Two Interesting ArticlesApril 10, 2026
I read two really interesting articles recently, one from a subscriber (thank you Ann) and another from my email which is hard to find in all the spam. But they are making the point that styles are changing and for very direct and obvious ways to follow.
One from a subscriber, about tailors who specialize in altering. The example in the story is that a fashionista brings in a $20 thrifted jacket and wants it fitted, probably in more modern lines than when the jacket was originally made.
The cost is $280. The customer is willing to spend over 140% of the total cost for the alteration. Total cost would be $300. For customers, this is a bargain because the original jacket is likely sustainably
made and will last for decades if cared for properly (which usually means hanging after every wear to air out and letting the wrinkles fall out naturally).
Click on the photo to go to the article. Here's what consumers are finally figuring out. Those clothes that were made in the last century really are well made. So well made that they last and last, and with a little tuck here and a nip there, suddenly
they have a new garment that wears just like the old one, only better because it lasts and is made with excellent fabrics, interfacing, buttons, lining and everything else that goes into a well-made garment.
But another article about world markets and the latest Chinese trend. This is
about how stealth-wealth fashion is taking over the Chinese market.
Unfortunately, this article is behind a paywall, but thanks to AI, we can get a consensus on the article here and here. The article's central point is that the Chinese market (as well as the world market) is turning to more stealth wealth garments because of their durability and, therefore, their long-term economic value.
The reasoning goes like this:
Buying quieter clothes signals an "anti-label" approach that means that I'm so wealthy that I don't need to be advertising someone else's initials or brand, because I have my own. But just as important, the value must be there. This isn't an opportunity to buy something that's so plain and drab that it
has no identity. It's the very nature of pure identity that is so obvious that it doesn't need advertising.
That sounds a little like mumbo-jumbo, but an example will help. The René Lacoste shirt, which has now become so common that it's classic.
This is what quiet quality and classic mean. It's timeless. That means that in 20 years, 30 years, 50 years, you can ask yourself if you would wear this shirt. Most often the answer is 'Yes!'
So what does that have to do with we
sewists?
There are several things here. First is that we KNOW what well-made clothing is, and how durable it is. I'm in the middle of changing out my leggings and tunics for classic pants and tops like crazy, and I'm looking at those "old clothes" and they are perfectly able to last another 5 or 6 years. That's unheard of in the RTW business.
Second, of course we get the fit and comfort and flattery that we love in our clothes. This is
something again unheard of in RTW.
So what happens if you're used to RTW, and come across a gem of a garment, bring it to an alteration person, have it refitted. This is the opportunity to specialize and customize that garment that you can never have in RTW. $300 doesn't sound like a bad price for this considering something that you buy online at a nice store. Here's a typical example. This is from The Row - two of my favorite "classic"
designers.
This little number will run you about $2,400 for the blouse and pants. No wonder thrifting looks so good. But let's go to Mood Fabrics: This The Row silk blouse fabric (not the same, but the content is the same) runs about $80/yd, and the pants run about $10/yd. 2½ blouse = $200 and 1½ pants = $15 - so about $215 for
the both. Compared to $2,400, it's really a steal for us sewists, and it's made from the most expensive fabrics I could find. The reality is that if we were to purchase a nice cotton stripe, probably around $25/yd = $63, plus reasonably priced pants at $15, we'd be under $100. Now, making it durable so it lasts for decades makes this sewn garment fabulously practical and cheap, while at the same time making it look as if the wearer is pure class. (And BTW, we sewists
specifically know how to sew in a durable way - and I'm not saying that just to blow hot air. It's really true. We've learned the difference, like sewing seams with back-tacking, hems that are actually finished with no raw edges showing, and other features that you will never find in today's RTW.)
So our sewing is durable; we've invested about $100 (realistically) in the fabric, and it takes about 1½ days - say 2 to be generous at 16 hours @ $80/hr = $1,280 for a
total of $1,380 (including your $80/hr time), and we're at half of what the store would charge us. So, even counting our time (or what someone similar would charge), we're ahead of the game, making the whole garment from scratch.
But one last thing to consider. The clothes at The Row are classic, but most of the time they aren't assembled as well as ours. The truth is that if we had an expert dressmaker make this for us, it would cost us $2,400. So we
are actually making it up at about 4% of the cost of RTW, and we're making it more durable, fitting us better, with our own customization (maybe pockets in the blouse, 3/4 length sleeves, FBA to fit and have a cleaner side line, and a whole bunch of other things), this garment has a double whammy of being durable, assembled well AND being very cost-effective.
