Vested Interests: UniformMarketNews.Com

This month’s edition of Uniform Market takes a look at the timeless vest as it continues to re-invent itself and have greater presence in the uniform industry.  It is without question one of the most economical, yet outstanding ways for any organization to make a definitive statement about itself.

If you go back far enough, it can be argued that the first vest-like garment was worn by a caveman, made from animal skins and worn for protection against the environment.  Simply put, the vest (Latin for clothing) is that which covers the upper part of the body but omits the sleeves. [Add sleeves and it can be called a “jacket—” the two are interchangeable; a coat is too large and bulky to do this—take out its sleeves and it could never be a vest.] 

In addition to its existence as an open bolero style in warmer climates, or as a quilted more padded affair in northern Europe and Asia, the vest has been a familiar and mandatory part of dress for centuries.  When made from metal, it even served as armor during the Middle Ages.  Various sleeve openings, lapel preferences, lengths, and closures have evolved with cultures and time.  Usually worn as a complement to an already existing outfit, the fabric, colors, and/or cut of a vest can reveal a person’s job description and social standing; the garment has been so specifically designed.  

Although decreed a fashion imperative in 17^th century Britain, the traditional vest has gradually begun to disappear as a staple in men’s wear for a few reasons: After World War I when the pocket watch became replaced by the wrist watch, there was no more need for the vest pocket; during World War II when fabric became a premium, money was better spent on the War effort; our society has become more and more casual and formal vests have been replaced with 2 piece suits, or sweaters and slacks.     

The vest as a uniform has increasingly grown in popularity as our low budget economy looks for high visibility in the marketplace. The vest is an excellent way to draw attention to identity.  Because it has no sleeves, the vest is simply cooler and easier to navigate.  No bulkiness, nothing to dirty or roll up, as with long sleeves.  

Further just as telltale vests marked a person’s status and job description many years before, vests of today do the very same thing.  Restaurant and food-service wear will have vests of one color for the

maitre d’ and hostesses, another for the waiters, and a third for the bus-staff.  Or, there is the idea of the front part of the house having waiters’ jackets (sleeved vests), but removing the sleeves (vests), while maintaining the same unique fabric and style for the bartenders.  The continuity is very smooth. 

Vests in the hotel industry go with the most formal Victorian styling by adding braid, embroidery, tassels, lace, gold or silver brocade, shoulder straps, and even epaulets.  Being cut away at the waist, they were once called “waistcoats,” as they were worn under much longer and fuller frock coats.  For a more corporate appearance, the conservative business vest still maintains that fabulous look when everyone was bandbox:  Single or double breasted with notch, peak, or sans lapels and a sophisticated presentation that says, “Yes, Sir!” 

There are loose vests for sports, such as soccer, baseball, basketball, volleyball, and other lower contact activities where heat, cleaning ease, and cost all make a difference.  Screen printing is a definite plus here.  Or, let the colors alone carry the ball.

There are elongated tunic vests that reach the thigh.  This style, having originated in the colonial American South, has the advantage of offering a slimmer look when not everyone has a perfect figure. 

There are even multi-colored sleeveless knit T’s, undershirts, and women’s lingerie.  There is the alternative “vestee,” which is a faux set of front panels set into either side of a coat.  This provides the look of the vest without the expense or the added warmth of extra fabric in the back.  And speaking of a backless vest, there is the timeless tuxedo style.  Best of all, everything can be made adjustable. 

For protection, whether it’s DuPont’s magic fiber, Kevlar, or some other wonder substance, being bullet proof in today’s world hits the mark.  The impenetrable vest is one of many ways law enforcement officers, political officials, security guards, and even teachers find physical protection.  Add reflective tape, remove the Kevlar, and it’s a street scene for construction and/or safety.  Quilt them and you’re outside with terrific warmth.

Whether it’s Wal-Mart, 7-11, Target, Kroger or Safeway, Circle K or Quick Mart, McDonald’s, a Mexican restaurant, Walgreen’s, a gas station, car dealer, or the local school band, vests are everywhere.  Fancy or plain, expensive Italian tapestry or imported poly cotton, Microfibre, cable knit sweaters or fur; they are one of the most prevalent means of visual identity that we experience as consumers.  Check them out in your major uniform supplier catalogues.  From baby Ottoman knit weaves, to fancy brocade with lame, waist length to tunic, wool to Oxford Nylon, buttons, zippers, Velcro, or snaps: There’s a vest concept that’s just right for your customers. 

