Ready-made clothing available in standard sizes in retail shops is a relatively recent phenomenon. The modern garment industry that produces these goods did not evolve until after the refinement of assembly-line mass production techniques in the late nineteenth century. Until that time, dressmaking was generally one of the numerous and time-consuming chores of the housewife. Those who could afford it hired professional seamstresses to do the work.

One enterprising professional seamstress of the nineteenth century who achieved a certain renown was Elizabeth Keckley (1818-1907). An African-American born as a slave in Virginia, Keckley--through her efforts as a seamstress and dressmaker-managed to buy her freedom in 1855. After moving to Washington, D.C., in 1860, she instructed other seamstresses in a system she had invented for cutting and fitting dresses. Her fame evidently spread quickly, for she soon had a select group of clients, among them Varina Howell Davis, whose husband...