Hemmed in by "women's work" much less than has been thought, women in the late 1800s and early 1900s were the primary entrepreneurs in the millinery and dressmaking trades. The Female Economy explores that lost world of women's dominance, showing how independent, often ambitious businesswomen and the sometimes imperious consumers they served gradually vanished from the scene as custom production gave way to a largely unskilled modern garment industry controlled by men. Wendy Gamber helps overturn the portrait of wage-earning women as docile souls who would find fulfillment only in marriage and motherhood. She combines labor history, women's history, business history, and the history of technology while exploring topics as wide-ranging as the history of pattern-making and the relationship between entrepreneurship and marriage.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting topic clogged by Phd.-thesis prose.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Female Economy: The Millinery and Dressmaking Trades, 1860-1930 (Women in American History) (Hardcover)
As a professional dressmaker myself, I was excited when I found this book. I'm very interested in the history of American women in general and dressmakers in particular. Gamber has done a great deal of research and presents a thoughtful portrait of these early entrepreneurs and how they succeeded and failed. Unfortunately, this book is obviously a Phd. thesis--I say "obviously" because the text is dry and heavy with unnecessary five-dollar words. An idea is never presented simply if it can be presented in a complex and wordy manner. A good editor could have cut the length by 25%. Also, there are very few illustrations, which I found disappointing. Nevertheless, it's the best source available on this very specialized topic, so I persevered.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Informative and extensive,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Female Economy: The Millinery and Dressmaking Trades, 1860-1930 (Working Class in American History) (Paperback)
While informative and well-researched, the book lacks an overall spirit that would drive the point home in an entertaining manner. There is great information and insights here that are buried beneath too much raw data. Yet the book is a great addition to an overlooked area of women's history and a fascinating glimpse into turn of the century events that shaped gender, fashion and technology
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Female Economy: The Millinery & Dressmaking Trades - 1860-1930,
By
This review is from: The Female Economy: The Millinery and Dressmaking Trades, 1860-1930 (Working Class in American History) (Paperback)
I personally enjoyed this book. I belong to the Victorian Society and wanted information on Millinery and Dressmaking studies of this time era. I was very happy to have found this book as there is very little information on women's working opportunities in these fields in Victorian times. I would recommend to any re-enactment lady who is curious about these "working women".
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
An eighteenth-century Bostonian scarcely would have recognized the scene that the anonymous novelist described. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
dressmaking sisters, retail milliners, millinery merchants, custom milliners, many tradeswomen, dime guide, female retailers, millinery trade, most dressmakers, millinery workers, custom clothiers, wholesale millinery, custom dressmaking, custom dressmakers, millinery industry, one dressmaker, wholesale factories, retail counterparts, custom production, female economy, female proprietors, drafting systems, credit reporters, credit investigators, millinery department Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Van Kleeck, Gilded Age, United States, Millinery Herald, New England, Protective Committee, African American, Boston Store, Courtesy of the Indiana University, Boston Directory, Milliner's Designer, The Social Relations of Consumption, Des Moulins, Edna Bryner, Lorinda Perry, Sarah Carter, Civil War, Fifth Avenue, Hill Brothers, May Allinson, Statistics of Women, Virginia Penny, Caroline Woods, Courtesy of Widener Library New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
An eighteenth-century Bostonian scarcely would have recognized the scene that the anonymous novelist described. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
dressmaking sisters, retail milliners, millinery merchants, custom milliners, many tradeswomen, dime guide, female retailers, millinery trade, most dressmakers, millinery workers, custom clothiers, wholesale millinery, custom dressmaking, custom dressmakers, millinery industry, one dressmaker, wholesale factories, retail counterparts, custom production, female economy, female proprietors, drafting systems, credit reporters, credit investigators, millinery department Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Van Kleeck, Gilded Age, United States, Millinery Herald, New England, Protective Committee, African American, Boston Store, Courtesy of the Indiana University, Boston Directory, Milliner's Designer, The Social Relations of Consumption, Des Moulins, Edna Bryner, Lorinda Perry, Sarah Carter, Civil War, Fifth Avenue, Hill Brothers, May Allinson, Statistics of Women, Virginia Penny, Caroline Woods, Courtesy of Widener Library New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
See all 100 books this book cites
- Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America by Carroll Smith-Rosenberg on 6 pages
- City of Women: Sex and Class in New York, 1789-1860 by Christine Stansell on 5 pages
- American Beauty by Lois W. Banner on 5 pages
- Serving Women: Household Service in Nineteenth-Century America by Faye E. Dudden on 4 pages
- The Culture of Consumption: Critical Essays in American History 1880-1980 by Richard Wightman Fox on 4 pages
See all 100 books this book cites
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