{{Short description|Person who makes custom clothing for women}} {{Other uses}} {{Redirect|Seamstress|other uses|The Seamstress (disambiguation){{!}}The Seamstress}} {{Multiple issues| {{context|date=December 2017}} {{more citations needed|date=December 2017}} }}
[[Image:Pierre Balmain and Ruth Ford, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, November 9, 1947.jpg|thumb|Pierre Balmain and the actress Ruth Ford, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1947]]
A '''dressmaker''', also known as a '''seamstress''', is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as '''mantua-makers''', and are also known as a '''modiste''' or '''fabrician'''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Elster|first=Charles Harrington|title=The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations: The Complete Opinionated Guide for the Careful Speaker|date=2006|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0-618-42315-6|pages=112|language=en}}</ref>
==Notable dressmakers== *Cristóbal Balenciaga *Pierre Balmain *Coco Chanel *Christian Dior *David Emanuel *Norman Hartnell, royal dressmaker *Elizabeth Keckley, modiste and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln *Jean Muir, fashion designer * Madame Palmyre, a favorite designer and dressmaker of Eugénie, empress of France *Anna and Laura Tirocchi, Providence, Rhode Island *Isabel Toledo *Madeleine Vionnet *R'Bonney Gabriel, fashion designer and beauty queen of Miss Universe 2022 *Mak Tumang, fashion designer *Michael Cinco, fashion designer *Janet Walker, costumier and dress-making-bust inventor *Charles Frederick Worth
==Related terms== [[File:Jean Baptiste Jules Trayer Bretonische Schneiderinnen 1854.jpg|thumbnail|Jean-Baptiste Jules Trayer, ''Breton seamstresses in a shop'' (1854). Before the Industrial Revolution, a seamstress did hand sewing.]] [[File:Richard Redgrave - The Sempstress.jpg|thumb|''The Sempstress'' by Richard Redgrave, 1844]] * "Dressmaker" 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-20th century. * '''Mantua-maker''', in the 18th century a maker of mantuas, or in general a dressmaker.<ref>{{Citation |title=mantua-maker, n. |date=2023-03-02 |work=Oxford English Dictionary |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/oed/9782573513 |access-date=2026-02-21 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=2017 |title=Mantua maker, mantua woman |url=https://doi.org/10.5040/9781474269728.1660 |journal=The Dictionary of Fashion History |pages=171–171 |doi=10.5040/9781474269728.1660|url-access=subscription }}</ref> * '''Modiste''', a maker of fashionable clothing and accessories, with the implication that the articles made reflect the current Paris fashions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of MODISTE |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/modiste |access-date=2026-02-21 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> * '''Fabrician''', a person who is considered an expert in making modifications and alterations to fabrics and other articles of clothing. * '''Sewing professional''' is the most general term for those who make their living by sewing, teaching, writing about sewing, or retailing sewing supplies. A sewing professional may work out of the home, a studio, or a retail shop and work part-time or full-time. This work may include any or all of the following sub-specialties: ** 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, career wear, suits, evening or bridal wear, sportswear, or lingerie. ** A '''tailor/tailoress''' 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 only sketch or conceptualize garments. ** '''Patternmakers''' flat draft the shapes and sizes of numerous pieces of a garment by hand using paper and measuring tools, computer using CAD software, or by draping muslin on a dress form. ** A '''wardrobe consultant''' or '''fashion advisor''' recommends styles and colors for a client. ** A '''seamstress''' is a woman who sews, especially one who earns a living by sewing. Before the Industrial Revolution, a seamstress did hand sewing, especially under the putting-out system. Older variants are '''seamster''' and '''sempstress'''. **A '''costume designer''' is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production, or television show.
==See also== *Bespoke *Fashion design *Haute couture *Sewing *Tailor
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== *[https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/21534 Textiles and Clothing by Kate Heintz Watson] *Butterick Publishing Company: "The Art of Garment Cutting, Fitting and Making", 1894. *Kirke, Betty: "Madeleine Vionnet", Chronicle Books, 1998. *Picken, Mary Brooks: ''The Fashion Dictionary'', Funk and Wagnalls, 1957.
==External links== {{Commons category|Dressmaking}}
{{sewing}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Fashion occupations Category:Sewing Category:Tailors