Draper
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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
Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, when the sellers of cloth operated out of draper's 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
A number of notable people who have at one time or another worked as drapers include:
- Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet
- William Barley
- Norman Birkett
- Margaret Bondfield
- Eleanor Coade (1733–1821), successful businesswoman with Coade stone
- Harry S. Truman, haberdasher before he became a Senator, Vice President and President
- Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
- John Spedan Lewis
- Anthony Munday
- Thomas Burberry, Founder of fashion brand "Burberry"
- H. G. Wells
- Edward Whalley, regicide, cousin of Oliver Cromwell
- George Williams, founder of the YMCA[1]
- John Woodward, geologist and physician to King Charles II
- John Graunt, founder of the science of demography
Current usage
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
- Draper – a surname taken from the occupation
- Drapery
- Kraków Cloth Hall – Renaissance landmark of Kraków, Poland
- Millinery
- Worshipful Company of Drapers, the London guild
References
- ^ "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.
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