Tailors and Cobblers Are Loving the Ozempic Boom

Americans dropping serious pounds on Ozempic-style drugs aren't simply buying smaller clothes—they're keeping cobblers and tailors busy. With about 11% of US adults now on GLP-1 medications, many are delaying full wardrobe makeovers, instead paying to shorten belts, take in pants, and even resize shoes and bag straps as their bodies change, reports Reuters. CEO Stephen Kelly of Cobblers Direct says his staff now shrinks up to 500 belts a week, with Jim's Cobbler Concierge of Manhattan nicknaming the rush "belt-zempic."

Surveys suggest that roughly 80% of GLP-1 users are still stuck in ill-fitting clothes and often wait six months on average before purchasing anything new. That's fueling business for alteration shops, thrift stores, and resale platforms like ThredUp, even as brands like Stitch Fix pitch stretchier, more flexible sizing to customers in rapid transition. "As we see that there are many more people in life transition with the advent of GLP-1s, we're leaning into that," says ThredUp exec Alon Rotem. More here.