A tailor attending to a customer in Hong Kong.

A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.

Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers, and similar garments, usually of wool, linen, or silk.

The term refers to a set of specific hand and machine sewing and pressing techniques that are unique to the construction of traditional jackets. Retailers of tailored suits often take their services internationally, traveling to various cities, allowing the client to be measured locally.

Traditional tailoring is called bespoke tailoring in the United Kingdom, where the heart of the trade is in London's Savile Row, and custom tailoring in the United States and Hong Kong. This is unlike made to measure which uses pre-existing patterns. A bespoke garment or suit is completely original and unique to each customer.

Famous fictional tailors include the tailor in The Emperor's New Clothes and Brave Little Tailor. A more recent title is John le Carré's The Tailor of Panama.

Types of Tailoring[link]

Tailoring first fitting in Italy

As the tailoring profession has evolved, so too have the methods of tailoring. There are a number of distinctive business models which modern tailors may practice. While some may practice many, there are others who will practice only one or two.

Local Tailoring[link]

Local tailoring is as the name implies. Typically the tailor is met locally and the garment produced locally. This method enables the tailor to take professional measurements, assess posture and body shape to make unique modifications to the garment. Local tailors will typically have a showroom or shopfront allowing clients to choose fabrics from samples or return the garment easily should it require further modification. This is the most traditional form of tailoring. Hong Kong and London are the most famous for high quality bespoke tailoring, in average it takes about 2 to 3 fittings and about 3 to 4 days to handmade one suit.

Distance Tailoring[link]

Clothier and tailor in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts

Distance tailoring involves ordering a garment from an out-of-town tailor enabling cheaper labour to be used. In practice this can now be done on a global scale via e-commerce websites. Unlike local tailoring, customers must take their own measurements, fabric selection must be made from a photo and if further alterations are required the garment must be shipped. Today, the most common platform for distance tailoring is via online tailors.

Traveling Tailor[link]

Unlike distance tailoring, traveling tailors provide a more personal service to their customers and give the customers an opportunity to see the fabric samples and meet the tailor in person. Traveling tailors travel between cities and station in a local luxury hotel for a short period of time to meet and provide the same tailoring services they would provide in their local store. In the hotel, the customer will be able to select the fabric from samples and the tailor will take the measurements himself. The order then will be shipped to the customer within 3-4 weeks time. Unlike local tailoring, customers must take their own measurements, fabric selection must be made from a photo and if further alterations are required the garment must be shipped. Today, most traveling tailors are from Hong Kong, traveling to USA, UK, France, Australia and Japan.

Related terms[link]

Vintage tailor's button from Hobart, Tasmania

• A tailor-made is a woman's suit consisting of a (usually) woolen or tweed coat and shirt; the name arose during the Edwardian period.
• As an adjective, tailor-made (from the second half of the twentieth century usually simplified to tailored) refers to clothing made by or in the style of clothes made by a tailor, characterized by simplicity of cut and trim and fine (often hand) finishing;^{[disambiguation needed ]} as a women's clothing style tailored as opposed to dressmaker.
• Rodeo tailor is a term for a creator of the flamboyant costumes typical of country and western musicians, characterized by extensive hand embroidery, an abundance of rhinestones, and cowboy details such as pearl snaps and arrowhead pockets.
• In some documents, tailor means adjust, and tailoring means adjusting.

Sewing professional is the most general term for those who make their living by sewing, teaching, writing about sewing, or retailing sewing supplies. They may work out of their home, a studio, or retail shop, and may work part-time or full-time. They may be any or all or the following sub-specialties:

• A custom clothier makes custom garments one at a time, to order, to meet an individual customer's needs and preferences.
• A custom dressmaker specializes in women's custom apparel, including day dresses, suits, evening or bridal wear, sportswear, or lingerie.
• A tailor makes custom menswear-style jackets and trousers. (this is incomplete)

A roadside tailor in Haikou City, Hainan Province, China

• A cutter cuts out, from lengths of cloth, the panels that make up a suit. In bespoke tailoring, the cutter may also measure the client, advise them on style choices, and commission craftsmen to sew the suit. ^[1]
• An alterations specialist, or alterationist adjusts the fit of completed garments, usually ready-to-wear, or restyles them. Note that while all tailors can do alterations, by no means can all alterationists do tailoring.
• Designers conceive combinations of line, proportion, color, and texture for intended garments. They may or may not have sewing or patternmaking skills, and may only sketch or conceptualize garments. They work with people who know how to actually construct the garment.
• Patternmakers flat draft the shapes and sizes of the numerous pieces of a garment by hand, using paper and measuring tools or by computer using AutoCAD based software, or by draping muslin onto a dressform. The resulting pattern pieces must comprise the intended design of the garment and they must fit the intended wearer.
• A wardrobe consultant, fashion advisor, or stylist recommends styles and colors that are flattering to a client.
• A seamstress is someone who sews seams or a machine operator in a factory who may not have the skills to make garments 'from scratch' or to fit them onto a real body. This term is not a synonym for dressmaker. Seamstress is an old, unkind euphemism for prostitute.

