ready to wear

… Until the invention of the sewing machine in the mid-19th century, clothing was limited to custom-made production or home production. The United States was the leading country in ready-made clothing, where ready-made clothing or ready-to-wear appeared in the 1830s for men and the 1840s for women, and items such as coats that were relatively unconstrained by size or body type. In addition to the national character that values ​​rationality, the unique social background of many women buying clothes with the income they earn from work rather than from home dressmaking led to a rapid increase in the rate of ready-made clothing, which now accounts for more than 95% of the total clothing demand and is the country's major industry. …

*Some explanations of terms that mention "ready to wear" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…　19世紀半ばにミシンが発明されるまでは，衣服は注文生産か家庭での製作に限られていた。既製服の先進国はアメリカで，レディ･メード･クロージングready made clothingまたはレディ･トゥ･ウェアready to wearと呼び，外套のように比較的寸法や体型にとらわれぬ分野は，男性物が1830年代，女性物が1840年代に登場した。合理性を重視する国民性に加えて，家庭洋裁よりも仕事から得る収入で衣料を買う女性の多い独特な社会背景が既製服化率の急速な進展を呼び，現在は全衣料品需要の95％以上を占め，国の主要産業となっている。…

※「ready to wear」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報