In the nation’s capital, Washingtonians like to look good when they dress up to go to a reception, a political rally or even a community meeting, and Cheryl A. Lofton, the owner of Cheryl A. Lofton Tailoring in Northwest, has helped her customers do just that by altering and improving their suits, jackets and dresses for over three decades.
Tailoring is a part of Lofton’s life and family tradition. She is the granddaughter of one of the District’s most prominent historical Black businessmen, Joe C. Lofton, the proprietor of Lofton Custom Tailoring, founded in 1939, when the District was racially segregated and African Americans could purchase but not try on clothes at such establishments as Garfinkel’s and Woodward & Lothrop.
She said family members during her era helped their grandfather’s business prosper.
“We grew up in it,” Lofton, 67, told The Informer. “We worked every summer in the family tailor shop. We had the chance to make a little money and learn how to sew and how the business works.”
On March 28, The Washington Informer will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a gala at the Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial Library in Northwest honoring D.C. legacy Black businesses such as Lofton’s.
“To be honored along with Lee’s Flower Shop, Ben’s Chili Bowl and Industrial Bank is great,” she said. “We are the children of the founders;we grew up together. We continue to run our businesses; we didn’t sell out.”
Joe C. Lofton Starts a Local Dynasty
With the establishment of Lofton Custom Tailoring in 1939, Joe C. Lofton became the first African American to have a tailoring school in conjunction with a business in the District’s downtown.
A self-taught master tailor, throughout the 1940s and 1950s, he earned a reputation as a talented, dedicated entrepreneur offering quality tailoring and alteration services to noted politicians, attorneys, entertainers and other businesspeople.
It has been noted that Lofton’s skills were so highly regarded that he managed to get a contract from the federal government teaching veterans and people with disabilities how to tailor. This was a major feat as getting a government contract was rare for African Americans for much of the time he operated his business, due to rampant racial discrimination.
“We knew about the government contract but did not dwell on it,” said the younger Lofton, who has taken the lessons she learned from her grandfather as she continues the family legacy. “It was not a big deal. It was a part of our business, a part of what was going on.”
Cheryl Lofton Formally Joins the Family Business
Even though she worked for the business in a limited capacity as a young girl, Lofton joined her grandfather’s business at the age of 12, learning the art of sewing under the tutelage of the master tailor and entrepreneur.
At the age of 18, Lofton started managing one of the two family tailoring shops, working at the establishment while getting a bachelor’s degree from Howard University.
At the shop she managed, she proved herself as a capable tailor providing excellent alterations and custom tailoring to many of the District’s elite.
“One of the most famous people ever to come by was former vice president Spiro Agnew,” said Lofton. “We also tailored for people such William Raspberry, Ron Walters and Marion Barry. I have a photo of Marion Barry holding one of my infants.”
Lofton explained that her grandfather tailored for musician Fats Domino and some of the musical and theatrical star performers that entertained at the Howard Theatre in Northwest.
With her own business, Lofton has made a name for herself as a person who knows how to fit garments properly on women in the District.
In particular, Lofton is passionate about making sure women’s alterations are performed with every curve of their body in mind.
“While a large part of our clientele continues to be male, I urge women to have a personal tailor to ensure they have a properly fitting garment,” Lofton said.
Historically a family venture, the tailor and entrepreneur said her children are involved in the business, but do not sew.
“They mainly focus on social media and getting the word out about what we are doing,” she said.
As a legacy Black business in the District, Lofton has high hopes for the future of the family business.
“My hope will be that my children and my mentees will continue to carry on the business and pass it along to their children,” Lofton explained.
She also hopes to change the face of tailoring.
“I don’t have any daughters, but I also don’t want tailoring to always be considered a male-dominated profession,” Lofton told The Informer. “That’s why I have two young female assistants, who I mentor, to ensure the presence of a female at the top of my business.”