Dressmaker or Tailor
What the work is
Makes, alters and repairs tailored garments, formal wear, couturier clothing and special occasion wear such as suits, dresses, coats, head wear, evening wear and bridal wear.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Consults with clients to determine design preferences and fabric choices for customised garments
- Measures clients to determine their body measurements
- Sews garments together using sewing machines, sergers and hand stitching techniques
- Fits garments on clients and makes necessary alterations for an accurate fit
- Adds finishing touches to garments such as buttons, zippers and decorative elements
- Repairs or performs alterations on existing garments, such as resizing, replacing buttons, mending tears and fixing seams to meet client needs
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a small tailoring and alterations studio with a sewing room out the back. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A bride sees herself in the finished dress and the whole room goes quiet
- A pair of boots you resoled come back on the feet of someone who loves them
- Cutting a pattern so cleanly that every piece lines up on the first try
Hard days
- A rush job before a wedding, with a customer who keeps changing their mind
- A flaw in the fabric appears only after you have cut into the last length
- Hours bent over a machine with sore shoulders and a deadline that will not move
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 399433, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.