The price points are key here. This shows just exactly how valuable our skills, expertise, and knowledge are.
Not only that, but as the article says, tailoring, altering, and dressmaking are not something that AI will threaten. I mean, when was the last time you saw AI make your garment - uh, yeah. Point made!
I love The Row for ideas (and perusing their clothes on a website is really fun), but the truth is that I would never purchase
anything from The Row, Ralph Lauren, Yves St. Laurent, Chanel, Dior, or any other designer simply because it's not well-made. Like the rest of RTW, they have fallen into the slave-labor trap, and either can't/won't/don't get out. The couture clothing is well-made, but the RTW isn't as well-made, and the pricing is very high.
We don't have to worry about that. Our work is as good as that of the couture houses in major cities. I'm not talking about the cute RTW shops in Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Denver, or Miami. But the true couture shops are in London, Riyadh, Tokyo, Milan, New York, and LA.
And our work matches these haute couture ateliers. Today, many of them have sewing machines, but only 7 or 8 years ago, they didn't. And this wasn't
because they couldn't afford them, or thought they weren't valuable. It's because of tradition. The haute couture ateliers started with only handwork, and some kept that till just a few years ago. Even though we may not be doing it all by hand, I very much consider what we do with our machines to be hands-on, with a line, style, and movement that the couture ateliers would recognize.
Very few people actually appreciate the expertise and intricate work that
something like this takes.
You don't need to watch the whole video. This is the "tailor of Dior." Please turn
on the closed captions so it's translated for you.
And then I get lost in videos like this.
Ah-hem! Sorry - got carried away there.
Now, not many of you would think that you would be capable of the kind of work that comes out of the ateliers. You would be much surprised at what you can do. A couple of caveats here: the
mannequins are based on artificially shaped figures. That means they literally have little fat or muscle on them, so they are all pretty much the same skin-and-bones figures. Another caveat is that these clothes aren't made for comfort. They are made for visual effects. So that throws two variables that we sewists have to contend with: 1) comfort and 2) regularly-shaped figures, and even ease. These models don't have to get in and out of cars or go grocery
shopping in these outfits they wear on the runway.
Even considering that most of this clothing is highly impractical, it takes great skill to realize the vision of many of these designers, and that's what I wanted to highlight with those videos. The dressmaking skills and "haute couture," which literally means high seam, or highly skilled seam-making.
This is the skill that is missing in our society today. The ability to shape a garment that is comfortable, flattering,
useful, and durable. This takes a great deal of skill and experience.
It also gives us sewists a completely different view of garments, AND a completely different alternative to what most consumers HAVE to purchase cause it's all that's available to them, unless they want to spend $$$$$$ for haute couture.
I do regret the lack of tradespeople in our country, especially those, like me, who wanted to attend a trade school, but weren't allowed to. Hopefully,
that can change, and we can build on vocations. Creating, altering, shaping, and refitting clothing don't even come close to being threatened by AI.
I also hope that building, creating, and making clothing can become an honored and respectable skill in the future. The article on altering clothing makes that point beautifully, but the Chinese market's shift toward stealth-wealth makes the point from another angle.
I truly look forward to the day when
consumers not only realize the value in dressmaking but also learn at least a little about the skill so that they can be knowledgeable about good clothing. In the meantime, enjoy what you know and your skill, and know that every dayy, you won't be threatened by AI! 😉
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Tracking a fashion trend isn't all that hard after seeing a few of them.
Living from Mid-Century Modern through Twiggy...
It's worth the time to look at these styles, particularly today as
there is a group of that wants to look....
This is the way fashion used to be -- pretty, flattering and I can't wait to make some of...
NOTE: There are some folks who can't get my email, or it's sporadic, or something is hinky. I will always respond to any of you who send a private message, whether it's about the topic of the week or something else. If you don't get anything
from me, it's probably because the [email protected] email is blocked, and even a private message can't get through. In that case, I'm on Instagram often, and you can always PM me at @sewingartistry.
As a precaution,
please ensure I'm in your email Address Book and check your spam, junk, and trash folders. Some email clients get extra excited when they see emails coming into the Inbox that go to many other receivers. They automatically think it's trash or spam, and it never makes it to the Inbox. I must constantly check my spam and junk folders to ensure I'm getting the emails I subscribe to.
To view in browser along with past emails, click here. We respect your email privacy. |
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