Sadie Hough

Title of Dissertation: Work/Wear: Clothing in British Manufacturing, 1959-1982

Dressing for manual work is a process. You might roll up your sleeves, tie up your hair, cover up with an apron or change into specially produced clothing.

Formed in 1941, the Overall Manufacturers' Association of Great Britain brought together companies producing workwear in order to develop its sector of the clothing industry. During the 1960s and 1970s, workwear manufacturers adopted synthetic fibres and engaged increasingly with fashion to broaden the workwear that was available for factories and workers to purchase. In addition, legislative changes such as the Health and Safety at Work Act resulted increased interest in workwear and its function within the industrial workplace. What the Overall Manufacturers' Association found, however, was that these changes did not necessarily guarantee the widespread adoption of specially produced workwear.

Working clothing is subject to wear and tear and it requires a continual investment of time, money and physical effort to maintain. Workwear manufacturers and industrial safety publications promised that synthetic fabrics and professional laundering services would reduce this burden. However, oral histories and documentary photography reveal methods of improvisation and adaptation used by workers to clothe themselves for the factory.

Through the negotiation of materials and strategies of dress the relationship between the macro design practices of government and industry and the micro design practices of workers becomes visible. Working clothing, therefore, offers an opportunity to consider both the material culture of factory production and everyday experiences of work on the shop floor.