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 |  The Fashion District, located between West 35th Street and 42nd and Seventh and Ninth Avenues, is the heart of American clothing design and manufacture. 7th Avenue New York, United States of America |
 | Following the 1892 law passed by the New York State legislature limiting factories in tenement apartments, future industrial lofts had to meet fire codes. The ten-story Asch Building on the corner of Washington Place and Greene Street, designed in 1900, was an example of one of these buildings. Greene Street New York, United States of America |
 | By 1910, the center of the women’s garment industry had moved to blocks north and south of West 23rd Street, between Fifth and Seventh Avenues, close to what was known as the Ladies' Mile, where ready-to-wear clothing was sold in department stores. It is located on Broadway, Sixth Avenue, West 14th Street, West 23rd Street New York, United States of America |
 | The location of the Tenderloin district, where garment manufacturers relocated around 1916. Broadway New York City, United States of America |
 | The Garment Center Capitol, located on Seventh Avenue and West 37th Street. 7th Avenue New York, United States of America |
 | The Fashion Arcade, located on the northeast corner of West 36th Street, is one of the many lofts built in the new location in the Tenderloin district. West 36th Street New York, United States of America |
 | The Lefcourt-State Building was another structure built in the new location in the Tenderloin district. West 37th Street New York, United States of America |
 | The Fashion Tower was another building designed in the garment industry's new location in the Tenderloin neighborhood. West 36th Street New York, United States of America |
 | Chinatown is one of the main locations of the garment industry today. Chinatown New York City, United States of America |
 | In recent years, more and more manufacturers have been relocating their factories and shops to Sunset Park, Brooklyn. It is one of the main neighborhoods of garment production today. |
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From Sweatshops to Factories: The History of the New York City Garment Industry
When people think of the New York City Garment District, the first things that come to mind are high-end fashion designers like Michael Kors and Calvin Klein and the famous New York Fashion Week. As New York Times reporter Jean Appleton put it, New York City is the “bustling epicenter of America’s clothing design and the manufacturing industry.”1 However, fashion is only part of the story. Few people actually know how garment production in New York City came about. Before the design and construction of huge lofts and towering skyscrapers, garment production took place in garment shops and in-home factories. The garment industry has changed significantly from the early 1800s and continues to change today.
The word “sweat shop” is synonymous with immigrant labor in clothing factories in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. However, before the establishment of the sweatshops we know today, garment production took place inside home-factories.2 The earliest immigrants involved in the garment industry were those of Irish and German descent. In the middle of the nineteenth century, Irish and German immigration soared in the United States, especially in New York City. The labor force provided by these immigrants allowed the industry to really develop. By the turn of the twentieth century, New York City was the center of clothing manufacturing.
In the early twentieth century, the large influx of European Jewish and Italian immigrants dominated the garment industry while those of Irish and German descent were in the upper ranks of the trade, running sewing factories inside of big manufacturing firms.3 Many of these newcomers found work in the apartments of German Jewish immigrants. This spawned the sweatshop system that we associate with garment production in the past. In the early twentieth century, European Jewish and Italian immigrants made up the backbone and the heart of the garment industry, while those of Irish and German descent made up the brain.
As the twentieth century progressed, European Jewish and Italian immigrants remained part of the workforce of the garment industry. Although the Immigration and Neutralization Act of 1924 restricted immigration, Italian newcomers stayed in the industry.4 Most European Jewish immigrants, on the other hand, moved up and out of the garment business. However, first- and second-generation Italians stayed in the industry because their mobility was slower than that of the Jews.5 Jewish and Italian newcomers continued to dominate the garment industry in the early twentieth century.
The garment industry workforce became more diversified towards the middle of the twentieth century. During and after World War I, some African Americans were able to find work in garment factories, due to labor shortages as a result of many immigrants of other ethnicities enlisting in the military. 6 After World War II, African Americans would make notable steps in the garment industry. In the period from World War II to the late 1960s, the shortage of Jewish and Italian labor created opportunities for nonwhite ethnic groups.7 The garment industry attracted native-born Americans of African, Puerto Rican, and Chinese descent.8 The industry was secure, well-paying, and often, the only business that would hire these groups.9
In recent years, Chinese, Korean, and Hispanic immigrants dominate the garment industry. Around the 1980s, the rates of immigration from these groups significantly increased. Continuing the tradition of immigrants who came before them, many of these newcomers found work in garment production. From the 1990s to today, Chinese, Korean, Mexican, and Ecuadorian immigrants provide the workforce for garment production.
As the demographic of the garment industry changed from the nineteenth century to today, the industry itself transformed as well. The production of ready-to-wear clothing did not take off in the United States until the middle of the nineteenth century. Specialized for soldiers, slaves, and western explorers during the growth of western expansion around this time, the early clothing was of low quality.10 The quality and production of clothing did not improve mass until the invention of the sewing machine in the 1840s, which made it possible to manufacture more clothing in less time.11 The development of the sewing machine greatly facilitated and improved garment production.
