Wikipedia

Workwear

Workwearis clothing worn for work, especially work that involvesmanual labour.[1]Often those employed within trade industries elect to be outfitted in workwear because it is built to provide durability and safety.

Locomotive repair crew, 1948.

The workwearclothing industryis growing[2]and consumers have numerous retailers to choose from. Chains that have made a commitment to the $1 billion and rising workwear business report steady 6 percent to 8 percent annual gains in men's workwear.[3]

In theUnited Kingdom,if workwear[4]is provided to an employee without alogo,it may be subject toincome taxbeing levied on the employee for a "payment in kind."However, if company clothing is provided with logos on then the employee may be entitled to atax rebateto help pay for the upkeep.[5]

History

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Advertisement for overalls, 1920

In Britain from the mid 19th century until the 1970s,dustmen,coalmen, and the manual laborers known asnavviesworeflat caps,[6]corduroypants, heavy boots,[7]anddonkey jackets,[8]often with a brightly colored cottonneckerchiefto soak up the sweat. Later versions of the donkey jacket came with leather shoulder patches to prevent wear when shouldering a spade or pick. Mill workers in Yorkshire and Lancashire wore a variant of this basic outfit withEnglish clogs.[9][10]The cuffs of the pants were frequently secured with string, andgrandad shirtswere worn without a collar to decrease the likelihood of being caught in the steam powered machinery.

Maritime workwear

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Australian sailor wearingbell bottoms,ca. 1910

Since the late 18th century,merchant seamenand dockworkers have worndenimflared trousers,stripedundershirts,knittedroll neckjumpers, and short bluepeacoats.[11]This basic outfit, paired with a thick leather belt,flat capand clogs, was also a mark of identification forturn of the centurycriminal gangs such as theScuttlers.[12] On the more luxuriouscruise shipsandocean liners,deckhands wore neatly presseddress bluessimilar to those of theRoyal NavyandUSN,while waiters andcabin stewardswore whiteuniformswith aband collar,gilded brass buttons, and a gold stripe on the trouser leg.[citation needed]In wet weather, sailors woreoilskinsandSouwesters,but contemporaryfishermengenerally wear a two piece yellow or orange waterproof jacket and trousers. Modern updates to the traditional look includepolar fleeces,hoodies,baseball caps,andknit caps.Straw hats,sailor capsand tarred waterproof hats are no longer in widespread civilian use, but wool or denim versions of theGreek fisherman's capremain common.

Railroad use

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In theOld Westera,Union Pacifictrain engineersand railroad workers wore distinctiveoveralls,caps andwork jacketsmade fromhickory stripe[13]beforeboiler suitswere invented in the early 20th century.[14][15]Railway conductors,porters andstation masterswore more formal blue uniforms based on the three piecelounge suit,with brass buttons and amilitary surpluskepifrom theCivil War era.In modern times, the striped engineer cap remains part of the uniform of American train drivers.[16]

Modern era

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Logging industry

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Sugar Pinelumberjacks in loose fitting,stagged-off pants,suspenders, long-johns, felt hats andcaulk boots.[17]: 102 

Since the days of theOld West,American and Canadianlumberjackshave wornbuffalo plaidPendleton jackets,wooltuques,trapper hats,tall waterproof boots with a reinforced toecap, andchapsas protection from thechainsaw.[18]Olive drab versions of the padded wool jacket were issued toUS Armyjeep crews during the war, and plaid Pendletons became popular casual wear in America during the 1950s.[19][20]

Use by truckers

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Truck driverwearing mechanic's cap, 1949.

From the 1930s onwards,truckersand mechanics wore a distinctive outfit comprisingmechanic's cap,white T-shirt,bandana,boiler suit,checked shirt,leather coat,Pendleton jacket,doubledenimjacket, andblue jeans.[21]Theskipper capin particular signified the truckers' link with the bigseaports,from which imported goods were transported all over the country. This look served as the inspiration for theton-up boy,raggare,andgreaser subcultureduring the1950sand1960s.By the early 1980s,[22]thepeaked capshad been replaced with foam and meshbaseball capsknown astrucker hatsor gimme caps, which were originally given to truck drivers by manufacturers such asJohn Deere,Mountain DeworBudweiserto advertise their products.[23][24]

1990s to ongoing

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In the present day,industrialandservice industryworkwear typically comprises T-shirts orpolo shirtsthat are cheap to replace, black or navypolyester and cotton blendpants,steel capped boots,and for cashiers at largedepartment storeslikeWal-MartorAldi,a colored waistcoat ortabardbearing the company logo.[25]Zip upPolar fleeces,originally invented during the 1970s for use bymeat packingplant workers in the large refrigerated units, are also commonly worn by factory workers, barrow boys and stock handlers in colder climates.

Inspiration in Fashion

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The workwear look

During the1980s,workwear such as thedonkey jacketandDoc Martenssafety bootswere popular street attire for Britishskinheads,suedeheads,hardcore punksandfootball hooligans.[26]More recently,Celtic punkgroups such asDropkick Murphyshave adopted aspects of the look such as theflat capto assert their working class Irish-American identity.

In the 21st century, the style has also made a huge impact on the fashion industry, including segments such asstreetwear.[27]Workwear has not just become a style of clothes that has been adopted by thehipster subculture,but a culture and way of life in this particular community.Pompadourhair cuts,tattoos,denim jackets, military trench coats, lumberjack flannels, chambray shirts,raw denim,andwork bootstake part into this workwear style.[28]

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toWork clothing.

References

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  1. ^"workwear– Dictionary – MSN Encarta ".Archived fromthe originalon 2006-06-26.Retrieved2006-11-15.
  2. ^"Workwear sector lines up for growing business".just-style. 2006-09-28.Retrieved2011-01-12.
  3. ^"Capturing consumers with destination departments – National Industry Report: Work Wear supplement".Discount Store News.FindArticles. 1996-05-06.Retrieved2011-01-12.
  4. ^workwear
  5. ^"EIM32450 - Employment Income Manual - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK".
  6. ^Railway navvies
  7. ^Leisure hour
  8. ^The way we wore
  9. ^Tap Roots
  10. ^Stanleys view
  11. ^Gentleman's gazette
  12. ^Scuttlers gang
  13. ^Hats and headwear
  14. ^Art of manliness
  15. ^Hickory stripe
  16. ^Engineer cap
  17. ^Johnston, Hank (1997).The Whistles Blow No More.Stauffer Publishing.ISBN0-87046-067-6.
  18. ^The Lumberjacks
  19. ^Uniforms of the US Army
  20. ^"The Plaid Shirt: Rebellion, Grunge and a Touch Flamboyance".Gizmodo.2012-03-02.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-09-17.
  21. ^Cool American truckers
  22. ^The trucker hat
  23. ^Comeback of trucker hats
  24. ^History of the trucker hat
  25. ^Wal mart uniforms cause controversy again
  26. ^Patches checks and violence
  27. ^Lakin, Max (21 March 2019)."How The Men's Workwear Trend Took Over The City".Mr Porter.Retrieved9 September2020.
  28. ^"The Workwear Trend Mens – Fashion Magazine".mensfashionmagazine.24 March 2014.Retrieved2016-04-08.
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