safety suit for aviators (1910)

From the pages Popular Mechanics, which was a lot more badass in 1910 when the emerging science of aviation was in full flower. I like how the safety suit is accented by a crisply creased pair of dress trousers and freshly shined shoes.

Girl in a glass house (1942)

"This girl in a glass house is putting finishing touches on the bombardier nose section of a B-17F navy bomber, Long Beach, Calif. She's one of many capable women workers in the Douglas Aircraft Company plant. Better known as the "Flying Fortress," the B-17F is a later model of the B-17 which distinguished itself in action in the South Pacific, over Germany and elsewhere. It is a long range, high altitude heavy bomber, with a crew of seven to nine men, and with armament sufficient to defend itself on daylight missions"

photos by Alfred T. Palmer.


I absolutely LOVE the style of all of the Rosie the Riveters. This particular photographer, Alfred T. Palmer, was especially gifted at capturing their hardworking femininity. I love how women of that era managed to be stylish and feminine while keeping the world safe for Democracy.

previous posts: Save vs Death (my other blog) "the many faces of Rosie the Riveter"
and
Carpenter at work on Douglas Dam, Tennessee (1942)

Carpenter at work on Douglas Dam, Tennessee (1942)

Carpenter at work on Douglas Dam, Tennessee (TVA) (LOC)
Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

Classic American propaganda and classic American vintage workwear style. This is the real deal!

Reminds me of a Woody Guthrie song- Pastures of Plenty:

Green pastures of plenty from dry desert ground
From the Grand Coulee Dam where the waters run down
Every state in the Union us migrants have been
We'll work in this fight and we'll fight till we win

It's always we rambled, that river and I
All along your green valley, I will work till I die
My land I'll defend with my life if it be
Cause my pastures of plenty must always be free

Beacon Falls Shoe Co. - Husky Shoes for Rough Work

click to biggie size

THE BEACON FALLS RUBBER SHOE COMPANY.
"The Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company was established in 1898 and is now splendidly housed.... Both water and steam power are used in the operation of the factory and there is electric connection for emergencies. That the business is today one of the most important and extensive industrial enterprises not only of Beacon Falls but of the Naugatuck valley is indicated in the fact that the company today employs fifteen hundred people, fifty-five per cent being male. They manufacture rubber boots and shoes and outing footwear. The plant has a capacity of twenty / thousand pairs of rubber shoes per day. ..Their product is sold all over the United States and also in Europe and the company has offices in Boston, Chicago, New York, Minneapolis, Kansas City and San Francisco. They are represented upon the road by one hundred and ten traveling salesmen, who travel from their own branch offices. This is the main industry at Beacon Falls...The history of this organization is largely the history of Beacon Falls, for no other business enterprise has contributed in more extensive and substantial measure to the growth and commercial development of the city. "

- from "The History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut (1918)

Beacon Falls was bought out by US Rubber in 1921. In 1930 the name was changed to UniRoyal.

I accidentally learned something...

Mrs. Irma Lee McElroy does her part for vintage clothing fanatics (1942)

click for righteous embiggenmentry.

From the Library of Congress's Flickr collection.

"Hollem, Howard R.,, photographer.Painting the American insignia on airplane
wings is a job that Mrs. Irma Lee McElroy, a former office worker, does with
precision and patriotic zeal. Mrs. McElroy is a civil service employee at the
Naval Air Base, Corpus Christi, Texas. Her husband is a flight
instructor-1942 August"

(photo details by Industrial Artifacts Review- very cool stuff there as well! )

This is as right-on as American Vintage Clothing gets! Might need to steal that "Keep Them Flying" logo for something to honor the memory of Irma and the rest of the real American dames who did their part to smash the Axis. It seems that a patch reprint is in order- if only I had unlimited resources. There are a few more photos of her, but none are nearly as charming as this one!

Victory over Wear and Waste! Carhartt advertisement (1944)

Ad copy reads:

"Carhartt's famous Master Cloth work clothes meet war time needs with the same high quality and comfort fit that have spelled extra value for America's workers for over a half century. There's victory, too, in every Carhartt work front uniform- victory over wear and waste! You can always work in extra comfort when you work in Carhartt's. They're built roomier and really fit - backed by three generations of the Carhartt family ... a family that has stood squarely behind American labor for over 50 years."

Found in Popular Science Magazine, June, 1944.