A History of Ready-to-Wear Clothing from Fashion to Costumes for Plus Size
Article by Kaila West
Before the dawn of mass manufacturing, folks would mosey on over to their local General Store and purchase bolts of fabric. Most people could not afford a personal tailor, so mothers would design and sew a new outfit each year for their various family members. Little Becky would have a new dress and apron while Pa would get new britches made precisely in his size. Everything was custom made by Mama, so finding Halloween costumes for a plus size family was never a retail worry.
Mama sewed the family garments, so when America entered into a Civil War in 1861, soldiers joined their regiments wearing homemade uniforms. President Lincoln surely wore tailor made outfits, and Mrs. Lincoln had a personal seamstress by the name of Elizabeth Keckley. But not everyone could afford the luxury of hiring a seamstress. When the war started, uniforms were a hodgepodge of designs and colors. Eventually, however, factories began mass producing uniforms for the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who enlisted. This was the beginning of men's ready-to-wear apparel.
Women did not see ready-to-wear, factory-produced clothing on any real scale until the 1920s. Once factories and mass production made affording store bought clothing more affordable, the need for homemade outfits gave way to more pressing household duties, and ladies simply purchased new clothing. The hours spent measuring, cutting, and sewing were no longer required, except for the individuals who did not quite fit into the few sizes offered. During that time, a size 14 body would not find clothing off the rack, and a person of that size would still be required to make their own apparel while their neighbor enjoyed the fashion of the day.
Recent history, however, has seen the arrival of many promising plus-size boutiques. As models in Vogue become skinnier and skinnier, plus size models are the beautiful, everyday woman. These women can now find formal wear as well as beach wear at retail stores, catalogues, and on the web. Men and women can even find the availability of costumes for plus size people on the Internet.
Christmas is no longer the only holiday occasion when costumes for plus size people are available. Halloween, Mardi Gras, and costume parties are events in which a size 16 or 18 person can now participate.
In the past, party stores, where the majority of Halloween costumes were sold, carried limited if any designs and costumes for plus size people. While a size 8 lady could don a princess or angel outfit, a larger woman would be hard pressed to find anything in her size. She would have to resort to the pre-Civil War era of sewing her own outfit. Smart retailers have changed that practice. They now have cute maid costumes and sexy nurse outfits complete with a blonde wig for the plus size lady who wants to play dress-up and participate in festivities.
Men who want costumes for plus size are also in luck. Internet suppliers of Halloween gear offer a plus size man the opportunity to be Captain Jack Sparrow in a pirate's costume. A plus size man can also dress as Marc Antony and transform into a Roman leader.
In the history of fashion, it took quite a long time to establish a sizing system. In the 1920s, when women's wear was being produced in factories, there were no official sizing guides. Body types and shapes were not studied much, and sizing numbers were unreliable. Furthermore, sizes for larger individuals were non-existent. Ready to wear fashion is a relatively young concept. Manufacturing for men's wear has been around for only 150 years and for women's clothing, it has existed for less than a century. Plus size fashion and the availability of costumes for plus size individuals is an even newer concept. As recently as 20 years ago, finding a plus size store in the mall was an unusual event. Now, not only are there plus size fashion stores, there are even costumes for plus size people.
About the Author
Kaila West is a writer on a variety of topics, including costumes. Costumes for plus size people are easier to find now than at any point in history. Check out PlusSizeCostumeSupercenter.com for more info.
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