The Rise, Fall, and Revival of St. Louis Fashion and Garment Industry
A Personal Memory Before We Begin
Forgive me for a little trip down memory lane.
When I was a little girl, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother. She often talked about her days as a fashion design student at Hadley Technical Institute in the 1940s. She wanted to be a fashion designer or professional seamstress.
Needless to say, World War II changed those plans. But she was a wonderful seamstress and made dresses until she passed away. She tailored clothes and made outfits to earn extra money while raising five boys.
Each Christmas, she made dresses for me and my cousins—and sometimes matching dresses for our dolls.
I spent many summer afternoons designing and sewing outfits for my Barbie dolls with her. I’d tell her my ideas, she’d sketch and make patterns, and then we’d cut fabric and sew. I thought my Barbies had the best wardrobe in the neighborhood.
While I cherish those memories, I always wondered:
How does someone from St. Louis become so interested in fashion and design?
How does she have such a keen eye for colors and lines? After all, we’re in the middle of the country, far from any fashion hub.
I had a similar thought whenever my dad took me to Levine Hat Company on Washington Avenue. He loved hats and made trips to the city for new ones.
He told stories about Washington Avenue’s heyday: a bustling street packed with clothing stores, accessories, and crowds of people. As a history nerd back then, I enjoyed the tales but couldn’t imagine this street—because in the early to mid-1990s, it looked practically empty.
What I didn’t know then was that St. Louis had a fashion scene second only to New York City—one that thrived for over 100 years.
St. Louis: A Fashion and Garment Powerhouse
Today, we’ll explore the history of the fashion and garment industry in St. Louis.
As with many things in St. Louis, it all started with Pierre Laclede and August Chouteau. Founded in the 1760s as a fur trading post, St. Louis thrived due to its prime location on the Mississippi River.
Traders brought pelts—buffalo, beaver, fox, raccoon, deer—to the warehouse at the post, mainly on present-day Laclede’s Landing.
In the early 1800s, it became fashionable for men to wear beaver fur hats—not the Davy Crockett style, but elegant top hats.
As fashion shifted to silk and other luxurious fabrics, beaver pelts fell out of demand, though fur coats and accessories like muffs and capes remained popular.
Fur trading stayed part of the economy well into the 19th century, though sadly, the last warehouses were demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Gateway Arch.
Growth of the Garment Industry
As St. Louis grew as a western gateway, it became a hub for dry goods and merchants.
Back then, clothing was mostly made at home. Wealthy clients sought tailors since ready-made clothing wasn’t widely available before the 1840s. Garments had to be hand-sewn.
That changed in 1846 when Elias Howe patented the first sewing machine, revolutionizing the industry. Garment factories appeared in major cities—including St. Louis—though mostly focusing on men’s clothing and shoes, as women’s tailored fashions weren’t yet mass-producible.
The opening of Eads Bridge in 1867 further developed Washington Avenue as a commercial center, connecting train service directly to the area.
By the 1890s, retailers sold women’s separates—basic ready-made skirts and blouses.
The Garment District grew within boundaries roughly from Delmar Boulevard to Locust Street, and Eads Bridge to 18th Street, centered on Washington Avenue.
Factories producing fabrics, buttons, threads, shoes, and accessories all operated within this district—creating a self-sufficient fashion ecosystem.
Many East Coast companies relocated to St. Louis, drawn by lower labor costs and available warehouse space.
Innovations and Labor Changes in the Early 20th Century
With the rise of automobiles in the 1910s, fashion adapted to new needs: dusters, goggles, weatherproof clothing, gloves, and hats for travelers.
The U.S. National Bureau of Standards got involved in the 1920s to standardize garment sizing for men, women, and children—a system still largely in use today.
In 1929, Irving Sorger of St. Louis’ Client’s Department Store revolutionized young women’s fashion by creating junior-sized clothing in collaboration with Washington University design students, offering stylish, size-appropriate options for teens.
Labor Struggles and the Rise of Unions
The Great Depression brought hardship and terrible working conditions—low wages, long hours, and sweatshop-like environments.
But many families depended on these jobs.
This leads us to Fannie Sellers, a pioneer of labor organization in St. Louis.
Born in 1867, she moved to St. Louis in 1875. After becoming a widow in 1898, she worked as a seamstress at Marx and Haas—a company with awful working conditions and strict rules.
In 1910, when a sick tailor was fired for using the elevator, workers walked out, and Fanny organized the women in a year-long strike.
