Draper
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2019) |
Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher.
History
[edit]Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, when the sellers of cloth operated out of drapers' shops.[citation needed] However the original meaning of the term has now largely fallen out of use.
In 1724, Jonathan Swift wrote a series of satirical pamphlets in the guise of a draper called the Drapier's Letters.
Historical drapers
[edit]
A number of notable people who have at one time or another worked as drapers include:
- Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet (1586–1667/1668), Lord Mayor of the City of London
- William Barley (1565?–1614), bookseller and publisher
- Norman Birkett
- Margaret Bondfield
- Thomas Burberry, Founder of fashion brand "Burberry"
- Eleanor Coade (1733–1821), successful businesswoman with Coade stone
- John Graunt, founder of the science of demography
- Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
- John Spedan Lewis
- William McGregor (1846–1911), chairman of Aston Villa Football Club and founder of the Football League
- Anthony Munday
- Hector MacDonald, was a drapers apprentice until at 18 he joined the army.
- Harry S. Truman, haberdasher before he became a Senator, Vice President and President of the United States
- H. G. Wells and his fictional characters Kipps and Mr Polly were draper's assistants
- Edward Whalley, regicide, cousin of Oliver Cromwell
- George Williams, founder of the YMCA[1]
- John Woodward, geologist and physician to King Charles II
Current usage
[edit]A draper is now defined as a highly skilled role within the fashion industry. The term is used within a fashion design or costume design studio for people tasked with creating garments or patterns by draping fabric over a dress form; draping uses a human form to physically position the cloth into a desired pattern. This is an alternative method to drafting, when the garment is initially worked out from measurements on paper.
A fashion draper may also be known as a "first hand" because they are often the most skilled creator in the workshop and the "first" to work with the cloth for a garment. However a first hand in a costume studio is often an assistant to the draper. They are responsible for cutting the fabric with the patterns and assisting in costume fittings.
See also
[edit]- Draper – a surname taken from the occupation
- Don Draper, fictional star of the series Mad Men
- Drapery
- Kraków Cloth Hall – Renaissance landmark of Kraków, Poland
- Millinery
- Worshipful Company of Drapers, the London guild
References
[edit]- ^ "My Dear Home, I Love You, You're a House for Each of Us and Home for All of Us". World Digital Library. 1918. Retrieved 2013-10-26.
| Techniques | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stitches (list) | |||||
| Seams | |||||
| Closures | |||||
| Materials | |||||
| Tools | |||||
| |||||
| Manufacturers |
| ||||
| |||||