[edit] Tailor as a surname

Pinking shears

The profession's denomination, Tailor, is a common surname in many languages: Taylor (English), Schneider (German), Siuvejas (Lithuanian), Szabó (Hungarian), Croitoru (Romanian), Sastre (Spanish), Krawiec (Kravitz) (Polish), Portnoy (Russian), Krejčí (Czech), Darzi (Hindi/Urdu), Kleermaker(s) (Dutch), Alfaiate (Portuguese), Al-Khayyat / الخياط (Arabic), Chait / חייט (Hebrew), Raftis /Ράφτης (Greek), "Terzi" (Turkish)

In the movie Meeting Venus (written and directed by István Szabó), many of the characters have the cognates ("blood relative") of the surname Tailor from different languages.

Though unrelated to the procedure of tailoring, the similar sounding name Tyler was derived from the tiler profession.

References[link]

• Deckert, Barbara: Sewing for Plus Sizes: Design, Fit and Construction for Ample Apparel, Taunton, 1999, Appendix B: How to Find, Select, and Work With a Custom Clothier, pp. 142-143.'Meru'(Merollu_plural)(Telugu language of Telangana in A.P.)

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Tailors

Fashion portal

• The History of Tailoring (Overview)
• The Custom Tailors and Designers Association of America (CTDA)
• The Professional Association of Custom Clothiers (PACC)

v t e Sewing Techniques Basting Cut Darning Embellishment Fabric tube turning Facing Floating canvas Gather Godet Gore Gusset Hem Heirloom sewing Lining Pleat Ruffle Shirring Style line Stitches Backstitch Bar tack Blanket Buttonhole Chain stitch Cross-stitch Embroidery stitch Hemstitch List of sewing stitches Lockstitch Overlock Pad stitch Running Sashiko Tack Topstitch Zigzag Seams Armscye Seam allowance Notions and trims Bias tape Elastomer (Elastic) Eyelet Grommet Interfacing Notions Passementerie Piping Rickrack Self-fabric Soutache Trim Twill tape Wrights Closures Buckle Button Buttonhole Fly Frog Hook-and-eye Placket Shank Snap Velcro Zipper Materials Bias Yarn / Thread Selvage Textiles / Fabrics Tools Bobbin Dress form Needle threader Pin Pincushion Pinking shears Scissors Seam ripper Sewing needle Stitching awl Tailor's ham Tape measure Thimble Tracing paper Tracing wheel Trades and suppliers Cloth merchant Draper Dressmaker Haberdasher Mercer / Mercery Sewing occupations Tailor Sewing machine manufacturers Barthélemy Thimonnier Bernina Brother Industries Elias Howe Janome Jones Sewing Machine Company Merrow New Home Pfaff Sewmor Singer Tapemaster Viking / Husqvarna White Patterns Butterick Clothkits McCall's Simplicity Glossary of sewing terms

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2010)

Wax Tailor is the alias of French trip hop/hip hop producer, Jean-Christophe Le Saoût^[1] (born 19 July 1975 in Vernon, Eure). He started in 2004 with two EP's (Lost The Way and Que Sera / Where My Heart's At). The first album Tales of the Forgotten Melodies was released in March 2005, mixing hip-hop, downtempo, trip-hop with samples extracted from movies. This album became one of the best selling electronic releases of the year^{[citation needed]}. The second album Hope & Sorrow released in April 2007. It was nominated for the French "Victoires de la Musique" and US Indie music award.

Background[link]

After being a host on a French radio in the Paris suburb of Mantes-La-Jolie, JC Le Saout started the French Rap band La Formule in the 1990s. He created his label Lab'Oratoire in 1998 and produced records from La Formule as well as Break Beat compilations and a collaboration with the Swedish band Looptroop. He began work on the Wax Tailor project in 2001, first appearing on a remix of Looptroop & La Formule's "Deep Under Water". Wax Tailor's first EP Lost The Way was released in 2004 and features contributions from Charlotte Savary, Marina Quaisse, and Big Dada rapper Infinite Livez. Other musicians who have appeared alongside Wax Tailor include North Carolina Hip-Hop duo The Others made up of Mattic, Johnny Madwreck "Madwreck" and DJ DR, Ursula Rucker, Sharon Jones, Voice and A State Of Mind.

