural)(Telugu language of Telangana in A.P.)
External links
- The Custom Tailors and Designers Association of America (CTDA)
- The Professional Association of Custom Clothiers (PACC)
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