Eventually, Marx and Haas recognized the workers’ union, the United Garment Workers Union.
Fanny went on to organize other factories and gained national attention. Tragically, she was murdered in 1919 during labor activism.
Her union was a predecessor of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), founded in 1910 and established in St. Louis in 1934.
The ILGWU represented many roles in the garment industry and offered members education and cultural programs, beyond just labor rights.
Strikes in the 1930s were often violent. One in 1935 at Forest City Manufacturing involved brutal picketing and police clashes, lasting almost a year.
That same year, the Wagner Act was passed, granting workers legal rights to unionize and bargain collectively.
Other unions, like the Immaculate Clothing Workers of America and the Textile Workers Union, also emerged.
By the mid-1990s, most garment unions merged into UNITE, which continues to advocate for workers’ rights.
World War II and Its Impact
During World War II, St. Louis garment factories shifted to military contracts—producing shoes, boots, leggings, parachutes, and tents.
20% of all shoes made in the U.S. during the war came from St. Louis.
Rationing severely restricted fabric use and clothing design, enforced by Regulation 85, which limited hems, fabric types, buttons, and decorations.
Manufacturers innovated to work within these constraints—recycling leather from worn shoes into jackets and gloves.
Hoy Shoe Company repurposed leather straps from military boots into sandals, known as Saltwater Shoes, a brand still around today.
The Fashion and Shoe Industry’s Heyday and Decline
In the 1930s–50s, Washington Avenue flourished with stores like Miss Elaine, Toby Lane, Levine Hat Company, Brown Shoe, and International Shoe Company.
By 1950, the garment district generated the equivalent of $2.2 billion today.
Fashion shows became major social events, often organized with department stores and local guilds.
One iconic creation was the Cherry Dress, a simple white dress with hand-sewn cherries, made by the St. Louis Women’s Exchange since 1954. It remains popular, with about 500 made annually.
But despite the glamour, the garment industry began declining.
Companies moved manufacturing to rural areas to avoid unions—a tactic called the “St. Louis idea”—though unions often formed in those towns anyway.
Headquarters also relocated to suburbs, and the city lost its retail base.
Big discount stores undercut traditional department stores, and globalization outsourced production overseas.
Fashion itself changed, becoming more casual and less dictated by designers.
The Shoe Industry: From Powerhouse to Decline
Washington Avenue was once dubbed “Shoe Street USA.”
In the 1870s, shoe manufacturing shifted from New England to places like St. Louis, where raw materials and rail access were plentiful.
The Brown brothers formed the Brown Shoe Company, producing everything from leather tanning to final assembly in-house.
Brown Shoe’s children’s line, Buster Browns, became hugely popular through aggressive marketing and licensing.
By 1905, St. Louis was the third-largest shoe industry hub in the U.S.
However, labor issues plagued companies; wages were very low, and conditions were poor.
Government contracts during both World Wars saved many companies.
By the mid-20th century, Brown Shoe shifted focus to retail and imports, and the shoe industry declined sharply.
By 1960, only five shoe company headquarters remained in St. Louis.
Brown Shoe moved to Clayton in 1952 and rebranded as Caleres in 2015.
Revitalization Efforts in the 21st Century
Though the traditional industry faded, efforts to revive St. Louis’s garment district have gained momentum.
The Downtown New Development Action Plan in the 1990s invested $17 million in lighting, plazas, landscaping, and tax credits to restore Washington Avenue’s historic buildings.
By 2018, all historic buildings were restored or repurposed.
In 2019, the Garment District Placemaking Initiative aimed to revitalize the area, focusing on mixed-use spaces rather than solely garment manufacturing, adapting to modern fashion’s globalized supply chains.
The St. Louis Fashion Fund, founded in 2014, supports local designers and operates a retail store, combining education, business growth, and community outreach.
Washington Avenue still hosts active manufacturers like Levine Hat Company, Arch Apparel, and Miss Elaine.
Evolution St. Louis, a high-tech knitting facility using 3D seamless technology, opened a 32,000-square-foot space in 2020, marking a new chapter in St. Louis fashion innovation.
Closing Thoughts
Once a vibrant scene of innovation, St. Louis’s garment and fashion industry declined in the mid-20th century.
But with new designers and companies returning to Washington Avenue, the outlook is bright for a comeback.
Thank you for joining me on this journey through St. Louis fashion history.
You can find more at:
Twitter: @showme_history
Facebook: ShowMeHistorySTL
Until next time, I’ll see you in the Lou.