His third album "In The Mood For Life" was released on September 22, 2009.

Winner of the 7th annual Independent Music Awards Vox Pop vote for best Dance/Electronica album "Hope & Sorrow"

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Tales of the Forgotten Melodies 2005
• Hope & Sorrow 2007
• In The Mood For Life 2009

EPs[link]

• Lost the Way 2004
• Que Sera/Where my Heart's at 2004
• Our Dance/Walk the Line 2006
• Positively Inclined/The Way We Lived 2007
• To Dry Up/The Games You Play 2007
• We Be/There is Danger 2008
• Say Yes 2009
• I Own You 2010

Remixes[link]

• Looptroop & La Formule - Deep under Water (Wax Tailor remix) 2001
• Olaf Hund - Kitch Kitch Myrtille Sauvage 2001
• Clover - Death of the Lonely Superhero (Wax Tailor remix) 2005
• Nina Simone - I Am Blessed 2008

Videos[link]

• I Own You (Charlie Winston & Wax Tailor)
• Say yes (A.S.M & Wax Tailor)
• Where my hearts at (Tenas)
• The Games You Play (Tenas)
• We Be (Mathieu Foucher)
• We be (Al'Arash Collectif)
• Positively Inclined (A.S.M)
• To Dry up (Laurent King)
• Hypnosis Theme (Hugo Arcier)
• Our Dance (Laurent King)
• Lost the Way (Seamus Haley)
• Dragon Chasers

Covers, references, and sampling[link]

• His track "Seize The Day" recorded with Charlotte Savary appears in the soundtrack of the 2008 film Paris by Cédric Klapisch.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Wax Tailor at Discogs
• Wax Tailor We Be : by Mathieu Foucher
• Wax Tailor artist page at Le Plan
• Wax Tailor at MusicBrainz
• Wax Tailor artistpage at Mole Listening Pearls

Aloe Blacc
Blacc at Festival Mundial in Tilburg on June 19, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III
Born	January 8, 1979
Origin	Orange County, California, United States
Genres	Soul, R&B, jazz, hip hop
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Stones Throw Records, Goontrax
Associated acts	Emanon, Exile, Lena Meyer-Landrut, Sherif
Website	Aloe Blacc.com

Aloe Blacc (born Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III; January 7, 1979^[1][2]) is an American soul singer, rapper and musician. He is married to Australian rapper Maya Jupiter.

[edit] Early career and Shine Through (1995–2009)

Blacc was born in Orange County, California to Panamanian parents.^[3] He began his music career in 1995 as a rapper in the hip hop duo Emanon with producer Exile.

By the late 1990s, Blacc was part of the duo Emanon and joined the group Lootpack on tour in Europe. The duo released six albums. This led to Blacc working with the French Jazz group Jazz Liberatorz. He released an album at the end of the 1990s.^[4]

In 2003, Blacc signed with Stones Throw Records and began a solo career. On July 11, 2006, he released his first LP album, Shine Through, on CD, vinyl record and online (on the Stones Throw website).

He then toured across Europe and the U.S. with Emanon, while working on his second solo album.

In 2009, Blacc collaborated with the Japanese hip hop producer Cradle. They called themselves Bee.

[edit] Mainstream success and Good Things (2010–present)

In 2010, Blacc released his second album, Good Things, on Stones Throw records. The album was produced by Jeff Dynamite and Leon Michels for Truth & Soul Productions.

Blacc was signed by Matthew Larkin for the charity album Red Hot + Rio 2, a follow-up to the 1996 Red Hot + Rio. Proceeds from the sales were donated to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues. In 2011, Kenneth Bager used Aloe Blacc on "The Sound of Swing, Pt. 2 (Oh Na Na)" co-written by Thomas Troelsen.^[5]

In summer 2011, Blacc performed on the main stages at major festivals such as Glastonbury and The Falls Festival in Australia with his primary touring band The Grand Scheme. "I Need a Dollar" is the opening title track on the HBO series, How To Make It In America.