Along with the invention of the sewing machine came further contributors to the growth of mass production. A high demand for uniforms at the start of the Civil War helped increase to manufacturing of ready-to-wear clothing.12 Additionally, the development of standard sizes, department stores, and mail-order catalogs created a broad market and made clothing more readily available to the general public.13 All of these factors caused the growth of mass production and the subsequent growth of the garment industry. “Urbanization, the development of a national market, and a growing demand spawned the creation of ready-to-wear clothing.”14 By the end of the nineteenth century, garment production flourished.
With the growth of manufacturing came the growth of sweatshops and contractors. Before the development of sweatshops and contractors, manufacturers would mete out the job of assembling clothing to seamstresses and tailors.15 In the last decades of the nineteenth century, manufacturers continued to design, cut, and sell garments under their own name, but the actual task of putting the garments together fell on the shoulders of smaller entrepreneurs, known as contractors. “Contractors assumed the responsibility of hiring and equipping the labor force and carrying out the bulk of the work on the garments.”16 The contractors had a set price for each piece of clothing, but operated on a smaller profit margin. As a result, they had to find ways of keeping production costs down. The pressure of keeping costs down resulted in the poor conditions associated with sweatshops.17 The system passing work down used by the contractors became known as “sweating” and gave birth to the sweatshops we associate with garment production today.
Clothing production did not begin to take place exclusively in factories until 1892. At that time, the New York State legislature passed a law banning the production of clothing inside in-home factories and tenements.18 This law resulted in the development of the industrial lofts that we associate with the garment district today (see B on map). In 1889, 40,000 of 88,000 dressmakers in New York City worked in tenements, but 1899, as the number of people working in the garment industry increased, the number of people working in tenement sweatshops significantly decreased.19 By the second decade of the twentieth century, clothing production occurred only in factories.
The new lofts had to meet strict fire codes, most of which the New York State legislature implemented after the Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire in 1911. The requirements included having three emergency stairwells and fire escapes.20 Most of the buildings had steel and iron frames and brick exteriors; buildings that were less than 150 feet tall could have wooden trims.21 However, fire codes implemented after the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire banned wooden trims completely.22 The regulations after the fire also improved fire stairs and fire alarms and mandated sprinklers and fire drills.23 Additional reforms improved sanitation and working conditions, such as light and ventilation. Regulations after the Triangle Shirtwaist fire helped improve the working conditions in the garment industry, allowing the industry to grow and develop.
By the first decade of the twentieth century, the center of garment production took place between Fifth and Seventh Avenues. Some clothing manufacturing occurred in factories converted from old department stores and commercial buildings, as well as newly built factories. These factories and lofts filled the blocks north and south of West 23rd Street.24 Department and specialty stores occupied the streets nearby, on Broadway, Sixth Avenue, West 14th Street, and West 23rd Street.25 As side streets near the area around Fifth Avenue became crowded with clothing factories and stores, new lofts began being constructed north of 34th Street, mostly between Fifth and Seventh Avenues.26 This area, called the Ladies’ Mile, was the center of female clothing production (see C on map). As the construction of more and more buildings took place to meet the growing demands of garment production, lofts began to spread outside of Ladies’ Mile.
The construction of fancy stores and industrialized loft buildings in the same location created a conflict between retailers and manufacturers. Many department and specialty stores relocated to Fifth Avenue near 34th Street because the Ladies’ Mile had become heavily crowded with factories.27 However, factories began populating this area as well, due to the high demand of factories and the lack of available space near the Ladies’ Mile. People shopping at the sophisticated and exclusive stores felt uncomfortable because of the growing number of garment workers on the streets. These streets became especially crowded at noon, when most garment workers went on their lunch breaks and most “fashionable women” shopped.28 Shop owners worried that the large number of garment workers filling the streets would drive their customers away. Clothing retailers wanted to protect their business and Ladies’ Mile from complete industrialization.
To solve the problem, retailers proposed a plan that involved restricting the number of factories being built on Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. Rather than changing locations, the group of retailers, known as the Save New York Committee, wanted to slow down the growth of manufacturing. They wanted to designate the area bounded by the north side of 33rd Street on the south, 59th Street on the north, Third Avenue on the east, and Seventh Avenue on the west, as well as West 32nd Street and West 33rd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, as a strictly retail district.29 The Committee wanted to save the “integrity and character of the city.”30 However, this call for restriction would eventually become a call for the relocation of the garment industry.
The conflict between clothing manufacturers and clothing retailers culminated in the garment making industry moving to a new location. In March 1916, the Save New York Committee proposed a plan for the construction of modern factories in the area between Sixth and Eighth Avenues and West 17th Street and West 31st Street.31 In July 1916, New York City passed the first comprehensive zoning law in the United States. “The law designated the large area in midtown Manhattan selected by the Save New York Committee, as a business district open to retail development.”32 The law also limited the construction of factories to 25% of a building’s square footage.33 Additionally, the Save New York Committee proposed moving manufacturing to south of 34th Street.34 The manufacturers agreed to the conditions denoted by the Committee, but eventually chose to relocate north of 34th Street, between Broadway and Ninth Avenues.35 The relocation would prove to be a strategic maneuver.
