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A tailor is a person whose occupation is to sew and scissor menswear style jackets and the skirts or trousers that go with them.

Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits
Suit (clothing)

The man's suit of clothes is a set of garments which are crafted from the same cloth. The word suit derives from the French language suite, meaning "following", because the trousers and waistcoat follow the jacket's cloth and colour....
, coat
Coat (clothing)

A coat is a long clothing worn by both men and women, for warmth, protection or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and open down the front, closing by means of buttons, zippers, Velcro, toggles, a belt , or a combination of these....
s, trousers
Trousers

Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately . Such items of clothing are often referred to as pants in countries such as Canada, South Africa and The United States....
, and similar garments, usually of wool
Wool

Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells, called follicles, of animals in the Caprinae family, principally domestic sheep, but the hair of certain species of other Mammalia such as cashmere goat, llamas, rabbits and keeshonds may also be called wool....
, linen
Linen

Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
, or silk
Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from Pupa#Cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity ....
.

The term refers to a set of specific hand and machine sewing and pressing techniques that are unique to the construction of traditional jackets.






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A tailor is a person whose occupation is to sew and scissor menswear style jackets and the skirts or trousers that go with them.

Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits
Suit (clothing)

The man's suit of clothes is a set of garments which are crafted from the same cloth. The word suit derives from the French language suite, meaning "following", because the trousers and waistcoat follow the jacket's cloth and colour....
, coat
Coat (clothing)

A coat is a long clothing worn by both men and women, for warmth, protection or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and open down the front, closing by means of buttons, zippers, Velcro, toggles, a belt , or a combination of these....
s, trousers
Trousers

Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately . Such items of clothing are often referred to as pants in countries such as Canada, South Africa and The United States....
, and similar garments, usually of wool
Wool

Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells, called follicles, of animals in the Caprinae family, principally domestic sheep, but the hair of certain species of other Mammalia such as cashmere goat, llamas, rabbits and keeshonds may also be called wool....
, linen
Linen

Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
, or silk
Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from Pupa#Cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity ....
.

The term refers to a set of specific hand and machine sewing and pressing techniques that are unique to the construction of traditional jackets. Retailers of tailored suits often take their services internationally, travelling to various cities, allowing the client to be measured locally.

Traditional tailoring is called bespoke
Bespoke

Bespoke is employed in a variety of applications to mean an item custom-made to the buyer's specification. While applied to many items now, from computer software to luxury car appointments, the term historically was only applied to tailored clothing, shirts and other parts of men's apparel involving measurement and fitting....
 tailoring in the United Kingdom, where the heart of the trade
Trade

Tradeis the willing exchange of goods, Service , or both. Trade is also called commerce. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter , the direct exchange of goods and services....
 is in London's Savile Row
Savile Row

Savile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers....
, and custom tailoring in the United States and Hong Kong
Hong Kong

Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located in Southern China in East Asia, bordering the province of Guangdong to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south....
. This is unlike made to measure
Made to measure

Made to measure typically refers to clothing that is sewn from a standard-sized base pattern. A tailored suit is a common example of a made-to-measure garment....
 which uses pre existing patterns. A bespoke garment or suit is completely original and unique to each customer.

Famous fictional tailors include the tailor in The Emperor's New Clothes
The Emperor's New Clothes

"The Emperor's New Clothes" is a fairy tale by Denmark poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about an emperor who unwittingly hires two swindlers to create a new suit of clothes for him....
  and Brave Little Tailor
Brave Little Tailor

Brave Little Tailor is a one-reel animated cartoon short subject in the Mickey Mouse series, produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions, and released to theatres on September 29, 1938 by RKO Radio Pictures....
. A more recent title is John le Carré
John le Carré

John le Carr? is an English author of spy fiction, several of which have been adapted for film and television. He worked for MI5 and MI6 in the 1950s and 1960s, before leaving the secret service to devote himself to writing after the success of The Spy Who Came In from the Cold....
's The Tailor of Panama
The Tailor of Panama

The Tailor of Panama is a 2001 in film spy film made by Merlin Productions and Columbia Pictures. It was produced and directed by John Boorman from a screenplay by Boorman, Andrew Davies and John le Carr? based on the 1996 Le Carr? novel, itself inspired by Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana....
.

Related terms


  • A tailor-made is a woman's suit consisting of a (usually) woolen
    Woolen

    Woollen is the name of a yarn and cloth usually made from wool. Woollen yarn is known for being light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn....
     or tweed
    Tweed (cloth)

    Tweed is a rough, unfinished woolen textile, of a soft, open, flexible texture resembling Cheviot_ or Spinning #Hand spinning, but more closely weaving....
     coat
    Coat (clothing)

    A coat is a long clothing worn by both men and women, for warmth, protection or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and open down the front, closing by means of buttons, zippers, Velcro, toggles, a belt , or a combination of these....
     and shirt
    Shirt

    A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body. Originally an item of Undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become in American English a catch-all term for almost any upper-body garment other than outerwear such as sweaters or Coat , or undergarments such as brassiere ....
    ; the name arose during the Edwardian period
    Edwardian period

    The Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period covering the reign of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, 1901 to 1910....
    .
  • As an adjective, tailor-made (from the second half of the twentieth century usually simplified to tailored) refers to clothing
    Clothing

    A feature of all human societies, except perhaps the most primitive, is the wearing of clothing or clothes, especially in public. The primary purpose of clothing is functional, as a protection from the weather....
     made by or in the style of clothes made by a tailor, characterized by simplicity of cut
    Cut (clothing)

