Tailor, Williamsburg, VA, Guía del visitante y qué hacer cerca

The Tailor on West Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg, Virginia, is a stop on the colonial town's main thoroughfare that shows how clothes were cut and sewn in the 18th century. It matters because clothing was one of the biggest things people bought, and the tailor's trade explains how cloth, skill and status fitted together.

The story behind it

In colonial towns almost every trade knew how to sew. A blacksmith or a shoemaker needed the skill as much as anyone, so sewing was a common ability and not a secret of the tailor alone. What set the tailor apart was cutting and fitting garments well.

When it came to price, the fabric made most of the difference. A plain cloth and a fine silk could cost very different amounts, while the way a garment was put together varied far less. Tailors dressed both men and women, but most of their income came from coats, waistcoats (then spelled weskits) and breeches. For women and children they also made stays, boned supports that gave clothing its shape. Many were stiffened with baleine, the whalebone of the period.

What to look for

• Bolts and swatches of cloth, which show how much the choice of fabric shaped what a garment was worth.
• The three garments that paid the bills: a coat, a waistcoat and a pair of breeches, each cut from several shaped pieces.
• Stays, the stiffened, structured bodices, and the thin strips of baleine that gave them their firmness.
• The hand stitching, which is the real craft here, since every seam was sewn with needle and thread.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 15 to 20 minutes if you stop to look closely, longer if a costumed interpreter is demonstrating the trade.
• Check current opening hours and which buildings are open on the day, as programs in the historic area change.
• Morning is usually quieter on Duke of Gloucester Street, and the light is good for photos of the buildings.
• Other trade shops and taverns are within a short walk along the same street, so it fits easily into a longer stroll.

See it on a quest

The Tailor is one stop on Williamsburg Colonial Adventure - A Trip Through American History (PART 1), a self-guided walk through the colonial town. You reach the shop on foot as part of a longer route, the app tells you about the place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. There is no guide and no group to join, and you can start whenever you like. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.