◾Dressmakers, mantua-makers, or seamstresses/sempstresses, (and sometimes also called needle-women as were the lower class workers), were those catering to the upper classes and learned their trade through an apprenticeship. This kind of needlework was one of the few respectable avenues to earn a living open to women, and for those families who could afford the premium it was certainly a better occupation than domestic service. The pay was better than the slop-workers, although the long hours of hard work and eye-strain were similar. A skilled woman would set up a business near to the source of her supplies, (silk and textile merchants and haberdashers), with a brass plate advertising her business at the front door. She employed journey-women and apprentices in a workroom. Other employees might work from home, fitting in with other household tasks. A sewing machine was often bought on the installment plan known as hire purchase. Some set up one-room dressmaking shops in their homes where clients could be measured and fitted, and might take on apprentices.