    File:Zackenschere.jpgCut in clothing, sewing and tailoring, is the style or shape of a garment as opposed to its Textile or trim .The cut of a coat refers to the way the garment hangs on the body based on the shape of the fabric pieces used to construct it, the position of the fabric's grain line, and so on....
     and trim
    Trim (sewing)

    Trim or trimming in clothing and home decorating is applied ornament, such as Gimp , tassel#passementerie, ribbon, ruffles, or, as a verb, to apply such ornament....
     and fine (often hand-) ; as a women's clothing style tailored as opposed to dressmaker
    Dressmaker

    A dressmaker is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and gowns. Also called a mantua-maker or a modiste....
    .
  • Rodeo tailor is a term for a creator of the flamboyant costumes typical of country and western
    Country music

    Country music is a blend of popular American music forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. It has roots in Traditional music, Celtic music, gospel music, and old-time music and evolved rapidly in the 1920s....
     musicians, characterized by extensive hand embroidery
    Embroidery

    File:Kazakh rug chain stitch embroidery.jpgEmbroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating Textile or other materials with sewing needle and yarn....
    , an abundance of rhinestone
    Rhinestone

    A rhinestone or paste or diamante is a diamond simulant made from rock crystal, glass or Polymethyl methacrylate.Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river Rhine....
    s, and 'cowboy
    Cowboy

    A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks....
    ' details such as pearl
    Pearl

    A pearl is a hard, roundish object produced within the soft tissue of a living animal shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of mollusks, a pearl is made up of of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers....
     snaps
    Snap fastener

    A snap fastener is a pair of interlocking discs commonly used in place of buttons to fasten clothing. A circular lip under one disc fits into a groove on the top of the other, holding them fast until a certain amount of force is applied....
     and arrowhead pockets
    Western wear

    Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th-century American Old West....
    .
  • In some documents, "tailor" means "adjust", "tailoring" - "adjustment."


Sewing Professional is the most general term for those who make their living by sewing, teaching, writing about sewing, or retailing sewing supplies. They may work out of their home, a studio, or retail shop, and may work part-time or full-time. They may be any or all or the following sub-specialties:
  • A Custom Clothier makes custom garments one at a time, to order, to meet an individual customer's needs and preferences.
  • A Custom Dressmaker specializes in women's custom apparel, including day dresses, careerwear, suits, evening or bridal wear, sportswear, or lingerie.
  • A Tailor makes custom menswear-style jackets and the trousers or skirts that go with them, for men or women.
  • An Alteration
    Alteration

    In music alteration, an example of chromaticism, is the use of a neighboring pitch in the chromatic scale in place of its diatonic neighbor such as in an altered chord....
    s Specialist, or Alterationist     adjusts the fit of completed garments, usually ready-to-wear, or restyles them. Note that while all tailors can do alterations, by no means can all alterationists do tailoring. (Some alterationists call themselves "custom tailors": those who order suits from them are typically surprised by the product of their work.)
  • Designer
    Designer

    A designer is a person who designs something. Perhaps the broadest definition is that provided by psychologist Herbert Simon: 'Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones.' ...
    s     think up combinations of line, proportion, color, and texture for intended garments. They may or may not have sewing or patternmaking skills, and may only sketch or conceptualize garments. They need to work with people who know how to actually construct the garment, or else the sketch will remain a sketch.
  • Patternmaker
    Pattern

    A pattern, from the French language patron, is a type of theme of recurring events of or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set....
    s     flat draft the shapes and sizes of the numerous pieces of a garment by hand using paper and measuring tools or by computer using AutoCAD based software, or by draping muslin on a dressform. The resulting pattern pieces must comprise the intended design of the garment and they must fit the intended wearer.
  • A Wardrobe Consultant, Fashion Advisor, or stylist recommends styles and colors that are flattering for a client. They are often employed by actresses and others who wear haute couture
    Haute couture

    Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finish, often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques....
     clothes.
  • A Seamstress is someone who sews seams, or in other words, a machine operator in a factory who may not have the skills to make garments from scratch or to fit them on a real body. This term is not a synonym for dressmaker. Seamstress is an old euphemism for prostitute.


"Tailor" as a surname

]] The profession's denomination, "Tailor", is a common surname in many languages: Taylor
Taylor (surname)

Taylor is a Middle English occupational surname of Old French origin, derived from the Norman French word taileur . First historical evidence of the surname dates to County of Somerset in 1182....
 (English), Schneider (German), Szabó (Hungarian), Sastre (Spanish), Krawiec (Kravitz) (Polish), Portnoy (Russian), Krejcí (Czech), Darji (Hindi
Hindi

Standard Hindi, also known as High Hindi, Nagari Hindi or Literary Hindi is a Standard language register of Hindi. It is one of the 22 official languages of India, and is used, along with English language, for administration of the central government....
/Urdu
Urdu

Urdu is a Central_Indo-Aryan_languages#Central_Zone_.28Madhya_or_Hindi.29 Indo-Aryan languages of the Indo-Iranian languages, belonging to the Indo-European languages family of languages....
), Kleermaker(s) (Dutch).

In the movie Meeting Venus (written and directed by István Szabó
István Szabó

Istv?n Szab? is both the best-known and one of the most critically acclaimed Hungarian film directors of the 20th and 21st centuries....
), many of the characters are surnamed "tailor" in different languages.

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