By On the Job: A History of American Work Uniforms

The practice of wearing uniforms to indicate group identity is widespread around the world. Although many job titles and responsibilities have shifted over the last century―from porters, domestic servants, and gas station attendants to bouncers, baristas, and Hooter Girls―work uniforms have been a constant presence in the aesthetic landscape of the United States. While many scholars have touched on uniforms, particularly in sociology and labor history, few scholars have given this specific topic any sustained attention. Through a variety of archival documents, artefacts, illustrations, and references to primary and secondary literature, On the Job explores the changing styles, business practices, and lived experiences of the people who make, sell, and wear service-industry uniforms in the United States. It highlights how the uniform business is distinct from the fashion business, including how manufacturing developed outside of the typical fashion hubs such as New York City; and gives attention to the ways that various types of employers (small business, corporate, government and others) differ in their ambitions and regulations surrounding uniforms. Illustrated in full color throughout, On the Job sheds new light on an understudied yet important field of dress and clothing within everyday life, and is an essential addition to any fashion historian’s library, appealing to all those interested in material culture, the service industry, heritage and history.