“Though cuſtom has rendered the Taylor contemptable among the vulgar; yet to many who think themſelves very pretty gentlemen, he is a man of vaſt importance; ſince to him, their Barber, and Dancing-maſter, they owe the high advantage of being acceptable to the ladies, who are too frequently fond of the mere outſide, and prefer a fool decked out in lace and embroidery to the man of ſenſe in a plain habit. The lad intended for this buſineſs ſhould have good eyes, a tolerable genteel perſon, and a good behavior, as his ſucceſs in trade will a good deal depend on theſe; for an aukward taylor will not be acceptable to the fine gentlemen, who make dreſs a matter of vaſt concern.”

“No Man is ignorant that a Taylor is the Perſon that makes our Cloaths; to ſome he not only makes their Dreſs, but, in ſome meaſure, may be ſaid to make themſelves. There are numbers of Beings in and about this Metropolis who have no other identical Exiſtence than what the Taylor, Milliner, and Perriwig-Maker beſtow upon them: Strip them of theſe Diſtinctions, and they are quite a different Species of Beings; have no more Relation to their dreſſed ſelves, than when they have to the Great Mogul, and are as inſignificant in Society as Punch, deprived o his moving Wires, and hung up upon a Peg ...

His Fancy muſt always be upon the Wing, and his Wit not a Wool-gathering, but a Faſhion-hunting; he muſt be a perfect Proteus, change Shapes as often as the Moon, and ſtill find ſomething new: He ought to have a quick Eye to ſteal the Cut of a Sleeve, the Pattern of a Flap, or the Shape of a good Trimming at a Glance; any Bungler may cut out a Shape, when he has a Pattern before him; but a good Workman takes it by his Eye in the paſſing of a Chariot, or in the Space between the Door and a Coach.

He muſt be able, not only to cut for the Handſome and Well-ſhaped, but to beſtow a good Shape where Nature has not deſigned it;the Hump-back, the Wry-ſhoulder, muſt be buried in Flannel and Wadding, and the Coat muſt hang de gage, though put over a Poſt: He muſt ſtudy not only the Shape, but the common Gait of the Subject he is working upon, and make the Cloathes fit eaſy in ſpite of a ſtiff Gait, or awkard Air. His Hand and his Head muſt go together; he muſt be a nice Cutter, and finiſh his Work with Elegancy.

In a Taylor’s Shop, there are always two Sorts of Workmen; firſt the Foreman, who takes Meaſure when the Maſter is out of the Way, cuts and finiſhes all the Work, and carries it Home to the Cuſtomer: This is the beſt Workman in the Shop, and his place the moſt profitable; for beſides his Cabbage, he has generally a Guinea a Week, and the Drink-Money given by the Gentlemen on whom he waits to fit on their Cloaths. The next Claſs, is the mere working Taylor; not one in ten of them know how to cut out a Pair of Breeches: They are employed only to ſew the Seam, to caſt the Button Holes, and to prepare the Work for the Finiſher. Their Wages, by Act of Parliament, is twenty Pence in one Seaſon of the Year, and Half a Crown the other; however, a good Hand has Half a Crown and three Shillings: They are as numerous as Locuſts, are out of Buſineſs about three or four Months in the Year, and generally as poor as Rats: The Houſe of Call runs away with all their Earnings, and keeps them conſtantly in Debt and Want. The Houſe of Call is an Ale-houſe, where they generally uſe, the Landlord knows where to find them, and Maſters go there to enquire when they want Hands.”