its transformation to an "industrialized" profession with the invention of the sewing machine in the 1850s. The need for thousands of ready-made soldiers' uniforms during the American Civil War helped the garment industry to expand further. Women were the main workforce before 1840. However, by 1880 men took most of the skilled positions previously held by women due to the massive migration of Jewish men from Poland and Russia. Many of them were tailors that adapted to machine production. German and Central European immigrants to America around the mid-19th century arrived on the scene with relevant business experience and skills just as garment production was passing from a proto-industrial phase to a more advanced stage of manufacture. In the early twentieth-century a largely Eastern European immigrant workforce powered the garment trades. Russian Jews recruited workers from their hometowns and broke the production into tasks able to do by less-skilled workers. Writing in 1917, Abraham Cahan credited these immigrants with the creation of American style: Due to several nationalities, the organization of workers was hard at the beginning. Before 1880, most garment workers didn't have an interest in unions, except for cutters, which were the more skilled workers. However, as Eastern European Jews increased in the industry, unionization increased in this group. With an ample supply of cheap labor and a well-established distribution network, New York was prepared to meet the demand. By the end of the 1860s, Americans bought most of their clothing rather than making it themselves. During the 1870s the value of garments produced in New York increased sixfold. By 1880 New York produced more garments than its four closest urban competitors combined. Two out of five ready-to-wear garments were produced in New York City. In 1900 the value and output of the clothing trade was three times that of the city's second largest industry, sugar refining. In 1909, leading industries in New York were manufacturers of clothes for women and men, and New York's function as America's culture and fashion center also helped the garment industry by providing constantly changing styles and new demand; in 1910, 70% of the nation's women's clothing and 40% of the men's was produced in the City. Decline of the industry Cheaper overseas labor and production has dramatically affected the New York industry for decades. This change has forced many designers who once manufactured their lines in the city to shift production