National Tailors Day

What the day is

National Tailors Day is observed on June 7. It recognizes tailors and the alteration trade, which is where most people actually encounter the craft: taking up a hem, moving a button, reshaping a jacket that nearly fits.

Origin and background

The origin of the observance is not documented.

The trade's economics have been inverted twice. Before the nineteenth century almost all clothing was made to measure, because there was no alternative, and a tailor was an ordinary neighborhood tradesman. Industrial ready-to-wear then made clothing cheap and standardized, and bespoke tailoring became a luxury rather than a default.

Standard sizing is the compromise that made that possible, and it is a compromise. Sizes are derived from population averages, so a garment fits the notional average body and approximates everyone else. That is why the same nominal size varies between brands and why almost nothing off the rack fits a real person exactly.

Alteration is the cheap fix that most people never use. Having a jacket's sleeves shortened or trousers tapered typically costs a fraction of the garment and changes how it looks more than buying a more expensive one would. The skills involved are genuine: cutting, interfacing, canvas work and pressing are trained crafts, and pressing in particular does as much shaping as stitching does.

The trade faces the usual squeeze. Fast fashion has made clothes cheap enough that repair looks uneconomic, while the number of trained tailors declines as the workforce ages.

How to take part

• Take one thing you own but do not wear to an alteration shop. It is usually a fit problem rather than a taste problem.
• Get one jacket properly fitted. Shoulders cannot be altered easily, so buy for the shoulders and alter everything else.
• Repair rather than replace. Reweaving, patching and relining all cost less than the garment did.
• Learn to sew a button and a hem. Both take half an hour to learn and save years of discarded clothing.
• Use a local tailor rather than a chain if you have one. This is a trade kept alive by regulars.