The area along Seventh Avenue and blocks to the west satisfied both the economic and development needs of garment manufacturers.36 First, the real estate in the area was really inexpensive. “The area was part of the Tenderloin, a depressed residential neighborhood, composed largely of mid-nineteenth century tenements and row houses that had been converted into tenements” (see D on map).37 As a result of the cheap real estate, manufacturers were able to buy or rent space for affordable prices. The area was also “convenient for the development of new subway lines,” which connected Seventh Avenue to other parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx.38 In addition, the department stores were nearby the new factories, allowing easy access and distribution to markets.39 This area became the Seventh Avenue Garment District.
The creation of present day Seventh Avenue Garment District began with the development and construction of the Garment Center Capitol. The Garment Center Capitol, built from 1919 to 1921, was a pair of two massive buildings on Seventh Avenue at West 37th Street (see E on map).40 The success of the two buildings drove the “construction of more than one hundred huge garment-industry structures on neighboring streets.”41 This construction and development transformed the “dilapidated Tenderloin region into a modern industrial and marketing center” and “created the largest concentration of high-rise factory buildings in the world” (see F, G and H).42 The construction of the Garment Center Capitol bolstered and solidified the growth of the garment industry. This helped the creation and development of the fashion district that we know today.
The garment industry is currently in the process of relocating once again. By the end of the twentieth century, the location of the garment industry was in three key neighborhoods – midtown Manhattan, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and Chinatown (see I, J and K on map).43 However, more and more manufacturers are moving and opening shops in Sunset Park, Brooklyn (see K on map). These shops are much smaller and have fewer employees than their Manhattan counterparts. Furthermore, the rent for these shops is much cheaper in Sunset Park.44 The rise of internet shopping has caused the rent for loft spaces to rise in Chinatown, which further drives manufacturers to Brooklyn.45 In addition, the presence of the garment workers’ unions, ILGWU and UNITE, is not as strong as in Manhattan.46 The increase in manufacturing and production costs has also caused several manufacturers to move overseas, taking jobs with the companies. The garment industry is gradually relocating to Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
While the change in location is beneficial to some degree, it has some negative underlying effects. Relocating overseas significantly harms the garment industry. Firstly, the relocation creates competition between the garment industry and other countries, specifically China. Moreover, offshoring and outsourcing reduces, if not eliminates, American jobs. This hurts the garment industry economically. The relocation of production overseas caused garment production in New York City to decline.
A major contributing factor in this decline was the 9/11 attacks. Chinatown, a major industry neighborhood, was close to the World Trade Center, the City Courthouse, and other government buildings.47 High security in these areas following the attacks “hindered the movement of materials and clothing into and out of the Chinatown garment factories.48 Additionally, Chinatown did not full phone service until mid-December 2001.49 Furthermore, there was a lack of federal assistance in Chinatown after the attacks.50 The 9/11 attacks significantly hurt the garment industry financially. This recession in garment production further increased overseas production and worsened the economic depression in the garment production.
However, things appear to be looking up for the garment industry today. The industry gradually recovered since 2004 and continues to do so today. The development and demand of new products like uniforms for government and city workers increased production and growth of the industry.51 Furthermore, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio recently proposed a bill to move the “heart of production” to Sunset Park, Brooklyn.52 The garment industry is slowly getting back on its feet.
Both the garment industry and immigration have been constant in New York City history since the nineteenth century. Amidst the continuous growth of immigration, there will always be a workforce for the industry. Through government and financial aid, the garment business will continue to grow. With time, strategic planning, and an endless workforce, the garment industry will gradually become the booming business that it was once before.
Notes
- Appleton, Jean. “Needles, Threads and New York History.” The New York Times, August 02, 2012.
- Soyer, Daniel. “Garment Sweatshops, Then and Now.”New Labor Forum, no. 4 (1999): 35-46. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40342222, 37.
- Chin, Margaret M.Sewing Women: Immigrants and the New York City Garment Industry. (Columbia University Press, 2005), 7.
- Ibid., 10
- Ibid.
- Ibid., 12
- Ibid., 13.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Soyer, “Garment Sweatshops, Then and Now,” 36.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Chin, 7.
- Soyer, 37.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Dolkart, Andrew S. “The Fabric of New York City’s Garment District: Architecture and Development in an Urban Cultural Landscape.” Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of theVernacular Architecture Forum 18, no. 1 (2011): 14-42. doi:10.5749/buildland.18.1.0014, 17.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid., 18.
- Ibid.
- Ibid., 20.
- Ibid.
- Ibid., 21.
- Ibid.
- Ibid., 22.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid., 23.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid., 16.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Chin, 21.
- Ibid., 149.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid., 150.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid, 152.
- Safronova, Valeriya. “A Debate Over the Home of New York’s Fashion Industry.” The New York Times, April 25, 2017.
I would be very grateful if you could provide me with any information you have about Sealey Shoulderpads. My father owned and operated the business in the early part of the Twentieth Century, in the Garment District. He dominated the industry until ladies began to prefer the rounded shoulder. ANY fact, however small, would help me.
Thank you for your time. I am writing a novel about his life.