How do we define levels of class? In the twenty-first century, it seems that you can tell a lot about a person by the clothes they wear. Though some will not admit it, many people have pride in the “level” of store they shop in. Like the girl quoted at the beginning of Enstad’s first chapter, who wished to wear the Wanamaker label on the front of her clothing, people are proud of the labels they wear and carry. Yet this is not purely a modern phenomenon.
In her book, Ladies of Labor, Girls of Adventure, Nan Enstad is able to draw on the fashion trends and availabilities in order to garner a better understanding of the workingwoman. A large determinant of these distinctions was created by the industrialization of the garment industry, not simply through labor concerns, but clothing now available to many levels of society. Enstad writes, “with the implementation of the mechanized loom, the prices of all cloth, including fine cloth, dropped dramatically. This expanded the market of people who could afford tailor-made clothing.” (22)
The notion of fashion and class status is apparent in my own work for the semester with Gaskell’s North and South. When walking in the streets of her new home, Margaret reflects, “People thronged the footpaths, most of them well-dressed as regarded the material, but with a slovenly looseness which struck Margaret as different from the shabby, threadbare smartness of a similar class in London.” Although they would appear to be members of the same class, as an outside observer, Margaret sees differences in dress based on their geographical position.
The main labor dispute within the novel focuses around the cotton mills in the city of Milton. While discussing the industry on the train ride to their new home, Mrs. Hale exclaims, “but these factory people, who on earth wears cotton that can afford linen?” The question of “who wears cotton” pops up frequently within the novel and becomes a topic of contention between Mr. Thornton and Margaret. It comes down to Mr. Thornton to explain to her that mechanization, combined with the new abundant availability of cotton fabric meant that more people could afford new clothing. He is even one to point out that the industry sees great sales in the colonies and America, as the heat and number of industrial workers makes cheaper clothing a necessity.
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