Research was recently posted dedicated to the group’s uncovering of facts concerning the first Guild Meeting (the inaugural occasion of a tradition of Annual Test Garment Testaments). With that posting the group postulated that the Militant Guild of Rural Tailors’ primary networking mechanism was originally a seemingly haphazard array of tailors’ establishments spanning counties and continents that actually functioned as means of organizing and communicating Guild activity. That research further suggested that this underground network may still be active.
The MGRT Research Group has never formally stipulated that the Guild is active in this millennium and there is far too little substantive evidence to justify such a claim. However, speculation as been rife and suspicions that the Guild may never have completely disappeared has been on the rise since the advent and escalation of certain events, trends and associations which hint of Militant Guild culture.
In the research outlining a possible schedule/agenda of the first Guild meeting the group entertained the possibility that, if the Guild were to exist today, they may still be using loosely networked independent haberdashers as a way of coordinating their action away from the scrutiny of the authorities and the public at large.
The group has assessed the criteria necessary for establishments to could serve in this capacity today. The group assumes that shops would require a combination of general adherence to the Rural Tailoring Standards & Ethics, an earned reputation for authenticity and integrity regarding garment quality, and a cultivated attitude toward clientele with a clear focus on the local community providing the ability to create and sustain ties to potential Militant Guild operatives within the immediate region.
The research group has no direct evidence of specific shop-level involvement in the Guild. Indeed the research group has no direct evidence that the Guild “exists” at all today. However, as an exercise the group has reviewed contemporary shops which seem to “fit the bill” with respect the qualifications outlined above.
