Meaning
A woman who made dresses and other garments for female customers.
Description
Dressmakers worked from their own homes or from small workshops, making clothing to order for private customers. The trade ranged from skilled couturières who made high-fashion garments for wealthy clients to seamstresses producing everyday clothing for working women. Many young women learned dressmaking as apprentices working long hours for little pay in poorly lit workrooms. The introduction of the sewing machine in the mid-19th century transformed the trade. Dressmakers are frequently found in census records as both employers and as workers living in the households of their employers.
Also Known As
Seamstress, Mantua Maker, Modiste
Commonly Found In
- Census Returns
- Trade Directories
- Parish Registers
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