Dressmaker

Dressmaker, 1890s

"It's just me and my daughter trying to make our way in life.  I've been making dresses since I was a child, so now I make them for some of the ladies in town. It's a living but not an easy one. We take it one day at a time." 

-Hattie Evans, Black female, age 35, Kalamazoo

Photo captions: Unidentified woman, circa 1899 (Library of Congress collections); Young women sewing with machines and by hand sewing class at the Agricultural and Mechanical College, Greensboro, N.C.,circa 1899 (Library of Congress collections) Cutting and fitting Agricultural and Mechanical College, circa 1899 (Library of Congress collections).

Dress making measurement card

Sewing machine

Gilmore Brothers Deaprtment Store alterations department

To find more historic photographs and artifacts related to dresses or dressmaking in Kalamazoo, visit KVM's searchable collections database.

A Job for Everyone
  1. Grocer, 1890s
  2. Dressmaker, 1890s
  3. Seamstress, 1890s
  4. Laborer, 1890s
  5. Carriage Builder, 1890s
  6. Cigar Roller, 1890s
  7. Launderer, 1900
  8. Corset Company Forelady, 1900
  9. Card Sorter, 1900
  10. Paper Mill, 1900
  11. Carriage Painter, 1900
  12. Foundry Worker, 1900
  13. Type Setter, 1910s
  14. Teacher, 1910s
  15. Elevator Operator, 1910s
  16. Metal Caster, 1910s
  17. Barber, 1910s
  18. Stationery Packer, 1910s
  19. Seamstress, 1910s
  20. Family Cook, 1920s
  21. Errand Girl, 1920s
  22. Janitor, 1920s
  23. Paper Beaterman, 1920s
  24. Hotel Bell Boy, 1920s