Clothier. A retail dealer in ready-made clothes for men; a clothing merchant. Merchants sold cloth ages ago, but ready-made-clothing merchants were unknown in the world sixty-five years ago. Among twelve hundred millions of the earths' people clothing stores are still unknown and unheard-of institutions. One hundred years ago in all civilized countries tailors went from house to house and made up garments from home-made cloth. About sixty years ago tailors began keeping shops, where people took their cloth and had their garments made. Gradually the tailors began to keep cloths for sale, and were called merchant tailors, and a few years later clothing stores sprang up.