How long does it takes to learn how to make clothes?

Every now and again someone asks me "Can you teach me how to make a dress?" often followed by "There is a dress I like from *** that cost 300€ , I want to make it myself to save money".

I wonder if people in general assumes learning to sew is like learning a new recipe and in just after 2 hours you are ready to go and produce the dress you can buy in the shop for 300€.

I have studied fashion in university for over 5 years. I started using sewing machine as a 12 years old, and took me over 10 years of sewing to feel that I reached a professional level.

There is also material cost to consider, fabrics are not cheap and the brand that manage to produce a dress for 300€ has placed a huge order and that reduces per meter price. You'll also need to consider the cost of zip, buttons and all the other trimmings and the retail price for those are not cheap either.

A professional like me has also invested money on work tools. I have the top quality sewing machine, my mannequin, which is essential to ensure a good fit, is in my opinion the best that money can buy and costed over 1000€, and the costs of all the rest of the tools do add up.

And I think this lack of understanding and appreciation for the fashion professionals from the consumers lead to the exploitation of garment workers and environmental damages. It's sad that so many only cares about not spending much and completely oblivious to the welfare of highly skilled professionals.