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Why aren’t these industries being disrupted?
In the spirit of Marie Kondo, why isn’t it easier to prolong the life of what brings us joy — where are the modern tailors, cobblers, and dry-cleaners?
Maybe I’m in the minority. I still go to the tailor periodically for repairs or adjustments to my garments. I had a pair of boots resoled recently. And I visit the dry-cleaner every few weeks to have nicer items laundered.
Problem is, these apparel-adjacent industries are incredibly old-fashioned — in a bad way.
Initially, they can be hard to find at all. Depending on where you live, a good tailor could be miles away. Even if you find one or a handful, it’s tricky to know if they’re any good. The same is true for shoe cobblers and dry cleaners. And things can go very wrong very fast if someone doesn’t know their craft.
Plus isn’t the chemical used in dry-cleaning a carcinogen? (Yes, PERC probably is.) Non-toxic alternatives do exist.
In the past, I’ve resorted to asking for recommendations by word-of-mouth and secondarily, making my own judgements by trial. But these professionals regularly close shop, rename their businesses, or change owners, lack digital presences, and are often opaque in terms of process or…
