Ready-to-wear is clothing made in standard sizes and offered for sale as finished garments.
Prêt-à-porter is the French term for ready-to-wear clothing, produced in standard sizes rather than made individually to a client’s measurements. The French Ministry of Culture distinguishes luxury ready-to-wear, made in industrial series, from haute couture’s unique pieces made entirely to measure in French ateliers under specific criteria. Ready-to-wear can still involve specialist garment development, including the distinction between soft garments and structured tailoring. Altering a finished garment for a client does not change its original production category. Paris Fashion Week includes ready-to-wear collections, as the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode’s calendar shows.
In job listings
Max Mara described itself as a pioneer of modern prêt-à-porter when advertising a visual merchandising manager in London. The house linked its womenswear to industrial production. Here the term describes the clothing business in which the manager would work. The employer did not use it as the name of a particular merchandising task. Search local jobs for “ready-to-wear”.
