Union Made
This coat bears the history of organized labor initiated by women in the garment industry.
Submitted by Iris Aguilar
Commentary by Alex Stevens
Editor: Karrie Witkin | Designer: Emma Geddes | Copy Editor: Katie Frankowicz | Communication/Support/Outreach: Meg Chellew
Alex Stevens, the secondhand vendor extraordinaire behind St. Evens, talented journalist, and our own Vintage Detective, digs into the history of a vintage coat submitted by Iris Aguilar, our Editorial Resident. Here’s what Iris had to say about this piece:
What is it? A vintage wheat yellow wool coat with oversized buttons and bracelet sleeves. The only label I could find is from the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) with the National Coat and Suit Recovery Board logo stamped on the back. I think this coat is from the early to mid-60s but I'll leave that for the Vintage Detective.
Where did you unearth this fantastic gem? A vintage and secondhand seller from Ciudad Juarez that I found via social media. The coat had been on her feed for a few months but surprisingly it was still available by the time I stumbled upon it. The seller sent me a little note saying that I had purchased a garment with historical value due to its association with the ILGWU and I loved that detail.
Any Other Comments? I asked the seller if she had any info about this piece, and she told me that a former coworker bought it in San Diego but never really used it, so she eventually gave it to her. The seller just tried it on for pictures and measurements, but it wasn't her style or vibe so after a while she decided to find it a new home. The coat has travelled from San Diego to Ciudad Juarez to Monterrey and I definitely wish I knew more about its original owner and where else it has been.
The Vintage Detective Investigation
Vintage aficionados probably recognize the little tag on Iris’s coat. This label features the logo for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), one of the largest and most influential labor unions in American history. On the back of the tag, we see another logo. This symbol represents the National Coat and Suit Industry Recovery Board.
International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) tag (front and back)
Vintage collectors love a union label! Spotting that familiar circle logo on a garment is a quick and easy way to identify a piece as true vintage, and different iterations of the design help narrow down the decades during which each logo was used. While there were many different garment unions in America over the years, the ILGWU was by far the biggest, making their labels much more ubiquitous than others.
A Brief History of the ILGWU: The International Ladies Garment Workers Union was founded in New York City in the summer of 1900. Seven local unions gathered together to join forces, starting the union with several thousand garment workers. Membership was primarily women, a reflection of the workforce, and many were Jewish immigrants. The union would transform and grow over the following 95 years, adapting to the changing industry and expanding to the areas surrounding New York. The ILGWU played a vital role in American labor history, helping fight for worker’s rights and safety in an industry that employed primarily women and children.
The ILGWU merged with another large union in 1995, officially putting an end to the ILGWU name and logo in the mid ’90s. This shift coincided with the final stages of garment work being moved overseas, ending a century-long tradition of American manufacturing. While there is still some garment manufacturing done here in the U.S., it now makes up only about 3% of the clothing sold here.
A Brief History of the National Coat and Suit Industry Recovery Board: In 1933, Congress established the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) and its agency the National Recovery Administration (NRA) as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. It passed legislation to enforce codes for workers and pricing with the intention of promoting much needed industrial and commercial recovery following the Great Depression. Though these labor and consumer laws were initially hailed by the American public, the act was deemed unconstitutional in 1935 and has since been seen as a major policy failure.
Many garment workers, however, found that the codes and labels enacted by the NRA were helpful in regulating their industry. In order to reinstitute fair labor practices and other protective policies, garment workers came together with the help of the ILGWU to form the National Coat and Suit Industry Recovery Board. From 1935 until the early 1970s, the Industry Recovery Board label was used to indicate to consumers that the garment they were purchasing was made under ethical working conditions.
Below is a notice from the spring of 1960 announcing the use of a new label that included both logos, like the one seen on Iris’s coat. The ILGWU logo shown here would be updated just a few years later.
Image credit: The Kheel Center ILGWU Collection, Cornell University ILR School
ILGWU Labels Over the Years: Immediately upon its inception, the ILGWU adopted a label to be used in their work. Implementation of the label was slow to start, and use was not compulsory until several decades later. Significantly less clothing was made before the 1950’s, and much of it didn’t survive until now, so the earliest iterations of the ILGWU label are very rare!
ILGWU label from before 1955. The Kheel Center ILGWU Collection, Cornell University ILR School
The most common ILGWU labels found on vintage clothing come from the last three eras of the union’s existence. Each label is stylistically similar, but has slight changes that differentiate each time period from another.
ILGWU labels from 1959-1963, 1963-1974, and 1974-1995. The Kheel Center ILGWU Collection, Cornell University ILR School
All three labels utilize the union’s circular needle and thread design. “Union Made” was prominently added to the design introduced in the 1960s, which went along with a push in marketing to encourage consumers to support union-made garments. By the 1970s, garment work began to move overseas. The increase in foreign manufacturing threatened the jobs of American laborers, leading to a rise in patriotic designs on clothing labels during this era. The last iteration of the ILGWU label was red, white and blue as a nod to the American flag and included “Made in the USA” in large letters.
The union label on Iris’s coat was in use during the 1963-1974 era of the ILGWU. Recordkeeping for the Coat and Suit Industry Recovery Board ended in 1972, indicating that the use of that label would have been before this time. These two logos on a shared tag tell us that her coat was made before 1972. The shape and details of the coat have a distinct 1960s flare, reminiscent of styles worn by fashion icons such as Mia Farrow, Jean Shrimpton, and stylish girl group The Ronettes.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful piece of vintage history with us, Iris; and thank you, Alex, for filling us in on the history behind the tag. This is a great reminder of past efforts to keep manufacturing on U.S. soil and remind customers of the value of union-made garments. We have so many questions about the ethics behind the manufacturing of clothing today. Wouldn’t it be ideal if a tag in our clothing could indicate that the person who made it was working in safe conditions and earned a living wage? Maybe someday?! In the meantime, let’s keep ethical manufacturing at the top of our fashion must-haves and try to shop secondhand first.
Want to know more about vintage history, or have your own personal vintage item that you’d like to have help dating? Contact Alex on Instagram at @wear_st.evens. She’s happy to help you identify any pieces you might already own, and if it’s a good candidate, we could feature your garment here on the blog!
Tell us about your “Thanks, it’s vintage!” story or the most random lucky find from the five-and-dime. Brag about your flea market fortunes HERE.
Sources:
https://ilgwu.ilr.cornell.edu/timeline/union-label-timeline.html
https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/KCL06036-010.html
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/the-myth-of-made-in-america-ttp-agreement
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