Adriaen Bloem - In the Draper´s Shop - Google Art Project

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 In the Middle Ages or 16th and 17th centuries, a cloth merchant was one who owned or ran a cloth (often wool) manufacturing or wholesale import or export business. A cloth merchant might additionally own a number of draper's shops. Cloth was ext ...

or a

haberdasher In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a retailer who sells men's clothing, ...

History

Drapers were an important

trade guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

during the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, when the sellers of cloth operated out of drapers' shops. However the original meaning of the term has now largely fallen out of use. In 1724,

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...

wrote a series of

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

pamphlets in the guise of a draper called the ''

Drapier's Letters ''Drapier's Letters'' is the collective name for a series of seven pamphlets written between 1724 and 1725 by the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, Jonathan Swift, to arouse public opinion in Ireland against the imposition of a priv ...

''.

Historical drapers

Museum of Lincolnshire Life, Lincoln, England - DSCF1759

A number of notable people who have at one time or another worked as drapers include: *

Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet (1586 – 24 February 1667/1668) was the Lord Mayor of the City of London and a Member of Parliament for the City of London from 1654 to 1655 and 1656–1658. Adams was born in 1586, at Wem, Shropshire, educated at ...

(1586-1667/1668), Lord Mayor of the City of London *

William Barley William Barley (1565?–1614) was an English bookseller and publisher. He completed an apprenticeship as a draper in 1587, but was soon working in the London book trade. As a freeman of the Drapers' Company, he was embroiled in a dispute betwe ...

(1565?-1614), bookseller and publisher *

Norman Birkett William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett, (6 September 1883 – 10 February 1962) was a British barrister, judge, politician and preacher who served as the alternate British judge during the Nuremberg Trials. Birkett received his education ...

Margaret Bondfield Margaret Grace Bondfield (17 March 1873 – 16 June 1953) was a British Labour Party politician, trade unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a privy counsellor in th ...

Thomas Burberry Thomas Burberry (27 August 1835 – 4 April 1926) was an English gentlemen's outfitter, and the founder of international chain Burberry, one of Britain's largest branded clothing businesses. He is also known as the inventor of gabardine. Early l ...

, Founder of fashion brand "Burberry" *

Eleanor Coade Eleanor Coade (3 June 1733 – 18 November 1821) was a British businesswoman known for manufacturing Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical statues, architectural decorations and garden ornaments made of ''Lithodipyra'' or Coade stone for ov ...

(1733–1821), successful businesswoman with Coade stone *

John Graunt John Graunt (24 April 1620 – 18 April 1674) has been regarded as the founder of demography. Graunt was one of the first demographers, and perhaps the first epidemiologist, though by profession he was a haberdasher. He was bankrupted later in li ...

, founder of the science of demography *

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek ( ; ; 24 October 1632 – 26 August 1723) was a Dutch microbiologist and microscopist in the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology. A largely self-taught man in science, he is commonly known as " the ...

John Spedan Lewis John Spedan Lewis (22 September 1885 – 21 February 1963) was an English businessman and the founder of the John Lewis Partnership. Elder son of John Lewis, who owned the John Lewis department store, London, Spedan joined the business at 19 and ...

Anthony Munday Anthony Munday (or Monday) (1560?10 August 1633) was an English playwright and miscellaneous writer. He was baptized on 13 October 1560 in St Gregory by St Paul's, London, and was the son of Christopher Munday, a stationer, and Jane Munday. He ...

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

before he became a Senator, Vice President and President of the United States. *

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Kipps ''Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul'' is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1905. It was reportedly Wells's own favourite among his works, and it has been adapted for stage, cinema and television productions, including the musical ''H ...

and Mr Polly were draper's assistants *

Edward Whalley Edward Whalley (c. 1607 – c. 1675) was an English military leader during the English Civil War and was one of the regicides who signed the death warrant of King Charles I of England. Early career The exact dates of his birth and death are unk ...

, regicide, cousin of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

* George Williams, founder of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

John Woodward John Woodward or ''variant'', may refer to: Sports * John Woodward (English footballer) (born 1947), former footballer * John Woodward (Scottish footballer) (born 1949), former footballer * Johnny Woodward (1924–2002), English footballer * Jo ...

, geologist and physician to King Charles II * William McGregor, 1846 - 1911. Founder of the Football League. First Chairman of Aston Villa.

Current usage

A draper is now defined as a highly skilled role within the

fashion industry Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

. The term is used within a

fashion design Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...

costume design Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...

studio for people tasked with creating garments or patterns by draping fabric over a

dress form A dress form is a three-dimensional model of the torso used for fitting clothing that is being designed or sewed. When making a piece of clothing, it can be put on the dress form so one can see the fit and drape of the garment as it would appe ...

; 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.

References

{{sewing Sales occupations Clothing industry

History

Historical drapers

Current usage

See also

References