Television appearances[link]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

With Emanon[link]

With Cradle[link]

• Bee – Open Your Mind (2009)

With The Grand Scheme[link]

• "Dark End Of The Street" from the Carhartt: Dark End Of The Street Compilation (2010)
• "Green Lights Grand Scheme Remix" from the UK Sony/Epic Single Release (2011)

With Joel Van Dijk[link]

• "I Got The Blues" Rolling Stones Cover - Mojo: Sticky Soul Fingers Compilation (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aloe Blacc

• Aloe Blacc
• Aloe Blacc at Stones Throw Records
• RBMA Radio On Demand – Melbourne Marvels – Aloe Blacc (Stones Throw)
• Short Film on Aloe Blacc
• NPR interview from October 2010
• (fr) Interview with Aloe Blacc on Soulrnb.com
• NPR interview from February 2011
• Aloe Blacc – Radio 1Xtra Live Lounge

Dennis Quaid
Quaid in 1991
Born	Dennis William Quaid (1954-04-09) April 9, 1954 (age 58) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1975–present
Spouse	P. J. Soles (1978–1983) Meg Ryan (1991–2001) Kimberly Buffington (2004–present)
Children	Jack Henry Quaid Thomas Boone Quaid Zoe Grace Quaid
Relatives	Randy Quaid (brother)

Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder. Some of his notable credits include Jaws 3-D, The Right Stuff, Enemy Mine, Great Balls of Fire!, The Big Easy, Far from Heaven, The Rookie, The Day After Tomorrow, Vantage Point, Footloose, The Parent Trap, Soul Surfer and Innerspace.

Early life[link]

Quaid was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Juanita Bonniedale "Nita" (née Jordan), a real estate agent, and William Rudy Quaid (November 21, 1923 – February 8, 1987), an electrician and a third cousin of performer Gene Autry.^[1] He is the younger brother of actor Randy Quaid. The Quaid brothers grew up in Bellaire, Texas, which is a small city surrounded by Houston, and in southwest Houston. Quaid has English, Irish, and Cajun (French) ancestry.^[2] He attended Paul W. Horn Elementary School in Bellaire and Pershing Middle School in Houston. He studied Mandarin and dance at Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas, and later in college, at the University of Houston, under drama coach Cecil Pickett, who had previously taught at Bellaire High and whose daughter is actress Cindy Pickett. It was during his time at Bellaire High School that he developed the nickname 'Dennis Quand', (a combination of 'Quaid' and 'Bond') in relation to his obsession with the 007 movie character and was regularly referred to by this name.

Career[link]

After his brother, Randy, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Last Detail (1973), Quaid dropped out of the University of Houston before graduating and moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career of his own.^[2] He initially had trouble finding work but began to gain notice when he appeared in Breaking Away (1979) and earned good reviews for his role in The Right Stuff (1983).^[2]

Known for his grin,^[3] Quaid has appeared in both comedic and dramatic roles.^[2] Quaid had starring roles in the films Enemy Mine (1985) and Innerspace (1987). He also achieved acclaim for his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire! (1989).^[2] In 1989, he also appeared throughout the Bonnie Raitt music video for the song "Thing Called Love."^[4]

Quaid's career lost steam in the early 1990s, after he fought anorexia nervosa and kicked a cocaine addiction.^[2] He continued to garner positive reviews in a variety of films, however, such as Doc Holliday in Wyatt Earp (1994).^[2] Quaid was also the guest star of a season 2 episode of Muppets Tonight (1997). He starred in the remake of The Parent Trap (1998), playing the part of the twins' father, and as an aging pro football quarterback in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday (1999). Some of Quaid's more recent film credits include Frequency (2000), The Rookie (2002), Far From Heaven (2002), Cold Creek Manor (2003), The Flight of the Phoenix (2004), In Good Company (2004), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Yours, Mine and Ours (2005), Vantage Point (2008), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), and Pandorum (2009).

In 2009, Quaid guest starred in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, playing Mr. Krabs' grandfather, Captain Redbeard.

He portrayed U.S. President Bill Clinton, alongside Michael Sheen as Tony Blair and Hope Davis as Hillary Clinton, in the 2010 film The Special Relationship.

Awards[link]

For his role in Far from Heaven (2002) he won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He received nominations for Best Supporting Actor from the Golden Globe Awards, the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Personal life[link]

Quaid golfing in 2006.

Relationships and children[link]

Quaid and actress P. J. Soles were married on November 25, 1978. The couple were divorced on January 23, 1983.

