Ready-to-wear

Ready-to-wear
Ready to wear clothing display

Ready-to-wear or prêt-à-porter (pronounced: [pʁɛ.ta pɔʁ.te]; often abbreviated RTW; "off-the-rack" or "off-the-peg" in casual use) is the term for factory-made clothing, sold in finished condition, in standardized sizes, as distinct from made to measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a particular person's frame. Off-the-peg is sometimes used for items which are not clothing.

Ready-to-wear has rather different connotations in the spheres of fashion and classic clothing. In the fashion industry, designers produce ready-to-wear clothing intended to be worn without significant alteration, because clothing made to standard sizes fits most people. They use standard patterns, factory equipment, and faster construction techniques to keep costs low, compared to a custom-sewn version of the same item. Some fashion houses and fashion designers produce mass-produced and industrially manufactured ready-to-wear lines, while others offer garments that, while not unique, are produced in limited numbers.

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Haute couture and bespoke

Fashion houses that produce a women's haute couture line, such as Chanel, Dior, and Lacroix also produce a ready-to-wear line, which returns a greater profit due to the higher volume turnover of garments and greater availability of the clothing. Relative to couture, ready-to-wear clothing is often more practical and informal, though this may not always be the case. The construction of ready-to-wear clothing is also held to different standard than that of haute couture due to its industrial nature. High-end ready-to-wear lines are sometimes based upon a famous gown or pattern that is then duplicated and advertised to raise the visibility of the designer. Bespoke is custom tailored clothing.

Collections

In high-end fashion, ready-to-wear collections are usually presented by fashion houses each season during a period known as Fashion Week. This takes place on a city-wide basis, and the most prominent of these include London, New York, Milan and Paris, and are held twice a year- the Fall/Winter shows take place in February, whilst Spring/Summer collections are shown in September. Smaller lines including the Cruise and Pre-Fall collections, which add to the retail value of a brand, are presented separately at the designer's discretion. Ready-to-wear fashion weeks occur separately and earlier than those of haute couture.

Notes and references

See also


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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • ready-to-wear — [red′ētə wer′] n. ready made clothing adj. of, designating, or dealing in such clothing [ready to wear fashions] …   English World dictionary

  • ready-to-wear — adj old fashioned ready to wear clothes are made in standard sizes, not made specially to fit one person …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • ready-to-wear — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ (of clothes) sold through shops rather than made to order for an individual customer …   English terms dictionary

  • Ready-to-wear — (RTW)    This is the term given to clothing that, unlike made to measure, is designed either for commissioned consumption (as in uniforms) or speculative sale at the retail level. When pertaining to retail consumption, another common term is off… …   Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry

  • ready-to-wear — I noun ready made clothing she couldn t find anything in ready to wear that she liked • Hypernyms: ↑clothing, ↑article of clothing, ↑vesture, ↑wear, ↑wearable, ↑habiliment …   Useful english dictionary

  • ready-to-wear — adjective Date: 1895 1. of clothing ready made 2. dealing in ready made clothes < ready to wear stores > • ready to wear noun …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • ready-to-wear — Synonyms and related words: assembled, bespoke, built, cast, constructed, crafted, created, custom, custom built, custom made, cut and dried, cut and dry, extracted, fabricated, fashioned, forged, formed, gathered, grown, handcrafted, handmade,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • ready-to-wear — /red ee teuh wair /, n. 1. clothing made in standard sizes; ready made clothing. adj. 2. pertaining to or dealing in such clothing: the ready to wear business; a ready to wear shop. Cf. made to measure, made to order. [1890 95, Amer.] * * * …   Universalium

  • ready-to-wear — ADJ: ADJ n Ready to wear clothes are made in standard sizes so that they fit most people, rather than being made specially for a particular person. In 1978 he launched his first major ready to wear collection for the Austin Reed stores. Syn: off… …   English dictionary

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