« southern u.s.? | Main | London 7/7..... »
July 4, 2005
the apprentice...
(Vanessa, a brave young soul, attempting to learn pattern cutting in one week's work experience.)
I’m very pleased at the amount of interest English Cut has generated from people of all ages wanting to enter the trade, including young Vanessa here, who this week is on "work experience" from her school, William Howard. I'm receiving a lot of questions such as, "What age should I start", "Am I too old" and "How do ladies get into what appears to be a predominantly male business?"
Well, I don't have all the answers, but I’ll do my best to give you some insight.
These are the key people in a tailoring business:
A. Sales People. They are normally not directly involved with the suit's making, but usually have a first class knowledge of cloths and trimmings, and also are very aware of the business, the styles and details. This, of course, helps the customer pick the correct styles and fabrics for the right occasions. In some businesses with a CMT service (Cut, Make & Trim), a salesman will take basic measurements which are then sent to a factory for manufacture. This is not true "bespoke", but depending on the sales person's experience, this can produce a relatively good fitting suit for the money.
B. The Cutter. That’s me. OK, at English Cut I’m the salesman as well, which is the norm for a smaller outfit. As I’m sure you’re aware I’m more the architect of the suit. I take the measurements, I draft the pattern, I cut the cloth, then I send it off to the tailors for the sewing.
C. The Trimmer. These are the people who take the cut pieces of fabric and match them up with the canvas, linings and silk etc, so the suit can actually be made. And yes, that’s my job too. Again, it's usually a full-time job only in the larger houses.
D. The Tailor. These are the people who actually sew your suit together. If I am the architect, then these are the actual builders. They usually specialize: making coats, trousers or waistcoats, and some only make dressware. But like me with other roles, tailors adapt their skills. Many of the tailors will turn their hand to making anything- except for trousers, which are usually left to the specialist trouser makers.
E. Finishers. These are usually ladies who have perfected the art of hand buttonholes, felling the linings and all the hand-sewing needed to finish a coat and trousers. The nickname for them in the trade is "Kippers". This is not because they suffer from the smell of smoked fish, but that they usually worked in pairs. This is so they could more easily fend off the flirtatious advances of cutters. We cutters do have a rather undeserved reputation for that, I might add.
Besides these roles, tailors have the usual needs of any business- packers, admin staff etc- to keep it all running smoothly.
Salespeople are usually only found in the larger houses, Anderson & Sheppard, Huntsmans etc. Salespeople don’t necessarily need a background in the tailoring business, however they must be trained about fabrics etc, which in comparison to the rest of the trade can be learned in a relatively short time. One of the most successful salesmen at Anderson & Sheppard was Mr. Norman Halsey. Previously he had worked selling Rolls Royce cars, but he was an extremely stylish man who loved clothes and the business so much so, he ended up being the managing director of the company.
Usually the Managing Director is a position reserved for cutters (Mr. Halsey was a definite exception), so if you don’t want to do a seven year apprenticship earning peanuts, Sales may be a good way into the industry. The main credentials for this this is to be an interesting and empathetic character, contrary to the “Suits You, Sir” tailor stereotype.
The only downside is that the turnover required to hire a salesman must be pretty high, so opportunities are quite limited. However, this is definately an area where ladies can be very successful.
Tailors. Well, this’s where only the really dedicated should apply. It’s often perceived as a male-dominated position, however women make up a good proportion of the tailors today. In fact, I would say that one of the most talented tailors I've ever met was a young New Zealand girl called Anne Wilkins. She came knocking at the door of Anderson & Sheppard around 1991, totally untrained at the age of 22. She began working with a super tailor called Conn, who’s since passed away. However two years into her four-year apprenticship, she finished and went "on the log". The Log is a term for self-employed tailors who have finished their apprenticeship. Usually the four years is the minimum requirement, but Anne was different, she was totally dedicated and probably packed five years into her two. I’m glad she never went on to cutting or guess who’d be writing this tailoring blog instead. Anne moved back to Wellington, NZ and I gather set up on her own. If she’s reading this or if anyone knows her, please, I’d love to find out how she’s doing.
The usual requirements for a tailor are a good basic education and to be of an age between 16 and 22 years old. You would normailly be assigned to a tailor on the log who would teach you over the next few years, from how to use a thimble to how to fix a silk facing on a dinner jacket. I have to be honest- the salary is pretty poor, but in all fairness you’ll probably be a hindrence rather than a help for the early part of your training. The salary is something that you’ll be able to negotiate, depending on your age and circumstances.