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A Bum Wrap: The Eton Jacket and Its Origin--UniformMarketNews.Com

Ever wonder how different styling options became industry norms?  Take, for example, one of the more commonly desired apparel offerings, the eton jacket. 

In the mid 15^th century, Henry VI (the “scholar king”) firmly established the English educational system.  One of its most notable schools was Eton College, (pronounced “eton” as in cretin, not “eton” as in futon).  Located on the Thames River in southeast London and across from Windsor Castle, some of the most accomplished Britons in history have been educated there, including the Duke of Wellington, author Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole.   Despite the presence of several fine English academic institutions, Eton stands above the rest in many categories, particularly in terms of its uniform.

Believe it or not, the precursor to the eton jacket was the medieval monk’s robe.  Originally, children in “public schools” (which were actually fee paying private schools) wore their own clothing, paid for by their families.  The charity schools—whose students were comprised of children from hospitals, orphanages, and the streets—were filled with ragamuffins who had nothing to wear; hence, the clergy provided them with cassocks from the monasteries that not only kept the children warm but visually eliminated their economic differences.  Remember, women were not a part of this equation because they were not given formal schooling until more recent times.

Ironically, as England became more prosperous and powerful, the upper classes found themselves with elitist schoolboys who had become arrogant and unruly bullies.  By the 19^th century, in the interest of greater discipline, decorum, and financial equanimity, the notion of also putting the public schools in uniform was instituted.  At Eton, the waistcoat, shirt and now-famous collar, short jacket, and accessories were introduced. 

“College” in England refers to secondary school education.  Initially at Eton College, the junior class members (also presumed to be those boys who were less than 5’4”) were made to wear the all-around short jacket, while the older classmates wore the longer morning coat: waist length in front with tails behind. 

However, there were two problems with the double-style coat system: first, there were many upper classmen who were too short and as a result were not allowed to wear the more adult waistcoat even though they were seniors; second, the longer waistcoat with its tails that covered one’s rear end was a lot warmer than the skimpy junior level jacket that had become known as “the bum freezer.” 

Ultimately, the early 20^th century solution was to eliminate the short Eton jacket so that all the boys wore a single outfit: the morning coat or waistcoat with the now-famous look of the collar, vest, top hat and tie.  More recently, Princes William and Harry wore the required Eton outfit. 

Interestingly, outside the College, the Eton suit with the shorter jacket became the standard for boys of all ages in English society, and the fashion spread to the United States, as well.  It should be noted that several of the English colleges had similar uniforms; but it was Eton’s (rather than Harrow’s, for example) that caught on. 

There is no one designer for the specific Eton College uniform; the question of the short jacket’s evolution is bound up with the history of the garment, the styling of a short formal jacket, and the name of the College.  Similar garments were worn throughout Europe once pants became the preferred mode of men’s dress.

As a particular garment, the modern eton jacket (now with a lower case “e”) became a part of the regimented repertoire for military dress, cruise ships, hotels, for special groups and clubs, and even for assistants such as waiters, butlers, and doormen in private homes or restaurants. 

With ever-increasing affluence, particularly in Western culture, the eton jacket found its place in more formal society and became a sign of class distinction.  Interestingly, worn by both the working classes that served the upper classes, and by the upper classes themselves, the degree of hierarchy was identified only by a particular jacket’s trim: the basic style remained unaltered.  During the latter part of the 20^th century, couturier designers even presented the eton jacket with a skirt as a smartly tailored suit for well-to-do women. 

Today’s Eton Jacket: A Must-Have for Customers

Today, we in the uniform industry find our customers wanting etons, many of them not knowing what they are or how an eton is defined, other than as a short jacket that is at once formal but utilitarian.  

Etons are now 1-button, or a chain-link 2-button: they are double breasted or single, with 2 buttons or 3.  Some have built-in false vestees, some have false cummerbunds attached.  They come lined or unlined, with various types of collars, contrasting or self lapels, with pockets or none.  There are braid, epaulets, shoulder straps, chevrons, and even scalloped yokes for western wear. There is the West Point jacket which is a military stand collar version of the eton.  Some etons have pointed bottoms, some have rounded edges, some are squared off.  They come in all sorts of designs and fabrics—polyester, poly wool or wool, even poly cotton or brocades.

