In an era of fast fashion and in-store alterations, it’s surprising how many old school tailors there still are in Tokyo. Shops that are seemingly a part of the local community, and offer a more personal service that is clearly appreciated.
Photographs from a small group of islands
In an era of fast fashion and in-store alterations, it’s surprising how many old school tailors there still are in Tokyo. Shops that are seemingly a part of the local community, and offer a more personal service that is clearly appreciated.
Harry says
Nice shot. I like it! 🙂 There’s a real old fashioned vibe about it.
Lee says
Thanks. There is, isn’t there? It’d definitely be interesting to know when those dresses were originally designed.
cdilla says
A lovely scene brought to life by that natural smile.
Whenever I see a shop like this I think of the “Time Machine” film where George watches the tailors dummy change as the years pass by.
However, what I really want to see more of are those tiny side alleys. Are they for cats, or gnomes? I can just imagine see Murun Buchstansangur (https://tinyurl.com/kqbd5) ambling down there.
Lee says
Thanks. I heard them happily chatting away inside, and then she suddenly appeared at the door, making the shot. Lovely timing!
Good question. Sadly no idea to be honest. Just the tiny, invariably unused spaces between properties. Not sure about gnomes, but not uncommon to see cats making the most of them.
Squidpuppy says
What a pleasant image. Evokes a past era, happily not entirely vanished.
Back when I was a kid, our local tailor and his wife made house calls. That’s customer service. Employing a tailor / seamstress was really the only way to make store bought Japanese clothing fit Western sizes for expats. Eventually, they partly specialized in that, and served quite a few foreign families in our community. I don’t imagine that’s cost-effective, or necessary anymore.
Lee says
Yes, happy to report there are still a good number left.
That’s fascinating. A very different world from now, that’s for sure. Body sizes have obviously changed since then, plus the huge array of foreign made clothes means it’s easy for me to get sizes that fit. That said, I’m only skinny and not overly tall, but a few pals who aren’t quite as thin still struggle.
LAObserver says
It is quite noticeable to see this shop’s affection for a miniature ‘green belt’ in the front. Hopefully the Nihonjin love for natural flora will remain; even in a highly urbanized setting like Tokyo.
Lee says
Sure it will. For so many places like this, it’s basically their garden. Not much in the way of parks or greenery near here either, so those plants are even more important.