13169_10681_work_clothing
Footage shows a fashion trend during the '50s related to work clothing for men.
A group of men and women leave a parking lot and walk to a Waldes Koh-i-noor factory in Long Island, New York.
The narrator says male workers nowadays - this is the ‘50s - are shifting away from wearing traditional “work” clothing at work to wearing clothing that is colorful, sporty, and fashionable yet is fit for the special requirements of industrial work. This shift in taste, noted by Menswear Magazine Report from a survey, has clothing companies catering to this market trend.
Factory workers are shown operating machinery while sporting their “fashionable” clothing, including affordable plaid shirts, striped shirts, slacks with permanently stitched-in creases.
Several features of the “fashionable” work clothes are noted. Some clothing is cut short for safety. At least one shirt includes a flap within the breast pocket for attaching a company badge or ID. A man is shown wearing high-waistband slacks while inspecting the operation of several machines. A different man wears a shirt with a “freedom neckline,” which is a collar that can be worn with an open or closed zipper; when the zipper is open, the “lapels can be turned back,” as the narrator says. Yet another man wears slacks that have criss-crossed belt loops and that are tapered in the ivy-league manner.
In short, the work clothing trend noted above allows men to express their tastes and who they are, their individuality. It also allows male factory workers to compare favorably with men who are in other occupations.
Men and women clock-out from their shifts at the factory or plant.