Among the lost professions we can mention the profession of tailor. It got many names over time. A profession new for its time.

The profession usually run in the family and the father learned it to his son and so the profession became a family name.

The profession of the tailor and the French influence

The tailors of the old days sewed skirts, shirts and other accessories of the costume of the people of the sheepfold and the village. As time passed, the Greeks began to Europeanize, as did their clothes.

A new fashion came to light, the French.

Thus the seamstresses were called frangoraftades from the “Franks”. They were wandering around the villages with a bag of drill cloths that were modern and not loom.

On the other hand, the tailor was the one who specialized in sewing the races of the nuns. While the Vlach tailors were experts in the costumes of the Vlachs who usually called the “fustanellas”.

Of course sewing and weaving were household chores, especially of the women who made the basic garments. However, as mentioned, there were also professional tailors who specialized in the manufacture of specific types of clothing.

According to the lesbian historian Panagiotis Samaras, the largest and oldest guilds in the city of Mytilene were the tailors, the fur maker and the silk fabric maker (Kazazides).

Materials used and the specialties of the tailors

The tailors made the domestic garments, either from felt (hence the name “tsochatzides”) or from amba (the “ambatzides”), and sewed them with silk thread (“brisimi”), decorating them with embroidery and all-silk buttons.

The specialty of “tsochatzis”, who sewed “salvaria”, “vests” and “kaftans” was necessary in the early 19th century. The “ambatzides” gradually replaced the “tsochatzides” completely. They used the imported “amba”, a kind of thick fabric that was woven in Eastern Romulia and dyed in two colors usually (blue and red).

For the good and difficult clothes there was the special tailor.

The tailor’s tools

Their tools were a thimble, a pair of scissors, a measuring tape and a buckle (a special hook to hold the fabric in place).