Dressmaker
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.
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.
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.
Dressmakers also serve those who are not accomodated by the ready-to-wear market, such as those with unusual taste or women who are larger, smaller, taller, shorter, or larger busted than the average consumer. Custom dressmaking customers also appreciate personal service and fine quality, hand craftsmanship in addition to custom fit. Custom dressmakers use construction techniques that range from commercial to couture, depending on the skills and perceived market of the dressmaker.
For a free referral to a custom clothier in the U.S. visit the website of the non-profit trade association for sewing professionals, the Professional Association of Custom Clothiers (PACC) at [
1]www.paccprofessionals.org
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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:
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A Custom Clothier makes custom garments one at a time, to order, to meet an individual customer's needs and preferences.
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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.
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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.
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.
