Fran wrote,
1950s dressmaking manuals told women they could make clothes that
would look just like RTW, so they didn't have to admit they home
sewed.
I worked in a clothing store in the early 1980s (got to look at
a lot of ready-made), and also took sewing/tailoring/design classes
in college. The clothing we made was far better quality than most of
the ready-to-wear available. I would still hear "You made that? I
thought you bought it!", in the sense that people expected home-made
to look bad. When in fact, because we were learning how to fit, we
could see that the self-sewn clothing looked a lot better!
Also by then I found that home sewing was more expensive than
store-bought just for the materials. But I would have the fit and
quality of clothing that was otherwise unavailable to me.
This is also apparent for reenactment clothing. In eras of
fitted clothing, some items that are sold off-the-rack at events do
not look as good as something custom-made (whether by one's self or
someone else).
-Carol
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