The ranks of tailors, dressmakers and custom sewers are shrinking in the U.S. even as their skills and services are finding fresh demand. Fashion industry experts say younger shoppers are enlisting tailors and seamstresses to give off-the-rack purchases a custom fit, to revive secondhand finds or to extend the lives of their wardrobes.
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Here's who is most at risk and symptoms to watch forRaw dairy farm recalls some cheese products as FDA investigates E. coli outbreakCallers to Washington state hotline press 2 for Spanish and get accented AI English insteadHere’s what dermatologists are saying about your skin care routine: Keep it simpleWomen take pride in Holy Week roles after a Spanish Catholic brotherhood's procession excluded themAviones militares de EEUU derribados en Irán, los primeros abatidos por enemigos en más de 20 años What to know about the moon flybyChesney the kangaroo scales tall fence and flees petting zoo for three days on the lamWorries about flying seem to be taking off. Here's how to cope with in-flight anxietyAt Middle Creek, timing and distance shape a photo of migrating geese Inspired by Picasso, an AP photographer visualizes a blind person ‘seeing’ artHow we came to be: Scientists get first look at the evolution of early complex animalsWorries about flying seem to be taking off. Here's how to cope with in-flight anxietyColorectal cancer is rising in younger adults. Here's who is most at risk and symptoms to watch forRaw dairy farm recalls some cheese products as FDA investigates E. coli outbreakCallers to Washington state hotline press 2 for Spanish and get accented AI English insteadHere’s what dermatologists are saying about your skin care routine: Keep it simpleWomen take pride in Holy Week roles after a Spanish Catholic brotherhood's procession excluded themAviones militares de EEUU derribados en Irán, los primeros abatidos por enemigos en más de 20 añosTailor, Kil Bae, poses for a photo inside his shop on Friday, March 27, 2026, in New York. Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, works on a denim alteration at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, measures a denim alteration at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, works on an embroidered shirt at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. Tailor, Kil Bae, poses for a photo inside his shop on Friday, March 27, 2026, in New York. Tailor, Kil Bae, poses for a photo inside his shop on Friday, March 27, 2026, in New York. Add AP News on GoogleTailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, works on a denim alteration at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, works on a denim alteration at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, measures a denim alteration at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, measures a denim alteration at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, works on an embroidered shirt at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, works on an embroidered shirt at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. tailor shopfor his reversible bomber style that’s plaid on one side and red on the other. He’s willing to spend $280 to have it slimmed down. Alteration requests with such a price disparity would have seemed odd a few years ago, the tailor says, but are helping to keep the bobbins bobbing at his one-man shop, 85 Custom Tailor. Bae carefully examines the cotton jacket before moving in to pin it, circling the customer like a sculptor with a chisel. He started training as a tailor at age 17, in his native South Korea. Now 63, he’s part of a shrinking breed in the U.S., where professional sewers, dressmakers and tailors areShoppers who grew up on disposable fast fashion are enlisting tailors and seamstresses to give off-the-rack purchases a custom fit orWeight-loss drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy mean more Americans are seeking adjusted waistbands, tapered sleeves and other types of resizing, Bae said. “I recommend this job to young people because this one cannot be AI’d,” Bae said, noting artificial intelligence is automating pattern making but so far can’t replicate a tailor’s handiwork. “Different bodies. Different shape. They cannot copy like this. If I close this door, I can go out and find another one.”the professionalsThe U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated almost two years ago there were fewer than 17,000 tailors, custom sewers and dressmakers working in business establishments nationwide, a 30% decline from a decade earlier. Including self-employed individuals and people working in private households, the median age for all sewers, dressmakers and tailors was 54 last year, 12 years older than the median for the entire employed population, according to the bureau. The income that a proficiency with needle and thread commands relative to the skills needed and the physical toll of bending over detailed work for hours likely discourages teenagers and young adults from heeding Bae’s advice, fashion industry experts said. The mean annual wage tailors, dressmakers and custom sewers earned as of May 2024 was $44,050 a year, compared to $68,000 for all workers, according to BLS calculations. “Most of fashion training is really aimed at mass production, not spending time in a shop handmaking a garment,” said Scott Carnz, the provost of LIM College, a for-profit college that offers degrees in disciplines from the business side of fashion. “The work is also tedious.” Online job postings for tailors, dressmakers and sewers have remained fairly stable, according to Cory Stahle, an economist with the research arm of jobs site Indeed. Between February 2020 and the end of the same month this year, advertised openings decreased by roughly 2%, while postings for both marketing and software jobs declined by nearly 30%, he said. “There is a kind of a craftsmanship ... that I think is an important piece that we can’t ignore,” Stahle, who focuses on the U.S. labor market, said.have powered An analysis of recent census data by the Migration Policy Institute found about 40% of tailors, dressmakers and sewers were foreign-born, according to Julia Gelatt, associate director of the nonpartisan think tank’s U.S. Immigration Policy Program. The biggest shares cameFashion Institute of Technology “Customarily, tailoring has never been part of the American skill set,” said FIT instructor and Broadway costume builder Michael Harrell, who teaches the course.received certificates of completion in February, The hands-on training was designed to prepare participants to work at Nordstrom. The luxury department store chain employs 1,500 people to provide tailoring and alternations, from hemming jeans and repairing rips to fitting suits and reworking evening gowns. Ten members of the first class were hired or are in the process of being hired, Marco Esquivel, Nordstrom’s director of alterations, said. “We owe it to the broader industry to ensure that this is an art form that exists for years and years to come and continues to serve customers both within our walls as well as outside,” Esquivel said.Brooks Brothers, a luxury brand that has made custom men’s clothes since the 1800s, tested a similar service for women at five stores last year. This year, it expanded bespoke women’s tailoring to 40 more stores. Prices start at $165 for shirts and $1,398 for suits, the company said.Back at 85 Custom Tailor, Bae asked more than once if the customer with the Tommy Hilfiger jacket was certain he wanted to proceed with the alterations. Jonathan Reiss, 33, was sure. He said he planned “I think I fell victim to buying cheap stuff, and then you realize it just falls apart or shrinks or it just doesn’t last long,” Reiss said. Bae has a son who’s a year older than Reiss. He tried to persuade him to go into tailoring. The son used to work with computers and then opened a bagel shop. “Young people. They just want to find a job in computers,” Bae said. “I think that’s too boring. I think this is very interesting. Every time, I am drawing in my head. I am like an artist.” Bae trained under his older sister and brother at their custom apparel shop about 93 miles from Seoul. After five years, he moved to South Korea’s capital to work on custom orders and samples for various companies. He moved to the New York City area, where he worked as a pattern maker for Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan and other designer brands. He opened his own shop in Connecticut in 2011, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to close after a decade. He reopened in his current location a year later. He uses three different sewing machines: a basic one, another for for heavy materials like denim and leather, and an overlock machine, which cuts, trims, and finishes fabric edges simultaneously.Crude oil prices jump in early trading after Trump threats
Inc. Fashion Apparel And Accessories Manufacturing New York Retail And Wholesale Labor General News Finance Business Domestic News New York City Education Jonathan Reiss Michael Harrell U.S. News Tommy Hilfiger Lifestyle Ralph Lauren South Korea Donna Karan Julia Gelatt Business Scott Carnz Cory Stahle Ralph Lauren Corp. Marco Esquivel Jacqueline Jenkins U.S. News
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