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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

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

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

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

• Draper – a surname taken from the occupation
• Don Draper, fictional star of the series Mad Men
• Drapery
• Kraków Cloth Hall – Renaissance landmark of Kraków, Poland
• Millinery
• Worshipful Company of Drapers, the London guild

References