SIC 2311 Men's and Boy's Suits, Coats, and Overcoats
SIC 2311
This category covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing men's and boys' tailored suits, coats, and overcoats from purchased woven or knit fabrics. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing uniforms (except athletic and work uniforms) are also included in this industry. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing men's work uniforms and clothing are classified in SIC 2326: Men's and Boys' Work Clothing, and those manufacturing men's and boys' athletic uniforms are classified in SIC 2329: Men's and Boys' Clothing, Not Elsewhere Classified. Knitting mills primarily engaged in manufacturing suits and coats are classified in SIC 2253: Knit Outerwear Mills.
315211
Men's and Boys' Cut and Sew Apparel Contractors
315222
Men's and Boys' Cut and Sew Suit, Coat, and Overcoat Manufacturing
Throughout the early 2000s, the men's and boys' suit and coat industry continued the long-term pattern of contraction that had begun in the 1970s. However, U.S. manufacturers experienced a positive sign in 2005, when the men's suit and coat industry in the United States showed an increase in sales as compared to the previous two years. The uptake is attributed to an increase in demand for suits and tailored clothing, in addition to the purchase by some major manufacturers of new brands. Even with the comeback of more stylish attire, U.S. manufacturers continue to face fierce competition from foreign imports.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 994 U.S. companies were engaged as men's and boys' cut and sew apparel contractors, only 60 of which produced men's and boys' suits and coats. The cut and sew apparel industry consisted of three major types of companies: manufacturers, contractors, and jobbers. Manufacturers cut and sew finished products entirely within their own facilities. Jobbers specialize in cutting the fabric, which they then supply to contractors for sewing. The major suppliers of these manufacturers are textile mills, which produce the broad-woven fabrics accounting for roughly three-quarters of the materials consumed by the industry.
Manufacturers sell their goods primarily to three types of retailers: small specialty clothing stores, department stores, and large menswear discount chains. During the 1990s, manufacturers became more dependent on the large discounters—such as Men's Wearhouse, Today's Man, and S&K Famous Brands—which expanded their operations often at the expense of the small stores, some 4,000 of which closed by 1996. Some of these discounters expanded so quickly that they overreached and suffered the consequences, at least temporarily.
The clothing industry in the United States began to develop in the eighteenth century, but most clothing was still being made in homes until the Civil War. Quality menswear was long the province of skilled tailors, while most ready-to-wear clothing was imported. In the nineteenth century, however, urban migration, the sewing machine, and a demand for war uniforms changed the industry.
As more and more people began moving to cities in the nineteenth century, they became more concerned with their clothing. As Claudia B. Kidwell and Margaret C. Christman pointed out in Suiting Everyone: The Democratization of Clothing in America, "For the most part factory workers could not afford the services of a good tailor, but they still wanted clothing that looked in no way appreciably different from the mainstream fashion. Consequently, the demand was there—not for the inferior or specialized clothing that had previously distinguished 'ready-made,' but rather for 'equal clothing' for anyone, which anyone could afford to buy."
Tailors began to develop "scientific principles" and "proportional systems" for making clothing that would fit almost anyone. In 1848, Oliver Hudson, a men's clothier in Boston, advertised that "sizes are indicated by number and a printed tag is attached to each article, so that anyone after becoming familiar with the size will seldom find it necessary to try a second garment." Tailors also began hiring workers, usually women who worked in the home, for many of the less skilled tasks, such as sewing straight seams.
Brooks Brothers, the famous New York clothier, is thought to have introduced the first ready-to-wear men's suits in the United States in 1845 and pioneered the "sack suit" around the turn of the century. The comfortable, boxy-looking sack suit was a stark departure from the tight-fitting suits with padded shoulders and pleated trousers that were then popular in Europe, and it was considered the first genuinely American business attire. The sack suit evolved into the Ivy League look of the 1950s and the celebrated gray flannel suit of the 1960s.
...To continue reading
Request your trial