The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-06-18
KNIGHTS OF THE SHEARS.
TIE dRTIFIoERs VINO MAKE OR
MAR THE OUTWARD NAN.
WHY Taiiors Come 60 be Good Judges Of
Human Nnture-so,ne Of the secrets of mn
Important bnt Often Abused Profession.

oNiii wv 'pillhhulNtl1 hhplN Dul ltl Hlln DcWdIe
Of offending the knight of the shears for II no
refuse him a friendly nod on the street. or cut
him in any way, he the tailor is apt, nay sure,
to return the slight by tho unkindost cut OF all
IA badly cut suit Of clothes.
In former times, whom n man learned the tail
orng trade he was taught both to cut clothes
and to sew them together; but now the cutting
Of garments and the making them up are dis
tinct branches The sewing Of clothing IS
almost entirely in the hands Of Germans. Tho
larger Of the making-up establishments are
mostly run by onterprslng Teutons, who usu-
ally employ from fifteen tn thirty hands, all
women, to do the sewing. Tho work Is done by
machinery, and the price paid for It IL very low.
These manufacturers depend mostly tho
wholesale clothing houses for business and are
sometimes required to leave deposit on goods
taken out, and sometimes not according as they
are well known to the trade or otherwise. Large
Wholesale dealers will often have out in tho
hands Of manufacturers as much as S5OoW
worth Of goods at once. They very rarely lose
anything, goods IA a rule, being carefully kept
and promptly returned Taors have the habit
Of living In tenement houses situated In tho
most out-of-the-way places, the upper part Of
| Williamsburgh being favorte locality. II
work Is kept out too long, and the delinquent
has to be hunted up, the search IL apt 70 be long
and exciting; and when finally found, the deln-
| qucnt Invariably has n ready excuse to offer for
lis negligence. Almost every man atsome time In
his life has been madly disappointed by not re-
CeiNing from his tailor suit VI clothes faithfully
promised at "A certain time. Instead Of his gar
ments, he receives only excuses and apologies.
! The party who took out the cloth to make up,
the tailor explains must have met with some
horrible accident, or he is sick, or, II YOU are
very angry, he must certainly be dead. The real
i
that the party who has taken the cloth out 20
make M has been quietly enjoying himself at
some festive German picnic No real tailor ever
hesitate- for a moment between picnic and a
suit of clothes wanted IN a hurry. The clothes
must wait.
CUTTERS AND THEIR SALARIES.
Wholesale houses employ from fftv 10 one
| hundred cutters. They receive on an average
/ seO week and work nine hours day They
! cut two, three and four garments at once, ac-
] cording To- the thickness Of the goods In hand.
| Spring and summer goods are cut In winter. and
when the mercury Is comfortably seated some
where among the uinetie- cutters will be found
/ struggling with fall suits and heavy winter over
/ cutter In a Wholesale house. isusunllv given
/ so many pieces Of goods. which he must meas
/ urc aud report to the foreman II the yards fall
| short Of what the ticket calls for. and out Of
which he Is required to cut certain. number ~
/ garments. Most all cloths even the best.
/ more or less imperfect, being liable to have
quarter VI yard IL allowed by the maker for
/ every mreieciion II the hind. IT, as frequent
/ ly happens, the holes come right in the middle
81 a coat or pair OF pantaoons, 1t requires con-
siderable, skill On the part Of the cutter
I 10 avoid 1t without wasting tho goods. A
few houses use patent cutting ma
/ chine, but majority uf the men In
the trade are afraid Of II as continuance apt to
! other coarse material The cutters have A
society for mutual benent and protection and
/ strikes and are steady and industrious class
/ Of people.
The ordinary cutter does only what is called
! shop work but there Is class OF workmen in
| the trade, knights Of the shears OF a yer, high
order who are as much above the ordinary out
! They are Known as custom cutters. They are
apt 10 dress extravaganty. frequently sport dia-
ea-c,, atrifc above tier c"siomefs' They n" re
/ gard the common cutter with contempt and
and speaks Of them with hatcd breath They
are The great men Of the business. and their
word Is law. Paris sets the fashions for mons
/ garments, but they modify them To suit them
selves.
