From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cloth merchant
In the Draper's Shop
by
Adriaen van Bloemen
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
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]
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
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]
A replica draper's shop at the
Museum of Lincolnshire Life
, Lincoln, England
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
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]
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
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References
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]