View source for Draper

{{short description|Cloth merchant}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Drapers|the magazine|Drapers (magazine)}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Adriaen Bloem - In the Draper´s Shop - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''In the Draper's Shop'' by [[Adriaen van Bloemen]]]]
'''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 [[guild|trade guild]] during the [[medieval period]], when the sellers of cloth operated out of drapers' shops.{{citation needed|date=July 2013}} However the original meaning of the term has now largely fallen out of use.

In 1724, [[Jonathan Swift]] wrote a series of [[Satire|satirical]] pamphlets in the guise of a draper called the ''[[Drapier's Letters]]''.

==Historical drapers==
[[File:Museum of Lincolnshire Life, Lincoln, England - DSCF1759.JPG|thumb|A replica draper's shop at the [[Museum of Lincolnshire Life]], Lincoln, England]] 
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, 1st Baron Birkett|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 Lewis Partnership|John Spedan Lewis]]
* [[William McGregor (football)|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 [[The History of Mr Polly|Mr Polly]] were draper's assistants 
* [[Edward Whalley]], regicide, cousin of [[Oliver Cromwell]]
* [[George Williams (YMCA)|George Williams]], founder of the [[YMCA]]<ref name="WDL">{{cite web |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/360/ |title=My Dear Home, I Love You, You're a House for Each of Us and Home for All of Us |website=[[World Digital Library]] |date=1918 |access-date=2013-10-26 }}</ref>
* [[John Woodward (naturalist)|John Woodward]], geologist and physician to King [[Charles II of England|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 (surname)|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==
{{reflist}}

{{sewing}}

[[Category:Drapers| ]]
[[Category:Sales occupations]]
[[Category:Clothing industry]]