CRAFTS — 216/262 — Tailors and drapers
Until the 13th century, tanners sold their goods to be processed by stitchers and cobblers. Weavers prepared cloth, but it was the cloth merchants who often cut it and sold it by the yard. Later, in the High Middle Ages, tailors sewed cut pieces into clothes.
Simple garments were sewn by women for their families at home. Care was taken to sew clothes thoroughly, as clothing was inherited and often lasted for years, with minor repairs.
In the early 14th century, people in larger towns began to pay more attention to fashion. Tailors started to specialise in only one type of clothing, so in the Middle Ages, we find coat makers, hosiers, doublet makers, glove makers, hatters, cloak makers, and second-hand dealers who repaired old clothes. In smaller towns, tailors had to be able to sew anything due to lower demand.
— In the later Middle Ages, the work of tailors and drapers was closely connected to the wider organisation of the cloth trade, one of the most important branches of then's economy, especially in England. Clothiers (tailors) also arranged the sale of the finished cloth, including visiting town markets and fairs, and negotiating with merchants. They required a range of technical knowledge, from buying wool to dyeing, as well as marketing skills. Throughout the cloth-making process they had to monitor quality and ensure that products were completed and delivered on time and at an acceptable cost.
The production of cloth was layered; wool was sorted and combed before being spun into yarn, woven on looms, dyed, and then fulled to thicken and clean the fabric. Despite the central role of women in the process of textile production, the profession of tailoring itself was largely dominated by men. Women were extensively involved in spinning, sewing, and household garment-making, yet legitimate recognition of women by tailoring guilds was generally restricted to male craftsmen until much later.
At the same time, the making and sale of clothing were subject to regulation. From the late 13th century, sumptuary laws defined what fabrics, colours, and ornaments could be worn according to social rank. These laws affected drapers and tailors, as they restricted the materials that could be used and sold. The laws were often quite specific and aimed at women and middle class. Low necklines were prohibited in Genoa, Milan, and Rome in the early 16th century, and under Henry V in 15th century England, yeomen and commoners could not wear coloured clothes longer than the knee.
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