The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1889-05-09
THE TAlLoR,s COMMENT.

He Has to Credit His Customers TO Keep
the Trade. Which Is Hard to Get.
''E'ine custom tailoring is not what
it used to be, said Brooklyn man in
the business to an Eagle reporter, 'and
the big houses are just driving us to
the wall. l suppose it is the same in
everything else, but, of courss, you
know our trade is the first to suffer
from competition of that kind"
How is that2"
Il am surprised that you ask me
such a question:" replied the tailor,
slightly elevating his eyebrows
when you should know, if you do
not, that we must get large profit on
a custom made suit Of clothes to make
amy money. Why2 Because there
has been an unwrittcn law from tim,
immenorial which allows a man I,
pay his tailor's bill last of all Now
aperson can't get credit to any amount
IN one of the big establishments If
he orders suit ct such place he must
leave deposit, and the balance is de-
manded when the clothes arc deliv-
cred, On tho other haHd, q tailor who
has a sinai! sh0p must cater to his Gus
toners u wing credit, Now, in
these ticie5 ii sharp competition, high
rents and heavy expenses for skilled
lahcr you will see that it takes the
profit upon great many suits of
clothes u pay running expenses and
lay up something for dull times.
When there WAS less competition we
could get along, but now, beside the
big establishments where they can get
up suit of clothes for almost nothing,
there are innumerable shops where
they sell fashionable looking clothes
limitations of tho clothes we keep, of
course--for just about half the money
we can sell the real goods for. In for
mer years, the fine custom tailors and
the ready made stores monopolized the
business. Neither interfered with the
trade of the other, and consequently
we had certain hold on our custom
ers, who, in order to get new clothes
of us, would pay their bills rather
than be forced into buying ready
made garments. Now they leave our
bills unpaid and go TO one of the
cheap custom stores, pay cash for in
ferior goods, and then come back and
tell us how exorbitant our prices are.
Why, it's enough to drive man crazy
sometimes. Yes, the better class of
small tailoring shops are being driven
out of business, and it's too bad, for
the establishments that are driving
them out are doing a much inferior
kind of work. The great object with
them Is to mako up and sell fashion
able goods at a low figure. Now, /
will not say that the material they use
is all shoddy-far from 1t. 1t is sur
prising for what q small sum they can
sell really good clothes. How do they
do it4 Well, in the first place, they
rely to great degree upon transient
trade. Secondly, the credit system is
tabooed and they get cash for their
goods. Thirdly, they pay tho lowest
wages possible to their help. Fourth
ly, they do not pretend TO put the
finish on their goods that first class
tailor does. 4 man argues in this way
when he patronizes one of these shops
He says to himself: 4 have been pay
ing si6 for trousers, while here is a
man who says he can get me up a
pair equally good for 50. / know that
he can't do it, but also know that for
fit and appearance his So trousers will
for a considerable time be rs good as my
SIG pair, consequently / viii buy the
80 ones and when they are worn out ]
can get another pair, paying for both
pairs what | would ordinarily pay fol
one Now, you see, if his argument
is good one he would be very fool
ish ii he did not take advantage of the
cheaper man. After all, concluded
tho tailor, signing, ''if it weren't that
We were expected TO give such long
credit don't know that VIC would be
any worse off than our neighbors.
That is what is killing US. Brooklyn
Eagle.