What Does "Tailored" Mean?

If I had a dime for every time an MPB commenter said something like, "I'd love to sew men's clothes but I don't have the tailoring skills" or "I lack your wicked tailoring skills," "I can't tailor," etc. -- I'd have a jar full of dimes!

I have a hunch what they're talking about (anything finished like a commercial men's garment) but then again, what does the adjective "tailored" actually mean?  I wasn't sure, so I looked it up.

Here are the most common definitions I found:

1.  (of clothes) Smart, fitted, and well cut.

2. (of clothes) Cut in a particular way: "a poorly tailored suit."

3. Simple, trim, or severe in line or design: a neat, tailored dress; tailored curtains.

4. Made by a tailor; custom-made.

I think nearly all of these could define any garment that's made to fit a particular person, i.e., all garments we sew ourselves.  Yes?  No?  Maybe?

OK, most people wouldn't consider this nightie -- which looks like something Eva Gabor wore in "Green Acres" because it is -- to be a tailored garment.

But even a muu muu or pegnoir has to fit the wearer and I'm sure this one was fitted to Eva (no doubt by costume designer Jean Louis himself).

Anyway, I think what comes most immediately to mind when we think of tailoring is men's suits.

But a man's suit requires the same skills that go into a woman's suit.

And surely, this Yves Saint Laurent shift dress is a tailored garment too:

As are these "Name That Pattern" rejects:

So is making a shirt pocket tailoring?  How about a collar or a cuff?   A double-welt pocket?

Can stretch knits be tailored?  I'm confused!

In closing, readers, what do you understand by the term "tailored" and do you apply it to all the clothes you sew, or just the ones that are highly fitted or require hand sewing or multiple layers of interfacing?

What does "tailored" mean to you?

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