Power

Until they find a way to cure cancer or solve world hunger with sewing machines, you're low on the geopolitical totem pole. If you're one of the tens of thousands of tailors working in retail or industry, you're basically just a paid set of hands. 

 
The only thing you have any control over. (Source)

You sew what people tell you to sew. You make adjustments to other people's creative designs. You clock in and out every day, and report to your boss exactly how many shirts you mended while on the job.

Did you meet a great new client and want to take a meeting? Good for you—let's just hope your boss approves of the time off.

There's one exception to this lack of power—being self-employed. If you're working for yourself, then you have some power in your business. You have the ability to set your own hours, take the jobs you want, and maybe even sew your own creations. You even have the power to make yourself really popular, as long as you treat your clients right.

Remember who you work for, because if you go telling people what they should be wearing instead of making them look good in what they want to wear, you're not going to have many long-term business relationships. And for Pete's sake, if someone's put on a little weight, never ever tell them. You don't want them to grab that needle and stab you.