Wendy Gamber is a member of the Department of History at Indiana University, Bloomington.

• CoverTitleCopyrightContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionOne. Fashion and Independence: Dressmakers and Millinersin the Antebellum CityPART ONE The Female Economy: Proprietors, Workers, and Consumers, ca. 1860‒1910Two. A Precarious Independence: Female Proprietors in Gilded Age BostonThree. The Female Aristocracy of Labor: Workers in the Trades, 1860–1917Four. The Social Relations of Consumption: Producers and Consumers in the Era of Custom ProductionPART TWO Gendered Transformations: Toward Mass Production,1860-1930Five. A Feminine Skill: Work,Technology, and the Sexual Division of Labor in the Dressmaking Trade, 1860–1920Six. Commerce over Craft: Wholesalers and Retailers in the Millinery Trade,1860–1930Seven. Engendering Change: The Department Store and the Factory, 1890–1930ConclusionAppendixEssay on Primary SourcesNotesBibliographyIndexBack Cover

"Gamber's analysis is careful and nuanced, showing at every point the mixed impact of the processes of change in the lives of tradewomen and their customers. . . . A valuable contribution to women's labor, business, and social history as well as to the emerging history of consumption."--Susan Porter Benson, author of Counter Cultures: Saleswomen, Managers, and Customers in American Department Stores