Dressed for Success

Textile milling in New England was one of the first industries that hired women in large numbers to work outside the home or off the family farm. These women were a source of cheap labor and there was no incentive to make special "mill worker" clothing. By the end of the 1800s, however, women began to be hired in offices and other places which required them to wear clothes that were serviceable but also fashionable. Designers and clothing stores began to add "working-woman" fashions to their existing workingman's styles. Today, clothes
for work are a substantial part of the clothing industry.