skirtcafe.org

The word 'tailor' has a distinctly trouser-orientated feel about it and 'seamstress' implies a female dressmaker, so should male skirt makers be referred to as 'seamsters'?

Yes, I would agree with that

A more general term could be a sewer or sewist. A taylor sounds more like catering for the male population while a seamstress is more working more in the ladies' corner but also might assist a taylor.

I see myself more as a sewing machine operator and fabric cutter.

beachlion wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 5:28 pm A more general term could be a sewer or sewist.

I would prefer sewist, as sewer is liable to be misunderstood in print

pelmut wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 5:49 pm

beachlion wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 5:28 pm A more general term could be a sewer or sewist.

I would prefer sewist, as sewer is liable to be misunderstood in print

You have a point I think. It would sound strange at least if my wife would tell her friends that her husband is a sewer or she shares the bed with a sewer. I also prefer the term sewist.

Be careful of the SEWER as one who sews - also means that place where things go down the drain !

Yes Tailor is presumed to be a masculine term
and Seamstress feminine - that ess ending

Sewen or Sewn - can go both ways prefer dropping the 2nd e.

r.m.anderson wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 7:21 pm.... Yes Tailor is presumed to be a masculine term
and Seamstress feminine - that ess ending ......

As far as my limited command of English goes (2nd language), a seamstress to me seems to be a female who sews. That sewing could be for males as well as females.

Why, may I ask, create a "Label" for a person who makes skirts

By dictionary definitions;
A Tailor is a male garment maker.
A Seamstress is a female garment maker.

Thus - if I were to make clothes, I'ld be called a Tailor. If my wife were to make
clothes, she would be called a Seamstress.

The "names" or "labels" given the person making the clothes is not based on what
they make. It is based on the sex or gender of the person making the clothes.

This seams to be going down a rabbit hole...........why make things more difficult

Uncle Al

I second Uncle Al's comment!

That being said, growing up as a child I had always assumed a tailor was a man who exclusively sewed suits for men - in a professional capacity - because what else would he make? I always thought of myself as a "sewer" (pronounced sower, naturally) because I sewed, but didn't do it for a job. And any female was a seamstress - again in a professional capacity.

Nowadays, honestly, besides appreciating that tailors make any and all kinds of garments, I pretty much have the same opinion. My take on professional has also expanded - that is, there are different levels of skill and obsession, and that someone who sews incessantly and/or with skill deserves to claim the titles.

Uncle Al wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 9:35 pm
By dictionary definitions;
A Tailor is a male garment maker.
A Seamstress is a female garment maker.

With my pedant's hat on:

Does that mean a maker of male/female garments or a male/female maker of garments?  It is unusual to find a dictionary definition that is as unclear as that.

Uncle Al wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 9:35 pm.... By dictionary definitions;
A Tailor is a male garment maker.
A Seamstress is a female garment maker. ...

I understand that they want to make dictionaries as compact as possible but just add a space and three letters to each sentence to make it bullet proof.

A tailor is a male maker of garments.
A seamstress is a female maker of garments.

Again under the restrictions of my 2nd language skills.

beachlion wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 5:28 pm A more general term could be a sewer or sewist.

I have seen some garments that would be associated with a sewer

I never liked gender specific suffixes which is why I like seamster for anyone who sews. The term actress has been dropped in favour of actor for all humans .......... and perhaps animals too.

beachlion wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 5:28 pm I see myself more as a sewing machine operator and fabric cutter

No, you are a true artisan.