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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Anne d'Innocenzio

Tailors and dressmakers retire their pincushions as US demand for skilled sewers grows

Tailors Labor Shortage - (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

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 side and red on the other. He's willing to spend $280 to have it slimmed down. Alteration requests with such a price disparity would have seemed odd a few years ago, the tailor says, but are helping to keep the bobbins bobbing at his one-man shop, 85 Custom Tailor.

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