On February 14, 1991, he and Meg Ryan were married. Quaid and Ryan have a son, Jack Henry (born April 24, 1992), who played Marvel in the movie The Hunger Games. They were divorced on July 16, 2001. In a 2008 interview with Insight, Ryan stated, "Dennis was not faithful to me for a very long time, and that was very painful. I found out more about that after I was divorced."^[5]

Quaid dated Shanna Moakler in 2001. They were together when she was approached by Playboy, and they discussed it before she posed nude in the magazine.^[6] The relationship lasted for eight months.^[7]

Quaid married Kimberly Buffington, an Austin, Texas real-estate agent, on July 4, 2004 at his ranch in Paradise Valley, Montana.^[8] The couple had twins, born via a gestational carrier, on November 8, 2007, in Santa Monica, California. Their son Thomas Boone was born first at 8:26 A.M. and weighed six pounds, twelve ounces (3.06 kg). Daughter Zoe Grace was born two minutes later, weighing five pounds, nine ounces (2.52 kg).^[9][10]

On November 18, 2007, hospital staff mistakenly gave Quaid's ten-day-old twins a dosage of heparin 1,000 times the common dosage for infants.^[11][12] Their attorney said the newborns will "be fine now," but Quaid filed a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer, Baxter Healthcare, claiming that packaging for the two doses of heparin are not different enough.^[13] In May 2008, the Quaids testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asking U.S. Congress not to preempt the right to sue drug manufacturers for negligence under state law.^[14]

Buffington filed for divorce from Quaid in March 2012. According to the divorce petition, the marriage had "become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities."^[15] Buffington's attorney withdrew the divorce papers on April 26, 2012.^[16]

Interests[link]

Quaid was raised in the Baptist faith.^[17][18]

In addition to acting, Quaid is a musician and plays with his band, the Sharks. Quaid also has a pilot's license and is a five-handicap golfer. In 2005, he was named as the top golfer among the "Hollywood set" by Golf Digest.

After the filming of The Express: The Ernie Davis Story, Quaid went to Cleveland Browns Stadium to dedicate Davis's jersey.

Substance use[link]

There have been extensive stories about Quaid's past abuse of cocaine. In a candid 2002 interview with Larry King on his talk show, after King asked about his motives for using drugs, Quaid responded, "Well, you got to put it in context. Back in the late '60s, early '70s. That was back during the time where, you know, drugs were going to expand our minds and everybody was experimenting and everything. We were really getting high, we didn't know it. And cocaine at that time was considered harmless. You know. I remember magazine articles in 'People' Magazine of doctors saying, it is not addicting. It is just—alcohol is worse. So I think we all fell into that. But that's not the way it was."

When asked if he believed he had ever been addicted to the drug, he responded, "It was a gradual thing. But it got to the point where I couldn't have any fun unless I had it. Which is a bad place to be." Later in the interview he said, "But I saw myself being dead in about five years if I didn't stop."^[19]

In April 2011, while promoting his film, Soul Surfer, Quaid was very candid when it came to questions regarding his past drug abuse. He blamed his sudden thrust into the Hollywood scene for his trouble with cocaine. He said, "Coming from where I came from - lower-middle-class life, from Houston into Hollywood - and all of a sudden this success starts happening to you, I just didn't know how to handle that." Quaid also made bold accusations about the American film industry in the 1970s, claiming, "Cocaine was even in the budgets of movies, thinly disguised.... It was petty cash, you know? It was supplied, basically, on movie sets because everyone was doing it." On his addiction, Quaid said, "I'd wake up, snort a line, and swear I wasn't going to do it again that day ... but then four o'clock rolled around, and I'd be right back down the same road like a little squirrel on one of those treadmills."^[20]

In October 2009, Dennis Quaid narrowly avoided being arrested for DUI, when a police officer managed to persuade him to get out of his car and get a cab.^[21]

Charities[link]

Quaid lends his name to the annual "Dennis Quaid Charity Weekend" (formerly the "Jiffy Lube/Dennis Quaid Charity Classic") in Austin. The golf tournament attracts numerous celebrities with the proceeds split among local children's charities. He is a member of the Bel-Air Country Club in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California, and tries to stay at homes on private courses when he is on the road.

Quaid works with the International Hospital for Children in New Orleans, Louisiana. He makes trips to Central America to help build medical clinics and transport sick children back to the U.S. for treatment they cannot get locally.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Silver, Murray, 2005. When Elvis Meets the Dalai Lama, (Bonaventure Books, Savannah), in which the author describes Quaid's participation in the film Great Balls of Fire.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dennis Quaid

• Dennis Quaid at the Internet Movie Database
• Dennis Quaid at AllRovi
• Dennis Quaid at Emmys.com