How Utilizing A Professional Tailor Will Change Your Outfits Forever

Clothes have been around since, well, basically since humans have been around. While there has never been a universally agreed-upon timeline, the majority of historians and scientists generally say that humans have been wearing clothing for 100,000 years or longer.

Speculation as to why we began covering ourselves dates back to the migration of Homo Sapien. When humans began to move throughout the land, they left Southern Africa and ventured into Northern Africa and the rest of the world. Staying warm and protecting oneself from the elements immediately became a much more necessary task.

It is safe to assume that in those extremely early years of our species, there were no clothing stores, no tailors, and certainly no online shopping. Humans would have to make their own coverings and have to make them secure on their bodies. The earliest humans just may have been the earliest tailors.

Tailoring As a Profession Is Almost 1,000 Years Old

Later, many societies that had cloth and fabrics would wear long, flowing garments that were not necessarily fitted to their particular bodies. Soon enough, however, things would begin to change.

The first known instances of what we would consider a modern-day tailor date back to around the year 1100. Medieval tailors would make undergarments for soldiers to wear under their chainmail armor.

Around the 14th century, clothing started to become more form-fitting as merchants and workers would collaborate and create articles of clothing by hand.

By the 19th century, the industrial revolution had been raging for decades and the sewing machine was invented. The industrial revolution changed a lot, with the clothing industry being no exception. Clothes are now being mass-produced, which actually causes a greater need for tailors if you want your clothes to fit your body nicely.

A Tailor Will Make You Look And Feel Great

Everyone has a different body shape. Our own bodies change shape over time as well, maybe you have lost some weight or gained some muscle. Things might not fit as well as they once did, or not at all. The fact that modern clothing has been reduced down to "small", "medium" and "large" certainly isn't helping either.

Most people have an entire wardrobe of clothing. Casual, professional, and fancy clothes with everything in between. What percentage of clothing items do you have that truly feel like they fit your body perfectly? Most of us have those one or two pairs of pants that fit better than the rest. With a little extra time and investment, the entirety of your wardrobe can have that perfect fit feeling.

Being dressed nicely and in clothing that fits well actually makes you feel better as well. You may have heard a phrase like "Look good, feel good." Believe it or not, there is some actual science behind that phrase.

There was an actual study done with formal clothing that showed an increase in cognitive functions. Participants felt increased levels of connection to their actions and higher levels of global processing advantage. In other words, they looked at situations as a whole and it changed how objects, people, and events were construed. The participants felt more powerful.

Another study showed some more psychological evidence. One group of participants were given a white lab coat and told it was a doctor's coat, while the other group was told the same white lab coat belonged to an artist. The group that got the "doctors coat" focused harder and longer during the test compared to the other group.

Simply what you wear has a spillover effect on the rest of your behavior. Looking good will help you feel and perform well. It does not always have to be formal clothing either. If you feel important and believe that you look great, it will show in your overall performance too!

A Tailor Will Help You Be Thrifty

Utilizing a tailor will almost certainly save you money in the long run. Whether you are getting a suit or trying to bring in that favorite pair of pants that is looser since you've lost weight, a tailor is actually often the cheaper option.

Average pricing for tailor services are as follows:

• Hemming Pants, Skirts, or Dresses: $10 to $25
• Shortening Sleeves: $15 to $40
• Adjusting a Waistband: $15 to $25
• Taking In a Dress Shirt: $15 to $30
• Taking In a Jacket or Vest: $20 to $50
• Taking In a Sheath Dress: $30 to $50
• Shortening a Suit Jacket: $30 to $40
• Replacing a Zipper: $20

The range of pricing is reflective of the type of garment. Pants or skirts with linings cost more to hem. Sleeves of jackets will cost more than a dress shirt to shorten, etc. While these services are not necessarily cheap, they will still be more cost-effective than buying another article of clothing brand new. You'll also be able to keep that shirt or pair of pants you've loved for years.

For those who are thrifty in general, something like a suit from a thrift store can be extremely cheap. You can find expensive brands at a much lower price, then simply have them tailored to fit you perfectly and still have spent much less money than buying it off the rack.

An amazing example of this actually came up on Reddit recently. A user posted that they found and purchased Vince McMahon's jacket at a thrift store for $45. The jacket was from Couture, designed by Ermenegildo Zegna. The jacket most likely was originally purchased for anywhere between $2,000 and $4,000 but possibly as much as $8,000.

Vince is famous for being the face of the WWE, as well as being notoriously big and muscular. The Reddit user mentioned that they would need to get quite a bit larger in order to fit into the suit. Many users followed along and joked that maybe he should take some steroids to help fit in the jacket. It was shocking to see the lack of suggestion to simply get the jacket tailored, instead.

Even at a $45 original purchase price, let's say the Redditor took it to his local tailor and had to get literally everything about the jacket altered to make it fit.

Taking in the jacket - $50

Adjusting the shoulders - $50

Shortening the jacket - $40

Shortening the sleeves - $40

The final cost of the jacket after alterations and initial cost would amount to $225. That is using absolutely everything needing alterations and also at the highest end of the cost to get it altered.

Even then, it would be nearly 90% cheaper than the original retail price of the jacket. If you are able to find a jacket or garment that only needs one alteration, you may save even more!

Tailors Help Reduce Environmental Impact

A somewhat surprising statistic, the fashion industry is the 2nd most polluting industry in the world. The use of a petroleum product in polyester as the main fabric in the 'fast fashion' world is the main contributor. Beyond that, there is so much waste in the production process, but also after purchase as well.

Consumers are simply moving on from their clothing faster than ever. There may not be one universal answer for why it's happening. That being said, consumers can benefit from that if they choose to be thrifty and are okay putting in a little extra effort.

You may actually purchase from a second-hand store, or get alterations on garments you already have, rather than throw them away. Regardless, the end result is a satisfied, good-looking customer and a lesser impact on the environment when you are not buying new.

Even if you walked into a store to purchase a suit off the rack, brand new, they still get tailored afterward. We have all grabbed 3 pairs of jeans from different manufacturers or a couple of slightly different sizes. Every shopper has been in the position where they aren't entirely satisfied with one of the pairs, however, end up choosing between the lesser of two evils and purchasing one.

Using the services of a tailor can eliminate that fear. It is entirely realistic to look in your own closet or at the thrift store to completely revamp your wardrobe. Using what you have, or avoiding buying new and then getting it tailored to fit you perfectly is as good as getting a new garment. Arguably even better!

Having a relationship with a tailor has enough upside that everyone should at least check it out. Once they have your measurements in the system, it becomes much easier to get garments adjusted. You will be supporting an old and localized profession. It helps reduce the impact on the environment from one of the worst offenders in pollution. It saves you money, potentially a lot of money in the long run. Look into your local tailor and go get measured, at least!