Tailors

History

In England, there were many negative associations with the profession of tailoring. Tailors were often called "snips", "bodkins", "thimbles", "shreds", "stiches" [sic], and "geese" (referring to the tailor's "goose" or iron). In William Shakespeare's plays, a tailor was variously called a "thread", a "thimble", and a "rag". By reputation, tailors were generally presumed to drink to excess and to have effeminate tendencies (likely because of the view of sewing as a woman's activity). Tailors were presumed to be physically weak and to have delicate constitutions. It was commonly asserted that their diets consisted of cabbage. In comics, they were portrayed as cuckolds or henpecked husbands. A common saying at the time was "Nine tailors make a man".