| A | B |
|---|
| Flying Shuttle | allowed a single weaver to weave much wider fabrics, and it could be mechanized, allowing for automatic machine looms. patented by John Kay (1704–c. 1779) in 1733. |
| Spinning Jenny | invented in 1764 by James Hargreaves. reduced the amount of work needed to produce yarn, with a worker able to work eight or more spools at once. This grew to 120 as technology advanced. |
| Cotton Gin | Invented by Eli Whitney. Automated the separation of cottonseed from the short-staple cotton fiber. |
| Elias Howe | and sewing machine pioneer. First machine using a lockstitch design. His machine contained the three essential features common to most modern machines: a needle with the eye at the point, a shuttle operating beneath the cloth to form the lock stitch, an automatic feed. |
| Spinning Mule | spins textile fibers into yarn by an intermittent process. Samuel Crompton invented in 1779. |
| Sewing Machine | In 1846, the first American patent was issued to Elias Howe for "a process that used thread from two different sources." Singer built the first where the needle moved up and down rather than the side-to-side and the needle was powered by a foot treadle. |
| Paper Pattern | pattern to guide in making fabric cuts, a pattern that was the correct size. |
| Ready-to-wear | the term for factory-made clothing, sold in finished condition, and in standardized sizes. Also called prêt-à-porter. |
| Ebenezer Butterick | Created the first graded (different sizes) sewing pattern. |
| Charles Worth | a fashion designer who is widely considered the Father of Haute Couture. He is credited as the first designer to put labels onto the clothing he manufactured. |
| Levi Strauss | inventor of the quintessential American garment, the blue jean. |
| Standardized Sizes | a sizing system which the entire industry could follow. |
| World War I | The wartime economy, the change in population demographics, the expanding domestic economy (with more people working), and the shift to women in the workforce all had a tremendous impact on fashion. Before France was the main fashion house. |
| World War II | The government found it necessary to ration food, gas, and even clothing during that time. New York Emerged as a Fashion Leader. Pants became a staple of women who worked in factories and soon gained widespread acceptance for casual wear |
| Christian Dior | In February of 1947, introduced his New Look, a style that consisted of rounded shoulders, a cinched waist, and a very fully skirt. |
| Coco Chanel | credited with liberating women from the constraints of the "corseted silhouette" and popularizing the acceptance of a sportive, casual chic; popularized the “little black dress”. |
| Internet | changed not only the way we buy clothes but also the way in which we are marketed them; has made fashion global! |
| Fast Fashion | designs move from catwalk quickly in order to capture current fashion trends. |
