US EditionTailors age out of the workforce even as demand for their skills grows
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says fewer than 17,000 tailors, custom sewers and dressmakers work in U.S. businesses as demand for alterations rises.
- In a Manhattan shop, tailor Kil Bae hemmed a vintage Tommy Hilfiger jacket for a customer, exemplifying a shrinking trade as professionals age out while demand for alterations rises.
- Bureau and Labor Statistics data shows the median age for all sewers, dressmakers, and tailors was 54 last year, 12 years older than the entire employed population, as the trade struggles to attract entry-level replacements.
- Weight-Loss drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy are driving demand for resizing, while shoppers enlisting tailors seek custom fits for off-the-rack purchases or to revive secondhand finds.
- Bae encourages young people to enter the trade, stating "I recommend this job to young people because this one cannot be AI'd," noting artificial intelligence cannot replicate handiwork.
- Labor Statistics estimated almost two years ago that fewer than 17,000 tailors worked nationwide, a 30% decline from a decade earlier, as the physical toll and limited income discourage new entrants.
30 Articles
30 Articles
The Need for Tailors Grows as Their Numbers Shrink
Hunched over a sewing machine, Kil Bae is hemming a dress inside his Manhattan tailor shop when a new customer stops by with a vintage Tommy Hilfiger jacket he wants taken in. The modeling agent paid $20 at a thrift store for his reversible bomber style that's plaid on one...
The Daily Progress
Tailors age out of the workforce even as demand for their skills grows
Shoppers are enlisting tailors and seamstresses to give off-the-rack purchases a custom fit or personal flair, to revive secondhand finds or to extend the lives of their wardrobes.
The demand for clothing alterations and repairs is growing in the United States as consumers seek better-fitting clothes, repurpose secondhand finds and extend the life of their wardrobes. But the industry faces an aging workforce and a shortage of young people to take up the trade.
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