tailor
Snapshot
Do you have a passion for fashion and a keen eye for detail? As a tailor, you can bring unique designs to life, crafting and altering garments to perfectly fit individual clients. This role combines creativity with technical skill, offering a rewarding career path.
Tailors are skilled craftspeople who create, alter, and repair clothing and accessories. Your daily work might involve consulting with clients to understand their needs, taking precise measurements, cutting and sewing fabrics, and ensuring a flawless fit. You'll work with a variety of materials, including textiles, leather, and fur, using both traditional and modern techniques to produce high-quality, bespoke garments.
- • Designing and creating tailored garments from scratch based on client specifications.
- • Altering existing clothing to achieve a perfect fit and desired style.
- • Repairing damaged garments, including mending seams, replacing buttons, and patching holes.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Deeper colour: reported the same way in more consecutive years.
Figures cover Food processing, wood working, garment and other craft and related trades workers — 115 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, Italy and 3 more.
Longest-running shortage: Lithuania, 4 years.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
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Could tailor fit you?
Answer three quick questions. This is not a full assessment — it is a teaser to help you decide whether to compare your profile.
Do you enjoy tasks that require Attention to Detail?
Do you enjoy tasks that require Dependability?
Do you enjoy tasks that require Integrity?
Future Outlook for tailor
The outlook for tailor reflects a balanced mix of automation exposure and durable, human-led work.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could tailor change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How could tailor change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
Most tasks here are AI-assistable rather than purely human-led.
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- distinguish accessories
- manage briefs for clothing manufacturing
- distinguish fabrics
Tasks most exposed to automation
No single task here is highly automatable yet.
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Arts, Entertainment, & Design
A typical day as a tailor
09 09:00 · Morning manufacture male suits
10 10:30 · Mid-morning alter wearing apparel
12 12:00 · Midday create patterns for garments
14 14:00 · Afternoon cut fabrics
15 15:30 · Late afternoon design wearing apparel
17 17:00 · Wrap-up distinguish accessories
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
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apparel manufacturing technology
Traditional and advanced apparel manufacturing technologies. Technologies including processes, machinery, etc. in order to compile and design pattern requirements, contribute to product costing and finalise assembly sequence and quality assurance criteria.
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buttonholing
The methods of buttonholing using specialised buttonholing machines in order to make buttonholes to wearing apparel.
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e-tailoring
The business model using softwares and technical applications in order to gather the information of clients for the manufacturing of bespoke products.
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fabric spreading in the fashion industry
Preparatory operation for cutting textile pieces which consists of laying piles of cloth on top of the other in a pre-determined direction and relationship between the right and the wrong side of the cloth.
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history of fashion
Costumes and the cultural traditions around clothing.
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marker making
Marker diagram of a precise arrangement of pattern pieces for a specific style and the sizes to be cut from a single spread. Markers can be made by manually tracing master patterns onto the fabric or paper or by manipulating and plotting computerised pattern images. Process of determining the most efficient layout of pattern pieces for a specified style, fabric and distribution of sizes.
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manufacture wearing apparel products
Manufacture either mass-product or bespoke wearing apparels of various types, assembling and joining together wearing apparel components using processes such as sewing, gluing, bonding. Assemble wearing apparel components using stitches, seams such as collars, sleeves, top fronts, top backs, pockets.
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sew textile-based articles
Sew different products based on textiles and wearing apparel articles. Combine good hand-eye coordination, manual dexterity, and physical and mental stamina.
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alter wearing apparel
Alter wearing apparel repairing or adjusting it to the clients/manufacturing specifications. Perform altering by hand or using equipment.
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make made-to-measure garments
Make garments and other wearing apparel according to specific measures and tailored patterns.
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manufacture male suits
Manufacture suits for men considering traditional cuts and tailoring techniques. Perform bespoke tailoring from measurement, fabric selection, cutting, assembling and fitting.
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distinguish accessories
Distinguish accessories in order to determine differences among them. Evaluate accessories based on their characteristics and their application in wearing apparel manufacturing.
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distinguish fabrics
Distinguish fabrics in order to determine differences among them. Evaluate fabrics based on their characteristics and their application in wearing apparel manufacturing.
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make technical drawings of fashion pieces
Make technical drawings of wearing apparel, leather goods and footwear including both technical and engineering drawings. Use them to communicate or to convey design ideas and manufacturing details to pattern makers, technologists, toolmakers, and equipment producers or to other machine operators for sampling and production.
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prepare production prototypes
Prepare early models or prototypes in order to test concepts and replicability possibilities. Create prototypes to assess for pre-production tests.
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operate garment manufacturing machines
Operate and monitor machines which make miscellaneous wearing apparel articles. Operate and monitor machines that fold cloth into measured length, and measure size of pieces.
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sew pieces of fabric
Operate basic or specialised sewing machines whether domestic or industrial ones, sewing pieces of fabric, vinyl or leather in order to manufacture or repair wearing apparels, making sure the threads are selected according to specifications.
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evaluate garment quality
Evaluating stitching, construction, attachments, fasteners, embellishments, shading within the garment; evaluating pattern continuity-, matching; evaluating tapes and linings.
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create patterns for garments
Create patterns for garments using pattern making softwares or by hand from sketches provided by fashion designers or product requirements. Create patterns for different sizes, styles, and components of the garments.
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manage briefs for clothing manufacturing
Manage briefs from clients for the manufacturing of wearing apparel. Collect customers' demands and prepare them into specifications for the production.
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iron textiles
Pressing and ironing in order to shape or flatten textiles giving them their final finishing appearance. Iron by hand or with steam pressers.
Skill DNA
Work personality traits and values that define this role
See whether this role fits your Career DNA
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Where does tailor fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
Frequently asked questions
- What kind of training or experience is needed to become a tailor?
- While a formal degree isn't always required, many tailors complete apprenticeships or vocational training programs to learn essential sewing and pattern-making skills. Experience working with fabrics and a strong understanding of garment construction are highly valuable.
- Can I be a tailor and work for myself?
- Yes! While many tailors are employed by clothing retailers, bespoke tailoring businesses, or alteration shops, it’s also common to operate as a self-employed tailor, offering custom-made and alteration services directly to clients.
- What are the key personal qualities that make a good tailor?
- Attention to detail, patience, manual dexterity, and strong problem-solving skills are crucial. The ability to communicate effectively with clients to understand their vision and provide expert advice is also essential.
- Tailor — is there a shortage in Europe?
- No. In the 2025 ELA/EURES edition, a surplus was reported in 8 of the 15 European countries that assessed this occupation group: Austria, Czechia, Germany, Spain and 4 more. 7 countries reported a shortage. These assessments are published per occupation group rather than per job title.
- Tailor — what does it pay in the United States?
- $40,860 a year at the median, as of 2025-05. State medians run from $23,190 to $60,210. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a United States figure and not a projection for Europe.