In shop work we have two types of supplies, on hand non job specific and supplies purchased specifically for a particular job.
On hand non job specific supplies include pins, needles, threads, zippers in many colours and lengths, hooks and eyes, basic buttons, interfacings in all weights, china silk for linings, and cotton muslin for making test garments to fine tune design and fit. These are often purchased from warehouses or wholesalers in large lots. I buy rolls of interfacings and linings, never two yards here or three yards there...I always buy a whole roll. For thread I buy long staple polyester on 5000 meter cones, it cheaper to buy in large quantities. Pins come in one pound boxes, stainless steel longs, also known as "dorcas dressmaker pins". Dorcas refers to the length, I have no idea where the term came from. I also have a good supply of fashion fabrics on hand, from rolls of silks to odd lots of whatever catches my eye to leftovers from previous jobs.
Then I also have job specific purchases. For example right now I'm making a bunch of special shirts for a local eatery. For these pieces I needed to buy a few rolls of black cotton spandex, several rolls of lace, and stretch bindings. Another job might include special notions such as hook and eye tape, steel boning, special fabrics, dyes, it depends. I have a few fabric swatch books from suppliers of evening fabrics, dupionis and shantungs, crepe satins, that sort of thing. I can order direct for wholesale prices rather than go to the fabric store and buy retail. For costly fabrics I will make the dress up in cotton muslin and perfect the fit and design and then take the cotton with me to the outlet so I buy no more than I need. For something like re-embroidered brocades that start at 150$ a meter, you don't buy more than you need and you don't waste an inch.
Most dress shops and costume shops operate that way, combining on hand basics with job specific purchases. We almost always we buy in large quantities as it's cheaper that way. We almost always hang on to everything, like scraps, leftover buttons, we never know when it's going to come in useful again. Costume shops will often hold onto costumes and recycle them into new costumes; the Shakespeare Festival shop in Stratford often uses and reuses costumes from previous seasons to make current season's costumes. Here's a little page describing the festival's costume warehouse. http://www.frugalfun.com/costumewhouse.html also the next site is one used by costume shops, there might be something interesting there for you: http://www.costumes.org/
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