Terms & glossary

Originally a term for custom tailoring made entirely to one individual customer's specifications, now used more loosely for any made-to-order garment.

A person, historically almost always a woman, who makes women's clothing to custom order or to a client's individual measurements.

Historically, a dealer in small sewing goods and trimmings in Britain, or a dealer in men's clothing and furnishings in the United States.

The historical occupational term, common through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, for a dressmaker who specialized in making women's gowns.

A woman who sews, especially as a paid occupation, a historical term that is still used today to describe skilled hand and machine sewing work.

A historical term for a woman who worked as a tailor, constructing structured, fitted garments such as suits, coats, and riding habits.