NEW YORK — Hunched over a sewing machine, Kil Bae is hemming a dress inside his Manhattan tailor shop when a new customer stops by with a vintage Tommy Hilfiger jacket he wants taken in.
Tailor Kil Bae works inside his shop on March 27 in New York. The number of tailors and custom sewers are shrinking in the U.S.
People are also reading…
Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, measures a denim alteration at Nordstrom headquarters March 23 in New York.
Tailor Marco Lema works on a denim alteration at Nordstrom.
Tailor Kil Bae works inside his shop in New York.
Tailor Kil Bae sits in his shop in New York.
Photos: Skilled sewers in demand as tailors and dressmakers age out
Tailor, Kil Bae, works inside his shop on Friday, March 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Tailor, Kil Bae, works inside his shop on Friday, March 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Tailor, Kil Bae, works inside his shop on Friday, March 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Tailor, Kil Bae, poses for a photo inside his shop on Friday, March 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, measures a denim alteration at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
An embroidery machine works on a decoration at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, works on a denim alteration at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, works on a denim alteration at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, works on a embroidery machine at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
A heart-shaped pincushion bristling with needles hangs on the wall inside Kil Bae's store on Friday, March 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Tailor, Kil Bae, sews a pice inside his shop on Friday, March 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, works on an embroidered shirt at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Tailor Marco Lema, 35, of Ecuador, works on a embroidery machine at Nordstrom headquarters in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
