Can you give us a brief introduction to the book, and how it came to be?
The book is a collection of essays, really, that pulls together research and different articles I’ve written over the years as a kind of anthology. Part contested history, part polemic on what it is about workwear that is so enduring, and how it’s got the stage of de-facto uniform today. And then a little personal resonance —stories about silly things I got up to when wearing it. The book isn’t too serious — it’s meant to be approachable, for someone who might be interested in how and why they can wear jeans to the office.
How did your love affair with workwear begin?
Growing up in the UK amongst all the youth culture of ‘80s. Jeans had pretty much been the standard youth culture trousers for two decades already, and then on top of that you had these little things that people were clinging on to. Dexy’s Midnight Runners in dungarees on [UK music TV show] Top of The Pops, and skinheads and soccer fans in donkey jackets and Dr Marten boots — all things invented for practical reasons.
I’m fascinated by the second life of clothing, both in terms of vintage and the actual meaning of a piece. It wasn’t so much that I grew up looking at what workers were wearing, but more how clothing specifically designed and made for workers was worn by the people around me.
Historically, is the appropriation of classic workwear about pure function, or a sense of dress up, or perhaps both?
I always think, whether it’s artists, craftspeople or political activists even, the wearing of workwear is about making a statement. That there is a realness to you, even if that realness is artifice. In the 1920s, rich Americans would holiday on ‘dude ranches’ and dress as cowboys for the weekend, so they would be wearing denim. Or go back even further, and you have 18th-century French painters wearing linen smocks that workers wore, because they were trying to imbue some sort of authenticity in what they were doing.
A lot of the focus of the book is on the French workwear jacket. You have someone like [street photographer] Bill Cunningham wearing it as a kind of uniform. And in my interpretation, what he was trying to say was, “don’t look at me, I’m just a man doing a job.” Fashion has always seemed to trickle down — what the aristocracy wore were then adopted by people beneath them. And then it was only in the ‘70s that the idea of ‘trickle up’ fashion materialised.
Did you learn anything new about workwear during the research and writing of the book?
There was one thing — I was always fascinated by [former leader of the British Labour Party] Michael Foot wearing a donkey jacket at The Cenotaph in 1981 [at a memorial for those who died during the World Wars]. It was a massive thing in the right-wing tabloids, who were disgusted that he’d shown up to Remembrance Din this donkey jacket. But it actually turned out that his wife had gone to Harrods and bought a Jaeger car coat. It was probably one of the most expensive things he had, and he’d put it on especially for the event. I think that jacket’s up in the Trade Union museum somewhere.
I’ve also given a new theory as to where the word ‘corduroy’ comes from… but you’ll have to read the book.
Looking at everything you cover in the book, is there one historical piece that has the most influence?
It’s got to be denim jeans — just an amazing creation. Denim was the cheapest furnishing cloth you could buy. They were normally hung on a peg in the mine and worn to cover your ‘nice’ clothes. They wouldn’t be something you’d wear off the job. But the sartorial journey, from a specific thing to be worn in the mines of California and Nevada, to becoming the de facto men’s trousers is just the most incredible climb.
And if someone is looking to explore classic workwear for the first time, where should they start?
I would say a classic blue French workwear jacket. There are companies like Le Mont St Michel, or Vetra, who make them similar to how they’ve been made for decades. They’re just very mutable, usable things to have in your wardrobe. My personal choice would be an American chore coat, which have a similar lineage, but were created for steel workers and rail workers in the States, and are a little bit longer. Four patch pockets, and the old ones have a lovely feature, a split pocket on the breast for a pocket watch. A bit like the magic fifth pocket on a pair of jeans.
Workwear clearly has a very distinct past, but do you have any sense as to how workwear will evolve in the future?
I think that industry has changed, so people aren’t in jobs that they need specific clothes for, or they’re in jobs where they need such specific clothing that it has less resonance away from that. And that has taken the mass consumption of daily workwear away from people. From a fabric perspective, there are people that work in synthetic fleece or Cordura, for example, and those will last for a very, very long time. But will they be imbued with the same spirit? We’ll have to wait and see.
