THE HISTORY OF TAILOR'S SHOP
The term tailoring comes from the Latin sartor, whose tradition is mender. Consequently, at the dawn of his figure, the tailor was a craftsman who patched and re-sew clothes. This noble art has its roots in the Middle Ages, between the 13th and 14th centuries, in conjunction with the birth of fashion, a phenomenon of such extrinsic importance that it was capable of producing effects especially in the economic and social sphere, distinguishing the various classes according to the quality of their clothing. It is precisely in this period that the professional figure of the tailor emerges, a craftsman capable of fulfilling the needs and demands of customers, increasingly eager for garments that could identify them in a certain social class.
The art of tailoring has always been passed down from generation to generation; the more a tailor worked and gained experience, the more beautiful and refined his works were. There has never been a specific doctrine, but rather only passion, hard work and tricks of the trade passed down over the years. In all fairness, there was an important formative period when, in 1575, Pope Gregory XIII founded the University of Tailors in Rome where young future tailors went to learn the trade in exchange for a payment to the Papal State of an annual fee of 20 scudi and 20 pounds of worked wax.
Although in the common imagination, as it should be, the Italian man is the perfect image of style and savoir-faire, we have to wait for the years of the economic boom to be able to speak with certainty of "Italian class". In fact, during the Kingdom of Italy, the clothes that were commissioned to tailors were inspired by the English model: heavy and rough fabrics, checked patterns and very British colors like brown and green. Only in the 1950s did the international recognition of the concept of Italian fashion materialize. The establishment of the phenomenon of industrialization led to the birth of the first textile factories and tailoring workshops had to innovate to keep up, having a wide range of fabrics to focus on, which guaranteed easier manual work and a better quality of the finished product, thanks to the ability to make every fold of the dress fit naturally and adapt it to the body of the customer.
These are the years of Marcello Mastroianni and Vittorio de Sica, who with their iconic class, launched the idea of an Italian style linked to good dressing and taking care of one's image.
Towards the end of the 1990s, the Made in Italy label was born, which still distinguishes Italian fashion today: tailoring enthusiasts, young artisan dreamers and businessmen from all over the world go to Italy today to make some rigorous double-breasted suits or to learn the noble art. But a modern tailor's shop is no longer limited to making made-to-measure suits, as the artisans who work there are increasingly prepared and attentive to the demands of their customers. Entering a tailor's shop today means being "pampered" in the choice of the right fabrics for the requested suit, from taking measurements to stylistic advice and the final creation.
