A tailor creates suits to custom fit clients. Tailors must have a strong understanding of fabrics, patterns and stitching techniques. Mastery of both machine and hand sewing is needed in tailoring. A tailor may specialize in either men’s or ladies' clothing.

Tailors work in many different locations, such as their own shop, a retail clothing store or for a clothing manufacturer. It's possible for tailors who make clothing for manufacturers to get promoted to a fashion designer if they show talent for design. A tailor working in retail often custom fits ready-to-wear suits for customers, while tailors who own their own shops make clothing for clients.

After discussing the client's clothing and fitting needs and deciding on the fabric for a handmade garment, the tailor making a custom suit first measures the client and designs a pattern. Tailors may create original patterns or adjust a ready made pattern to fit the measurements of each customer. When the pattern pieces are cut out of the chosen fabric, the tailor constructs the main parts of the garment by stitching them together with loose hand sewing called basting stitches.

The client then tries the rough garment on while the tailor makes fitting adjustments using pins or tailor's chalk. Tailor's chalk is hand-held and is usually triangular or square in shape. Tailors use the edges to make lines or marks to indicate where the fabric should be sewn or cut. Tailors must sew the garment before the chalk is rubbed off as it's not made to be permanent. To complete the garment, tailors add collars, pockets and fasteners such as snaps, zippers or buttons.

Tailors often make suits and dress clothes for people who need difficult to find sizes, such as those who are very tall or very short. Larger sized or very small sized people may also need or want custom-made clothes if they have difficulty finding enough ready-to-wear pieces in their size in retail stores. Some tailors work in the entertainment industry making costumes for theaters or television and film production companies. Tailors in larger shops often have assistants to help with pattern making, measuring customers, stitching and other tasks.

Many tailors and tailors' assistants start as alterationists working in dry cleaning shops or retail stores. Alterationists do tasks such as hemming trousers to adjust the length and taking in or letting out the waist area of pants and skirts to adjust the fit. Alterationists may also replace broken zippers in garments or shorten or lengthen jacket sleeves.