These custom cutters often receive very large
wages partly from heir ability To- cut lno-hltting
/ garments, and partly on account Of the trade
they are supposed to command. some Of them
value their trade as high ~ slOOUo0 year. and
/ can carry 1t with them from shop 10 shop IL they
MAKE change. They receive from $40 week
/ or Just half the pay Of the Mayor OF New York
! CITY. one shirt cutter ia a prominent dry goods
| shirts alone. In the old ring DAYS this same
/ h0nse ], said to have received from the Hon.
/ u
/ dozen shirts.
THE MYSTERIES OF THE TApR.
In former times measuring a man for a coat
/ was very simple operation. Not az now. First
say the tailor makes up lis mind about how much
/ II is safe to charge You fer the suit. Then YOU
| you IN all possible and impossible directions
/ from your SHOULDER blade to your chin and ali
To the end Of your thumb, tin they pile M an ar
rn, Of figures that would drive a professor u
close a. the eighth u an inch. and yet. in spite
OF Their careful CALCULATIONS misnts.aas. are not
uncommon. After one has undergone all tho
| agony of being measured by Ar-t-cass tailor
/ and then iinds that the garments fail To III in
any way he IS generally prepared 70 confess that
/ death i the only certain thing after all.
Many customers are very particular about ;hcir
/ dress. II they want only a linen dustcr II must
he made To order and cut by "A certain man.
Others, principally elderly gentlemen, have fixed
/ STYLES Of clothing ~ their own II makes no
/ difference 10 them whether pants are worn tight
/ never vary. And then We have the high hycrs
/ after fashion. young gentlemen who average
y another. II man has any deformltv ~ body
nnd can mud cutter who can so nj his gar
/ mcnts n to conceal that deformity Le is pretty
certain 70 stick TO him. Cutters have 10 ~, 20
| all classes OF men, and generally become good
! y properly ambitious knight NJ the shears pre-
| for- 10 cut clothes for men of noble physique.
| There Is tradition In the trade that any coat
| looks well on well-formed man and # il Is de-
! Gently cut is bound to IT. This theory has its
hlNduN ~ Neit as hPItnlS II lltt Sinltn
sees "A nne-ntting coat on his friend Brown,whoi is
| stout and well propurtioned, he ~traightwhy be-
| comes enamored with the style and Immediately
! PUSHES OH to Browns tailor and orders one eK-
! actly Ike II. When little smiths cost Is hn-
ished and he puts II on he IS not only sadly dis
! appointed, but actually Disguised 1t may really
III him better than Browns coat nts. but il
! doesn look the same To smith; there Is not
! that distinguished appearance about H. he
thinks. and he goes away firmly resolved never
% patronle that tailor again as long as he lives.
! The fault, dear smith, Is not IN tho coat; it Is
in your peculiar shape; but then, no sane man
l. going to acknow edge that his form Is bad
when II Is so easy TO curse the tailor.
now THE CUTTER IMPROVES Oh NATURE.
Slim young gentlemen are the hane Of the cut
ter existence. Gentlemcn with airy legs, and
no particular shoulders and a conspicuous alb
sence OF chest, are tho parties who hurry tho
average cutter To an untimcly grave. Cutters
get along with these umwecome customers In
the winter well enough because then they can
pad their cloths and thus supply tho deficiencies
OF nature. The only CLEAN Of sunshine that the
thin man ever brings to light up the pathway of
the cutter l. when he orders an overcoat.
good cutter could build an oyeTcOat for the liv-
ing skeleton, and give him "A pair OF shoulders
broad enough for a prize Fighter, but hardly as
substantial. when the dog days roll around,
Then Is the slim young man out of humor with
himself, his tailor, and everybody else, for his
upIt haf Ma ft