Dressmaker
Encyclopedia
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
for women, such as dress
Dress
A dress is a garment consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment.Dress may also refer to:*Clothing in general*Costume, fancy dress...
es, blouse
Blouse
A blouse is a loose-fitting upper garment that was formerly worn by workmen, peasants, artists, women and children. It is typically gathered at the waist so that it hangs loosely over the wearer's body. Today, the word most commonly refers to a woman's shirt but can also refer to a man's shirt if...
s, and evening gown
Gown
A gown is a loose outer garment from knee- to full-length worn by men and women in Europe from the early Middle Ages to the 17th century ; later, gown was applied to any woman's garment consisting of a bodice and attached skirt.A long, loosely-fitted gown called a Banyan was worn by men in the 18th...
s. Also called a mantua-maker (historically) or a modiste.
Notable dressmakers
- Cristobal BalenciagaCristóbal BalenciagaCristóbal Balenciaga Eizaguirre was a Spanish Basque fashion designer and the founder of the Balenciaga fashion house....
- Charles Frederick WorthCharles Frederick WorthCharles Frederick Worth , widely considered the Father of Haute couture, was an English fashion designer of the 19th century, whose works were produced in Paris.-Career:...
- Isabel ToledoIsabel ToledoIsabel Toledo is a Cuban-American fashion designer based in New York.-Personal life:Isabel Toledo was born in Cuba and moved to New Jersey where she attended high school and met her future husband and collaborator, Ruben Toledo...
- David EmanuelDavid Emanuel (fashion designer)David Emanuel is a Welsh fashion designer who is, perhaps, best known for having designed the wedding dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1981.-Early years:Born and brought up in Bridgend , David Emanuel excelled in music...
- Gummo MarxGummo MarxMilton "Gummo" Marx was an American vaudeville performer and theatrical agent. He was the fourth-born of the Marx Brothers. Born in New York City, he worked with his brothers on the vaudeville circuit, but left acting when he was drafted into the U.S...
- Madeleine VionnetMadeleine VionnetThis article is about the haute couture designer. For the fashion label, see Vionnet Madeleine Vionnet was a French fashion designer...
Related terms
- Dressmaker as an adjectiveAdjectiveIn grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
denotes clothing made in the styleFashionFashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
of a dressmaker, frequently in the term dressmaker details which includes ruffleRuffleIn sewing and dressmaking, a ruffle, frill, or furbelow is a strip of fabric, lace or ribbon tightly gathered or pleated on one edge and applied to a garment, bedding, or other textile as a form of trimming...
s, frills, ribbonRibbonA ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily for binding and tying. Cloth ribbons, most commonly silk, are often used in connection with clothing, but are also applied for innumerable useful, ornamental and symbolic purposes...
or braidBraidA braid is a complex structure or pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands of flexible material such as textile fibres, wire, or human hair...
trimTrim (sewing)Trim or trimming in clothing and home decorating is applied ornament, such as gimp, passementerie, ribbon, ruffles, or, as a verb, to apply such ornament....
. Dressmaker in this sense is contrasted to tailorTailorA tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
ed 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 mantuasMantua (clothing)A mantua is an article of women's clothing worn in the late 17th century and 18th century. Originally a loose gown, the later mantua was an overgown or robe typically worn over stays, stomacher and a co-ordinating petticoat....
, or in general a dressmaker.
- Modiste, a maker of fashionable clothing and accessories, with the implication that the articles made reflect the current ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
fashionFashionFashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
s.
- 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 choose combinations of line, proportion, color, and texture for intended garments. They may have no sewing or patternmaking skills, 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.
- A wardrobe coěnsultant or fashion advisor recommends styles and colors 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. Prior to the Industrial RevolutionIndustrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, a seamstress did handsewing, especially under the putting-out systemPutting-Out systemThe putting-out system was a means of subcontracting work. It was also known as the workshop system. In putting-out, work was contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who completed the work in their own facilities, usually their own homes....
. Older variants are seamster and sempstress.
- Sewist is a relatively new term, combining the words "sew" and "artist", to describe someone who creates sewn works of art, which can include clothing or other items made with sewn elements.