Dressmakers: Transitions in the urban production of custom-made clothing, 1880-1920

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine dressmakers and the dressmaking trade between 1880 and 1920. The study investigated the diverse characteristics of a trade dominated by women and the changing role of custom clothing production for producers and consumers. The focus was on transitions that occurred as the ready-made industry expanded into all categories of women's apparel and custom producers faced the changes and challenges of new retail environments and work processes. Because these changes were most pronounced in cities, the study centered on U.S. East coast urban areas, with specific analysis of the trade in Baltimore.;The transformation from wearing custom produced to wearing factory produced clothing occurred in uneven stages throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Dressmakers were integral to clothing production processes, but the trade encompassed a variety of work experiences, and included diverse descriptions of workers under one occupational title. Within specific geographic areas there were variations that depended on regional opportunities and immigration patterns. Therefore, no single description of dressmakers emerged. In cities with a high immigrant population, the trade was dominated by second generation women. In Baltimore the trade was dominated by native-born women.;There were more pronounced differences between self-employed dressmakers and wage-earners in dressmaking shops. The self-employed were older and more likely to be married than the population of dressmakers as a whole. By 1900, more dressmakers were wage-earners and the trade divided into two extremes, either large-scale producers or individuals who worked by the day. The former created factory-like work environments, with assembly line production in Baltimore and other cities while individual dressmakers often operated marginal businesses.;By the end of the nineteenth century, dressmakers faced increased competition, lack of capital and scarcity of skilled workers. Vocational schools attempted to address training issues. But, as dressmaking began to resemble factory labor, job seeking women turned to clerical work or sales for less seasonal, better paying and higher status employment. At the same time, customers turned to ready-made clothing and the shopping experience offered by department stores. Dressmaking businesses evolved to become only a minor source of women's clothing.