I remember when I first started college and I told people what my planned major was: Apparel Design. People would ask me, "Oh, so... what do you do with that?" "Don't you have to live in a big city to do that?" "Do you actually make clothes?"
Well, the answer to those questions my friends are "Anything I want to do" and "No, I don't have to move to a big city" and "Yes, I actually do sew." Sometimes my mom would add, "She didn't get it from me..." But little did she know.
Today's post, in honor of #Throwback Thursday, is a bit of a history lesson. The creative gene certainly lives on in not only my mother, but her mother, and her mother. My great-grandmother Martha was a tailor for Dayton's Department Store on Nicollet and 7th Street in Minneapolis during the late nineteen-teens. Dayton's- better known throughout history as The Dayton Co, Dayton-Hudson Group, and eventually Marshall Fields and Macy's- became Minnesota's premier shopping destination of the time.
From what my mother and grandmother can recall, Martha worked at Dayton's in the late nineteen-teen's and probably lived in a boarding house in Minneapolis.
She also sewed men's suits and established a large custom clientele in her small hometown in Wisconsin. I wasn't able to find Martha's name listed under "Tailor" or "Vest Maker" in the Minneapolis City Directory; she was employed by Dayton's and probably didn't do private work while she was employed there. Martha didn't have any formal training-nothing beyond an 8th grade education. Everything she knew was self-taught. Martha was the oldest in her family and it remains a mystery how she was able to leave home for Minneapolis and find a tailoring job. Martha was considered an "old maid" when she was married at 28, in 1919.
Maybe I've inherited some creative genes, but I like to think some of great-grandma Martha is living through me! It's so inspiring to me that a skill like sewing and tailoring were considered so valuable in her time. I've rediscovered my love for sewing and creating within the last few months and it feels great to be doing something that I enjoy!
Historial Sources:
1. http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2010/12/dayton-name-minnesota-institution-1903
2.http://discussions.mnhs.org/collections/2009/11/tools-of-the-tailoring-trade/
Well, the answer to those questions my friends are "Anything I want to do" and "No, I don't have to move to a big city" and "Yes, I actually do sew." Sometimes my mom would add, "She didn't get it from me..." But little did she know.
Today's post, in honor of #Throwback Thursday, is a bit of a history lesson. The creative gene certainly lives on in not only my mother, but her mother, and her mother. My great-grandmother Martha was a tailor for Dayton's Department Store on Nicollet and 7th Street in Minneapolis during the late nineteen-teens. Dayton's- better known throughout history as The Dayton Co, Dayton-Hudson Group, and eventually Marshall Fields and Macy's- became Minnesota's premier shopping destination of the time.
Dayton's Department Store, ca. 1915 (image source)
According to the Minnesota Historical Society, vest making was listed as a women's occupation in the 1900 Minneapolis City Directory. Tailoring was popular in the early twentieth century: many men and women preferred one of a kind suits and dresses.
From what my mother and grandmother can recall, Martha worked at Dayton's in the late nineteen-teen's and probably lived in a boarding house in Minneapolis.
She also sewed men's suits and established a large custom clientele in her small hometown in Wisconsin. I wasn't able to find Martha's name listed under "Tailor" or "Vest Maker" in the Minneapolis City Directory; she was employed by Dayton's and probably didn't do private work while she was employed there. Martha didn't have any formal training-nothing beyond an 8th grade education. Everything she knew was self-taught. Martha was the oldest in her family and it remains a mystery how she was able to leave home for Minneapolis and find a tailoring job. Martha was considered an "old maid" when she was married at 28, in 1919.
Maybe I've inherited some creative genes, but I like to think some of great-grandma Martha is living through me! It's so inspiring to me that a skill like sewing and tailoring were considered so valuable in her time. I've rediscovered my love for sewing and creating within the last few months and it feels great to be doing something that I enjoy!
Historial Sources:
1. http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2010/12/dayton-name-minnesota-institution-1903
2.http://discussions.mnhs.org/collections/2009/11/tools-of-the-tailoring-trade/
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