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For other uses see Dressmaker (disambiguation)

A dressmaker is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Also called a mantua-maker (historically) or a modiste. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Dressmaker may refer to: Dressmaker, a person who makes custom clothing for women. ... Men and women wearing suits, an example of one of the many modern forms of clothing (from the 1937 Chicago Woolen Mills catalog) Clothing is defined, in its broadest sense, as coverings for the torso and limbs as well as coverings for the hands (gloves), feet (socks, shoes, sandals, boots... Look up dress in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A blouse A blouse most commonly refers to a womans shirt, although the term is also used for some mens military uniform shirts. ... Wedding - Bridesmaid in long gown A gown or evening gown is a womans evening wear, corresponding to mens formal wear for white tie and black tie events. ...

History of dressmaking

The Oxford English Dictionary first records dressmaker in 1803. Throughout the nineteenth century and until the rise of ready-to-wear, most women who did not make their own clothes at home employed a local dressmaker, who copied or adapted the latest clothing ideas from Paris based on printed illustrations called fashion plates. The Oxford English Dictionary print set The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP), and is generally regarded as the most comprehensive and scholarly dictionary of the English language. ... 1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Men and women wearing suits, an example of one of the many modern forms of clothing (from the 1937 Chicago Woolen Mills catalog) Clothing is defined, in its broadest sense, as coverings for the torso and limbs as well as coverings for the hands (gloves), feet (socks, shoes, sandals, boots... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... Drawing is one way of making an image: it is the process of making marks on a surface by applying pressure from or moving a tool on the surface. ... A fashion plate is, literally, an illustration (a plate) demonstrating the highlights of fashionable styles of clothing. ...

Today, custom dressmakers fill a niche between haute couture and ready-to-wear, and are often employed for one-of-a-kind special occasion dresses, such as wedding gowns and prom dresses. An evening gown, made of sheel pink satin with a black lace trim Haute couture (French for high sewing or high dressmaking; IPA: ) refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted fashions. ... A wedding dress seen at Thornbury Castle, England A wedding dress or wedding gown is clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

See also

• Fashion design
• Fashion designer
• Tailor
• Seamstress

Fashion design is the applied art dedicated to the design of clothing and lifestyle accessories created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time. ... Brief introduction on the history of fashion design and designers Fashion design is the art dedicated to the creation of wearing apparel and lifestyle. ... A tailor attending to a customer in Hong Kong. ... Turn of the century sewing in Detroit, Michigan An old sewing machine Sewing is an ancient craft involving the stitching of cloth, animal skins, furs, or other materials, using needle and thread. ...

Related terms

• Dressmaker as an adjective denotes clothing made in the style of a dressmaker, frequently in the term dressmaker details which includes ruffles, frills, ribbon or braid trim. Dressmaker in this sense is contrasted to tailored and has fallen out of use since the rise of casual wear in the mid-twentieth century.
• Mantua-maker, in the eighteenth century a maker of mantuas, or in general a dressmaker.
• Modiste, a maker of fashionable clothing and accessories, with the implication that the articles made reflect the current Paris modes.

• Sewing Professional is the most general term for those who make their living by sewing, teaching, writing about sewing, or retailing sewing supplies. She or he may work out of her home, a studio, or retail shop, and may work part-time or full-time. She or he may be any or all or the following sub-specialities:

• A Custom Clothier makes custom garments one at a time, to order, to meet an individual customer's needs and preferences.

• A Custom Dressmaker specializes in women's custom apparel, including day dresses, careerwear, suits, evening or bridal wear, sportswear, or lingerie.

• A Tailor makes custom menswear-style jackets and the skirts or trousers that go with them, for men or women.

• An Alterations Specialist, or Alterationist adjusts the fit of completed garments, usually ready-to-wear, or restyles them. Note that while all tailors can do alterations, by no means can all alterationists do tailoring.

• Designers think up combinations of line, proportion, color, and texture for intended garments. They may have no sewing or patternmaking skills whatsoever, and may only sketch or conceptualize garments.

• Patternmakers flat draft the shapes and sizes of the numerous pieces of a garment by hand using paper and measuring tools or by computer using AutoCAD based software, or by draping muslin on a dressform. The resulting pattern pieces must comprise the intended design of the garment and they must fit the intended wearer.

• A Wardrobe Consultant or Fashion Advisor recommends styles and colors that are flattering for a client.

• A Seamstress is someone who sews seams, or in other words, a machine operator in a factory who may not have the skills to make garments from scratch or to fit them on a real body. This term is not a synonym for dressmaker. Seamstress is an old euphemism for prostitute. At the turn of the last century in Seattle, for example, 80% of the city's revenues came from taxes on sewing machines, which were placed in windows instead of red lights. No doubt respectable dressmakers and tailors had to sew in the dark.^{[citation needed]}

An adjective is a part of speech that modifies a noun or a pronoun, usually by describing it or making its meaning more specific. ... The term fashion usually applies to a prevailing mode of expression, but quite often applies to a personal mode of expression that may or may not apply to all. ... Portrait of a woman wearing a heavily ruffled cap, 1789 . In sewing and dressmaking, a ruffle or frill is a strip of fabric, lace or ribbon tightly gathered or pleated on one edge and applied to a garment, bedding, curtain or other textile as a form of trimming. ... Portrait of a woman wearing a heavily ruffled cap, 1789 . In sewing and dressmaking, a ruffle or frill is a strip of fabric, lace or ribbon tightly gathered or pleated on one edge and applied to a garment, bedding, curtain or other textile as a form of trimming. ... A ribbon is a thin band of flexible material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily for binding and tying. ... A braid Step by step creation of a basic braid using three strings To braid is to interweave or twine three or more separate strands of one or more materials in a diagonally overlapping pattern. ... A tailor attending to a customer in Hong Kong. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... A Mantua is an article of womens clothing worn in the late seventeenth century and eighteenth century. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... Mode has several meanings: In statistics, the mode is the value that has the largest number of observations, namely the most frequent value or values. ...

References

Deckert, Barbara: Sewing for Plus Sizes: Design, Fit and Construction for Ample Apparel, Taunton, 1999, Appendix B: How to Find, Select, and Work With a Custom Clothier, pp. 142-143.

Picken, Mary Brooks: The FashionDictionary, Funk and Wagnalls, 1957.