pieces of history

Some people who buy used clothing become fascinated by their previous owners. They want to know why the person originally bought the item and when he or she wore it.* I usually have no interest in the “personal history” of used clothing, but earlier this week, I had my moment of historical fascination.

After picking up prescriptions, I decided to browse in this thrift store on 19th street between Market and Chestnut. I don’t even know its name, but it’s one of those “real” “hole-in-the-wall” thrift stores. The stuff is cheap, it smells funny and there was a homeless man, or atleast a man who smelled homeless, sitting in the store, talking to one of the employees.

In any case, I bought three 100% wool skirts.** All three of them had ILGWU International Ladies Garment Workers Union “Union Made” “Made in the USA” tags on them.


Founded in 1900, ILGWU was one of the most progressive and important unions in the United States, reaching its peak of power in 30s and 40s. It began to decline in the 1960s and eventually merged with two other textile unions in 90s. Aside from being a union, ILGWU was also primarily a women’s union and given its start date, it was giving women economic and political representation even before they were allowed to vote.

So I feel like I’ve brought home three little pieces of history. (In fact, I feel reluctant to take out my scissors and do my usual round of alterations). I wonder about the women who produced them. Where did they work? What were their working conditions like? Did their union involvement make them feel like they had some control over their jobs?

It’s difficult these days to find union-made clothing. “Made in China” is a far more common label. Yet buying these three old skirts reminded me that this was once not the case.

Speaking of buying stuff, please refer back to last year’s entry for sources for buying fair-trade or ethically-produced gifts. I also seem to regularly rant about labour issues.

And speaking of the holidays, here's some light and pleasant reading suggestions. I actually haven’t read most of these, but they are all on my never-ending to-read list. The first book is political philosophy about community organizing. The next two are written by journalists about working conditions in America, either based on first-hand undercover experience (Ehrenreich) or interviews and research (Greenhouse). The latter three books are written by academics. Class Acts is, if I’m not mistaken, based on participant observation and research at a luxury hotel and is primarily concerned with the relationships that develop between the rich clientele and the hotel workers. The final two are more theoretical works about the organization and structure of labour.

• Reveille for Radicals (Saul Alinsky)
• The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker (Steven Greenhouse)
• Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America (Barbara Ehrenreich)
• Class Acts: Service and Inequality in Luxury Hotels (Rachel Sherman)
• The Ownership of Enterprise (Henry Hansmann)
• Manufacturing Consent: Changes in the Labor Process Under Monopoly Capitalism (Michael Burawoy)

Note: I actually wrote this entry in late November. I just haven’t had a chance to photograph the skirts and post the entry until now.
* I also hate it when people distinguish between “vintage” and “thrift” clothing. To me, used clothing is used clothing. Some items may be better quality than others and some may be older, but I don’t find clothing called “vintage” inherently more valuable than clothing called thrift. (Then again, it could be more valuable in that I could probably sell an old skirt called “vintage” for much more than thrift store skirt). It’s marketing. Vintage shop geniuses who make money off ugly 70s polyester dresses.
** I initially planned to buy two skirts, for a total of $14, but the cashier decided to give me one of the skirts for free. After buying these skirts, I noticed another skirt and decided to try it on. Unfortunately it had a small stain on the front so I decided it wasn’t worth the $10. The cashier was disappointed that I wasn’t going to buy it so he offered to sell it to me for $2. That wool fabric alone would cost me $20 to buy, so I bought the skirt. Three skirts for $8, the price of a Center City lunch. Nice! This is why I love *real* thrift stores, as opposed to pricey consignment shops.