History of

Dressmaking
What is Dressmaking?
Dressmaking

Dressmaking is defined as the craft of sewing

clothes and dresses.
An example of dressmaking is the art of sewing
a beautiful dress from fabric.
Dressmaking:
How it
began. . .
Wearing Clothes
 Around 650,000 years ago when our
ancestors covered their bodies with animal fur
and skin as well as barks and leaves of trees.
The main purpose was simply to protect the
fragile human body against the rain, the sun,
wind, and the cold.
These primitive clothes were either tied up
or wrapped around the bodies as
people went foraging for food.
Needles and Threads
Needles and Threads
Some 19,000 years ago, evidence of
needles made of bones and ivory were found.
Around 6,000 years ago, woven textiles (linen)
were found in Egypt as well as evidence of silk
culture in China 5,000 years ago.
This marked the early beginning of
dressmaking.
Needles and Threads

Hand crafted and made of bones, the needle has

a split head instead of an eye which gripped
the thread to be sewn (often raffia, gut or
sinew).
Silk Road
Silk Road
This was the series of ancient
trade routes between China and
countries in Asia Minor. The
trading between them played a
significant role in the
 development of civilization in
China, India, Mesopotamia, Egypt,
including Rome.
Greek and Roman
Greek and Roman
In Greece, clothes were simple lengths
of wool or linen secured at the shoulders
with sashes used as belts. Peplos was a
loose ankle-length robe worn by women
while chlamys was knee-length robes worn
by the men. Both were covered with a
loose cloak called himation.
Peplos
Chlamys
Himation
Middle Ages
 Middle Ages
By this time, there had been improvements
on the quality of clothes. The Byzantines
dressed themselves with richly
patterned, embroidered cloths draped
over a tunica, the replacement of the
toga.
Middle Ages
Early medieval Europeans either took to the
short tunics with leggings of the invading
population (Franks, Anglo-Saxons, and
Visigoths) or to the longer Roman tunics.
 Cotton and silk as well as dyed linen were
popular alongside the old wool.

Later Middle Ages

Cultural historians agree that the 14th century signalled
the beginnings of European fashion. People now
used lacings and buttons. Expensive silk and woven
brocades were imported from Italy.

It was also the time for the beginning of tailoring.

Straight and draped garments were now replaced by
curved seams that followed the contours of the
human body.
The Renaissance
 The Renaissance
More people wore complex clothes
following the fashion lead of the
elites.
Variations in the form and design of
clothes adapted in various countries
were now showing their differences.
Modern Era
 Modern Era
The early part of the 16th century had the
influence of the formal Spanish dress. The
century also saw the rise of the ruff (ruffles)
and the popularity of needle lace.
 Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution mechanized the
manufacturing processes using steam power.
The sewing machine was invented in the 19th
century, while the synthetic fibre, rayon, was
discovered in the 20th. They were all part of the
long Industrial Revolution.
 Industrial Revolution
In this era, textiles were not only manufactured
in factories, they were exported to unlikely
places. The transportation system was
revolutionized and had progressed immensely.
Goods became cheaper.
Fashion and The Future
After World War II, there was no stopping the
 dress-makers all over
the fashion capitals of
the world (Paris, Rome, New York,
London) from flourishing in their ind
 END
Thank you for listening!
Assignment:
Research on dressmaking measuring
tools and how to use them.