Women’s Apparel Unit 4

History of women’s apparel Women’s Apparel

Clothes made in the home, some homes even producing the raw materials such as cotton. Custom-made-clothing fitted specifically to the wearer

1910 – a blouse and skirt were sewn together to make the first RTW dress Ready to wear – clothing made in factories to standardize measurements – a blouse and skirt were sewn together to make the first RTW dress

Pret-a-porter – (pret-ah-portay) French term for ready to wear.

Garment District- Seventh Ave. (Fashion Ave.)

It had a large pool of cheap, immigrant labor. It was located near textile producers in New England and the South It was a port city Garment District – Seventh Ave (Fashion Avenue) WHY DID NYC BECOME THE CENTER OF THE GARMENT INDUSTRY?

Unionization 1900 – ILGWU- International Ladies Garment Workers Union strikes paved the way for collective bargaining 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire -146 killed led to strict building codes and protective labor laws

FIRE AT THE TRIANGLE FACTORY The Triangle factory, at Greene Street and Washington Place near the New York University law school, made shirtwaists, or woman’s blouses. The blouse and skirt was the uniform of the truly modern woman. Unlike corsets and hoops, the shirtwaist was practical, and appropriate for the factory.

The fire occurred at the end of the day on March 25, 1911, as workers were getting ready to leave. Some were primping for dates that evening, others had stopped to chat with friends on their way out. As was customary at Triangle’s closing time, some doors were locked: Management wanted all the workers to leave by the same exit, so their bags could be checked for stolen goods. Many workers’ deaths were attributed to these locked doors. In all, 146 people died. Some burned to death, while others jumped to their deaths to escape the flames

Today – 35 hr 5 day work week, paid vacations, health, welfare and pension programs LOOK FOR THE UNION LABEL

CREATION OF WOMEN’S APPAREL Developing a line Collection – expensive line

SEASONAL LINES Spring Summer Transitional (Fall I) Fall (Fall II) Resort/ Holiday

Kate Spade Spring/Summer 2015

Tori Burch Pre-Fall 2015

Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter

Design Concept- Sketch developed on muslin Sample hand- designer’s assistant, seamstress Design Concept- Sketch developed on muslin Sample hand- designer’s assistant, seamstress

Computer – Aided Design – (CAD) Computer image design

Producing a line – Production begins when a sample pattern is created and presented to retail buyers at manufacturer’s seasonal shows. Orders are placed or dropped.

Cutting Graded or Sloped – developed from the sample pattern, adjusted to meet dimensional requirements of each size.

Marker – A long piece of paper upon which the pieces of the pattern of a garment in all its sizes are outlined and which is placed on top of many layers of material for cutting purposes.

The layers of material are placed accurately by a spreader. After pieces are cut, they are bundled Bundling – pattern pieced tied into bundles according to their sizes

Sewing- Most American manufacturers are using off-shore production- the manufacture of American goods in cheap labor foreign countries

TYPES OF PRODUCERS Manufacturers Apparel Jobbers Contractors

Manufacturer – performs all the operations required to produce apparel, from buying the fabric to selling and shipping the finished garment. Advantage – close quality control can be maintained.

Apparel Jobbers- handles the designing, the planning, the purchasing, usually the cutting, the selling, and the shipping, but not the sewing operation.

Contractor – is a producer whose sole function is to supply sewing services to industry. It is sometimes called an outside shop.

MASS PRODUCTION Section work or piece work – each sewer sews only a certain section of the garment such as a sleeve or hem.

QUICK RESPONSE – A strategy used by manufacturers to shorten the ordering cycle to compete with foreign imports

TRADITIONAL BASIC CATEGORIES Outerwear – coats, jackets Dresses Sportswear and Separates After- five and evening Suits Bride & Bridesmaid attire Blouses Uniforms & Aprons Maternity

SIZE RANGES Women’s Misses Juniors

SPECIAL SIZES Petites Large Size Maternity

PRICE ZONES Designer (highest prices) Bridge Better (medium- high prices) Moderate (medium prices) Budget (lower prices)

Tommy Hilfiger, Jones New York Designer Bridge Better Levi-Strauss, Jessica Simpson, American Rag, Budget Moderate

Off-price apparel stores- the selling of brand name and designer label merchandise at lower than normal retail prices. EX: Marshall’s, TJ Maxx

MARKETING OF WOMEN’S APPAREL Advertising Women’s Wear Daily W Vogue, Harpers Bazaar

Trunk Shows- A form of pre-testing that involves a producer’s sending a representative to a store with samples and exhibiting those to customers at announced showings.

Trunk Shows give the designer or manufacturer the opportunity to meet customers in the store and obtain an on- site reaction to the line and promote sales

Publicity Supply celebrities with cloths Fashion Shows and Press Weeks.