What Will You Do When Your Tailor Retires?

Many here have noted how their tailors are close to retirement age. One of my tailors has retired once before - early - but was so bored he opened another store. They all tell me they have not passed on their skills to the next generation. My main tailor's son has an IT degree and has no interest in taking up his father's trade. The question that dogs me sometimes is what on earth I will do when my tailor retires. Do these thoughts worry anyone else here? What are you doing about it? Do you put in extra orders from your tailor in case he retires early? Lady Dorothy Nevill reminisced on the dress of the latter half of the 19th century: In my early childhood there were still men living , who had not abandoned the eighteenth century fashion of wearing a wig. This custom, indeed, did not entirely die out with the coming of the nineteenth century, some old-fashioned people continuing to wear these head coverings as late as the early thirties. The last man to wear a pigtail is said to have been one of the Cambridge dons, who retained it as late as the year 1835. If SF had existed in the 1830s would there have been threads on "what will you do when your wig maker retires"? Or does it not matter if tailored clothing is going the way of the pigtail anyway?

i still can't find 'my tailor'

every person i go to doesn't do that great of a job, unless i want to travel an hour or so..

I should add that I mean bespoke tailors - not alteration tailors.

This is one of the reasons I chose a business that is headed by an owner and is not simply a one man operation. When the head tailor retires, my pattern will still be there. When the owner retires, his son will be there. I am counting on continuity.

Probably end up working with a traveling Savile Row tailor.

If had any guts, I would get on a plane to Naples....

Originally Posted by iammatt

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This is one of the reasons I chose a business that is headed by an owner and is simply a one man operation. When the head tailor retires, my pattern will still be there. When the owner retires, his son will be there. I am counting on continuity.

Did you mean 'is not simply a one man operation'? Out of curiosity, how large is Rubinacci?

Soon I hope to become a customer of Depos who hopefully won't opt for an early retirement.

Originally Posted by unpainted huffheinz

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Did you mean 'is not simply a one man operation'? Out of curiosity, how large is Rubinacci?

Soon I hope to become a customer of Depos who hopefully won't opt for an early retirement.
Yes, that is what I meant. I am not sure. I think he has about 25 or so coatmakers and the pant shop has 8 people. Those are just rough estimates and don't include the ladies who do buttonholes or the two head cutters.

Take my chances on Savile Row. Or maybe go to Italy. Or maybe do both.

I had no idea that Rubinacci was such a big operation.

So does Luca cut and sew? Is he being honed to take over the operation one day?

25 coatmakers is indeed impressive. I don't think there are 25 coatmakers working on the entire island of Manhattan.

Does anyone else fear that prices too will go up as the exclusivity of bespoke tailoring increases ie it will become a rarer commodity. I can see myself looking fondly on the 'good olde days', after I pay more and more for increasingly mediocre work.

Originally Posted by Manton

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25 coatmakers is indeed impressive. I don't think there are 25 coatmakers working on the entire island of Manhattan.

I wonder when the last time was, when 25 or more coatmakers worked on Manhattan. 1990? 1980? 1970?

Originally Posted by Sator

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I had no idea that Rubinacci was such a big operation. So does Luca cut and sew? Is he being honed to take over the operation one day?
No, neither he nor Mariano can do more than sew on a buttonhole. He is being groomed to take over the business, and already runs their Milan shop. The tailors are split between Milan and Naples with each having a completely separate operation and making rather different coats. I believe that Rubinacci and the two Caracenis are roughly equal in size, but am not sure.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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No, neither he nor Mariano can do more than sew on a buttonhole.

Interesting. I guess I assumed that he would be like my Italian tailor who is the cutter for his store.

So who gives a Rubinacci coat its characteristic style? Does Mariano ensure that stylistic integrity and continuity remains, or do the cutters/tailors do so?

Originally Posted by Manton

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25 coatmakers is indeed impressive. I don't think there are 25 coatmakers working on the entire island of Manhattan.

Did America ever have tailoring houses like the Row or Rubinacci? It seems like one man shops are how the businesses developed here.