Understanding where we come from sometimes gives us insight into where we may be going. Many thanks to Adam Steinberg, Education Coordinator at the Tenement Museum for taking the time to answer some of our questions. Read on for a glimpse of what the fashion industry looked like when it first began in NYC. So interesting to find out that some of the factories were so small, production actually took place right inside a tenement apartment. Many indie fashion designers are producing right in their apartments or small workrooms made up of a few machines. If history has taught us anything … small workrooms can grow and become a huge industry. We always knew this was just the beginning for the independent fashion industry, and look forward to watching this very nimble industry grow. Go spend an afternoon back in time in the Lower East Side, especially the Piecing it Together tour. Enjoy the interview and the glimpse into a bit of fashion past.

In 1900, 70% of all women’s clothing in America was fabricated right here on the Lower East Side…

Image circa 1910-1930, All images courtesy of the Tenement Museum

Darlings: Did the garment industry already exist at the time the tenements were built? When did the garment industry start to form in NYC?
Adam: The garment industry and the tenement were born at about the same time – the 1840s and 1850s. Indeed, the two went hand-in-hand: Immigrants not just lived in tenements, they also made clothes there.

The parlor or front room of the recreated Levine Family Apartment Exhibit at the Tenement Museum, 97 Orchard Street. The apartment is recreated to the year 1897 and contained a garment factory. In this area of the factory, the finisher would have added the lace, trimmings and other finishing touches to the dresses that were made there.

Darlings: What was the ratio of men to women working in the garment industry in the late 1800s to early 1900s? How did their jobs differ?
Adam: In the 19th century, men had the higher paying jobs. Pressers especially were men – probably because the hand-held irons weighed up to 20 pounds when filled with hot coal.

Darlings: Can you describe what the industry was like during this time?
Adam: In the 19th century, the industry was highly, intensely communal. Factory owners and workers were typically from the same immigrant group – often from the same town in the old country. A factory might include just three workers working in the factory owner’s living room while the factory owner’s wife worked in the kitchen and small children played underfoot. The industry was also highly competitive, with one-third of factories going out of business every year. On the one hand, your factory could be like a second home. On the other hand, the owner, desperate to turn a profit, could sometimes seem more like a slave-driver than a father.

Darlings: Were these garments sold primarily in NYC or were they distributed throughout the US?
Adam: These garments were sold throughout the United States, especially in the new department stores sweeping the nation.

Darlings: Were most of the garment industry workers living in the tenements?
Adam: Yes. They usually couldn’t afford to live anywhere else.

Darlings: What was the workers lives like outside of work? What were there wages at that time? Did workers own or rent at the tenements?
Adam:Workers almost always rented their apartments, though the landlord was typically an immigrant as well. Wages were low: In the 1890s, the highest paid worker might make $15/week, while the lowest paid worker might make as little as $8/week. As a result, workers worked very long hours to make enough money for food and shelter. But workers made the most of their free time by relaxing in cafes and restaurants after work, attending political rallies, learning English and other skills in local settlement houses, and just walking the neighborhood. After spending up to 18 hours making clothes in a tenement apartment, the last thing many wanted to do was go home to yet another tenement apartment.

Darlings: How much of the clothing for the US was produced in NYC back then? Do you know how much is produced in NYC today?
Adam: In the 1890s, 40% of men’s clothing being manufactured in the United States, and 70% of women’s clothing, was being manufactured in New York City, mostly in the tenements of the Lower East Side. Today the industry has largely moved to other neighborhoods. It’s also much smaller. Today, the American garment industry, which is now mostly centered in New York and Los Angeles, produces about 5% of the clothing sold in America, though because these clothes are often sold in upscale boutiques, they produce about 24% of the industry’s sales.

Darlings: In your opinion, what is the biggest fundamental difference between the garment industry then and now?

Adam: The industry today has largely moved abroad. And what’s left of the industry in America today is so small, it doesn’t dominate immigrant communities nearly as much as it once did.

Darlings: The garment industry seems to be in a transition today, do you think the garment industry today can still learn from the garment industry in the past?

Adam: Perhaps a better question might be, “Can consumers today learn from the garment industry in the past?” Now more than ever, consumers – their fickle tastes, their desire for name-brand clothes at affordable prices – drives the industry. If we are to preserve the garment industry in New York, or improve work conditions for garment workers in other countries, consumers must become more thoughtful shoppers.

Darlings: Do you think NYC would be different without the garment industry?  Do you think if it disappeared from the city all together it would have an economic impact?

Adam: For many New Yorkers, the loss of what’s left of the garment industry wouldn’t mean much, but for immigrant communities desperate for jobs, and for the business people who depend on the industry, it would mean a great deal. The death of the industry would entail grief for some, but may pass unnoticed by most. Not that its death wouldn’t affect everyone. The garment industry is part of what makes New York unique. Without it, we become a little more like everyone else.

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