On-site tailoring (or, how nothing fits anybody)

I was here on a photoshoot for five days early in December. For the first time, I wasn’t the only On-site Tailor. It’s work I could do with one hand tied behind my back, and I love it. I have so many decisions to make (minute by minute, and hour by hour) in my regular job that it’s a relief to be able to do something that doesn’t require a lot of engineering, reverse engineering, or other mental gymnastics.

This type of work uses my natural ability to quickly see the components of garments (what goes into making specific 3-D shapes), where those components need adjustment, marking what needs to change and executing it impeccably.

It suits my personality as a problem-solver and a team player, attributes I don’t always get to enjoy during my regular work days. It suits my ADHD in that all the work is done on the spot, and I can get into a rhythm without distraction. I can be wholly focused on this for many days, and then it’s done! All done. Then I can move on to the next thing!

Before deciding what to pack, I had a look at the garments that are going in the catalog and have chosen some thread that I hope will match; needles appropriate to the textiles used, thread snips, extension cord, a little fabric bucket to keep my work area tidy and recycle threads and fabric scraps, as well as marking tools, safety pins, a notebook, my sleeve board, and trusty mini-iron.

Companies use on-site tailors for their photoshoots because samples are generally only made in a couple of sizes at the beginning of a production run. They don’t know who will be their model ahead of time, So they couldn’t possibly know whether to make an extra small or an extra extra large. Even though some of the sizes may be appropriate to most customers, they’re not always the average size of models hired. I hope in doing this work, I can subtly influence a broader demographic of models. If you know of any brands needing an on-site tailor for a photo shoot who already use a wide size range and diverse body shapes - please let them know I’m here! It’s a dream for me to be able to do this work.

When I started this type of service, I was afraid that I’d be contributing to giving a false impression about how the garments fit. I almost didn’t take it on for that reason. But you never really know until you try, and it turns out that every time I’ve done this work, it has been simply to change the size of the sample to generally the size of the model.

We’re not adding custom alterations, and (whether they like it or not) my customers get a little written feedback if I notice a trend. I communicate whether any persistent fit issues may be a patternmaking problem, a grading problem, or simply a personal fit idiosyncrasy for a particular model.

I hope someday that someone will use the information to improve their brand fit by addressing fitting earlier in the product development process, making my job unnecessary. (Note: If you have a fit challenge at your company, I can help.)

How many times have I worked myself out of a job by developing systems to address customers' needs more efficiently? Let me count the ways…(coffee shop, bike shop, mail order triathlon supply company, hair brush wholesaler, and more)

In the meantime, this is an excellent way to continue learning more about various body types to bring my understanding of patternmaking and grading to my custom clothing and indie designer consulting clients.

I’m on a continuous education mission for myself, and I hope that education benefits my clients and students and eventually helps to change the direction of the industry.

What would you like to know? Does it help to know that clothing doesn’t fit anybody? Does it help to know that alterations are not very difficult to do once you know the basics of sewing?