Obviously you should improve over the coming months and years, so normally your mentor will slip you that little extra. This is because he’ll be self-employed, and you in theory will be helping him get more work done. As I said, it usually takes around four years to reach a standard sufficient enough for you to be let loose on a customer's coat. But depending on your ability, your mentor may suggest you train a little longer or go on the log earlier. You’ll just have to wait and see.
Once you’ve finished your training, that's were the real perfecting begins. Like most crafts, you'll never stop learning. The beauty of being a good tailor is that you should never be without work. You can operate from a Savile Row workshop or if you prefer, a garden shed in some remote part of the country. If you're a lady who starts a family, you can be sure that you’ll be able to pick up your career again, once the kids go off to school etc. In fact, you don’t even have to stop, as you can do as little or as much as you like. If you have the skill, no matter your age, sex or location you should always make a good living and truly be your own boss.
(Pat Gormley, a great tailor. Well-known, respected and great fun to share a pint of Guinness with.)
The Cutters. Well, I’m sure most would think this is the best title in the business. You certainly get to wear the nice suits and travel, meeting lots of wonderful people. But unlike the tailors who often work for two or three houses at one time, we are are loyal only to one company, or to ourselves if we have our own business ("Cat's Face", as its called in the trade).
If you work for a company, you get the usual benefits. You should have a minimum £40,000+ a year, pension, holidays etc. With good experience and a top client list you can do very well. But this is a fickle business so if business goes slow (which it does often) you may find yourself surplus to requierments, so with shears and stick under arm, a'job-hunting you’ll have to go. As with all businesses you can earn more being self-employed, but with the latter it's usually feast or famine. But unlike other businesses you’ve got to love what you do, because tailoring doesn’t scale. The problem is if you’re twice as successful, you have to work twice as hard. If it’s true bespoke you’ll never make money while you sleep. In fact, as you have so many individual personalities and their unique requirements packed inside your head, you don’t get much sleep anyway.
Tailors and cutters always argue in the pub over who’s most important, but we both know that we're as dependent on each other as “needle and thread”. It’s true the cutter will usually get all the praise for a beautiful job, but he gets to feel the full wrath if it goes wrong- something the tailors are normally spared. To decide which suits you best you’ve got to decide which you prefer: the highs and lows of a cutter's life, or the tailor's more constant, steady flow of making beautiful clothes.
A cutter's apprenticeship is seven years, three longer than the tailor's. Four years getting the tailor's apprenticeship, then three more apprenticing as a cutter.
Whereas the tailor finishes his apprenticeship and then really begins to master his art, the prodigy cutter is often singled out and invited into the cutting room, even before his apprenticeship is over. Then for anything up to three years you’ll again be assigned to a mentor, as I was with Mr Hallbery. You’ll may also be sent on a day release course to college, as I was.
Just like the apprentice tailor, you may be allowed to wield your shears ealier if you appear fit to do so. Obviously the opposite can also happen, where it can takes years before they let you loose. And in some cases it doesn't happen at all. I’ve known more than a few who haven’t made the grade, and it's heartbreaking.
Ladies are often asking me what opportunities there are for them in the business. Quite simply, they can and do the same as men, often a lot better. However the only real restriction which I've seen is that I’ve never known any ladies do the actual measuring of customers.
They’ll often get the measurements from a colleague, then go cut a suit as well as anyone, hidden in the back of the shop. But sadly many of the customers don’t feel comfortable having the 4” brass end of a tape measure thrust up between their legs by a lady.
It’s not Savile Row that's against it, people have tried. It’s the customers who are, and from a tailor's standpoint there's no point in digging your heels in- because as with all businesses, the customer ultimately is paying the wages; and nobody on Savile Row is arrogant to think otherwise.
As well as the above, opportunities can be found in little niche parts of the business- sales and admin etc. Although not directly involved with the production, these people are still very much part of a trade that feels like no other. Even accountants that have worked in lots of different businesses say there is a special feel about the tailoring trade, the way our relationship evolves with our customers.
It’s just a lot more personal than most industries, with the customer and the product always far more important than any money to be made.
As far as mastering cutting and tailoring, there’s no easy answer. Even if you’re brilliant, you've got to be humble and patient for a good few years- a quality that’s getting rarer than hen's teeth these days. But if you do have the right stuff for it, you'll never starve, and you'll never dread going to work in the morning. Can't say fairer than that.
Posted by tom at July 4, 2005 10:42 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.englishcut.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/91