The Lady in the Overall: First World War Patriotism, Respectability, and Workwear of Upper-Class Munitionettes

Abstract

This article offers new insights into the national market for utilitarian garments worn by British upper-class Munitionettes in the pursuit of essential First World War munition manufacture. There has been a resurgence in recent years in the interest of women’s workwear, but little dress historical research has been undertaken into the manufacture and consumption of these garments by upper-class women, which this article seeks to address. The numbers of women involved in munition production peaked in 1917 at almost 1,000,000 meaning the circulation of workwear in this industry alone, was in the millions. Workwear worn by upper-class women represents discourses of wealth, femininity, respectability, and patriotism. That such expensive and high-quality garments exist speaks to the cultural significance the women themselves recognized in these utilitarian garments. This workwear symbolized their contribution to the war effort, the political ambitions for suffrage and personal achievement. These garments were not worn outside the workplace as the fabric would have been contaminated with chemicals, thus would not have been pleasant to preserve. Crucially, it is through the material cultural analysis of rare extant high-end garments worn by upper-class women, that the extent of the market for workwear has been revealed.