But the basic style is still the same.  It is the short jacket—a waistcoat without the tails—used for the original purposes of identity, deportment, and uniformity, that was named by the headmasters at Eton College all those years ago. 

Debra Hindlemann Webster is owner of Custom Uniform Company, a manufacturer of high-quality, American-made custom uniforms.  The company has been serving individuals, groups, theme parks, corporations, offices, military, hospitality, entertainment centers, and many other businesses with unique custom apparel for more than 70 years.  Visit WWW.CUSTOMUNIFORMCOMPANY.COM  or email them at DEB@CUSTOMUNIFORMCOMPANY.NET  to learn more. 

Teddy Roosevelt & Illegal Immigration, 1907

Catwalker/Shutterstock.com

One of the tragedies of today’s world--since the last third of the twentieth century--is that we have become adversarial towards one another regarding issues and values that used to be common for all of us.  It used to be that the ideas we now fight over were once givens; and on some of those "givens," our foundation as a nation was built.

The below isn't about obliterating original family, culture, religious heritage, and/or customs.  Our ancestral traditions and beliefs give us history, tradition, and personhood.   The below is about patriotic unity and duty.  It is about chauvinism and nationalism--love of one's country. 

American society also consists of an ancestry of families, culture, heritage and customs that matter; we must not forget that America itself is an entity with traditions, a language, schools, literature, style, values, societal norms and mores that represent our own culture.  These attributes of our everyday life are equally as important as those that we inherited from past generations across our borders and the seas.   If we want to preserve our nation and all it stands for, American values must matter most to each of us. 

America is and always has been the leader of the free world. While not perfect, it stands alone in protecting the rights of others, everywhere.  This is a part of who we are as Americans. 

Nowhere in the world has a society/civilization existed where revolution was led from within--the colonies against England--and where, when the battles ended and leadership taken, was power then given to the people in an orderly fashion, to rule with laws.

George Washington, our first leader, was president for 8 years; he stepped down willingly in order to let others serve--unheard of until that time and still unique in most countries of the world, today. 

America has laws: a constitution, with a bill of rights for every citizen in this country.  Our entire framework is built on the holiness of law.  To defy the law is to defy a major premise of western civilization, and one of the major defining differences between humanity and the animal kingdom.  

Many countries have followed our lead; very few have had the spirit, the determination, the know-how to reach the potential and achieved greatness of America.  

We are by definition a society of immigrants, and we are multi-cultural in origin.  However, when immigrants and multi-culturalists become more invested in themselves and their separate individual rights with regard to their own personal practices, rather than the collective meld of our American heritage, then we are no longer a country with a united common purpose, but a pool of undefined rudderless riff-raff, instead. 

Assimilation is a slippery slope.  The good news is that we learn to get along with others, and appreciate an array of habits and perspectives.  The bad news is that it allows us to become ripe for others to conquer; for us to become another identity under another flag--with other values and other foci.  To deny or ignore this reality is to deny and/or ignore all of human history and human nature.  It will always be about the survival of the fittest. 

The price of freedom is responsibility--not only to us, but to our nation and fellow Americans who, despite so many challenges and imperfections, all these years have fought, worked, and kept our country whole.  Our national motto: E Pluribus Unum—out of many is one; not the other way around. 

Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907:  "In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin.  

But, this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...  There can be no divided allegiance here.  Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all.  We have room for but one flag, the American flag...  We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...   And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Dave Hindlemann, 1916-2006: Obituary for Made To Measure Magazine

We are losing the irreplaceable generation of heroes who helped make our country and our world a better place.  Americans born in the first decades of the last century are largely responsible for one of the most incredible periods in human history. Everyone pitched in and did his/her proud part to enrich the fiber of our nation. People were not afraid of work; success was by the sweat of the brow.  Dave Hindlemann epitomized this irreplaceable World War II generation:  Idealistic, striving--a robust group of men and women--Rosie the Riveter, GI Joe, and Uncle Sam; the remarkable disciplined vigor that made our country the best and the brightest.

In 1916 New York City, where a kid made a living by the seat of his pants, Dave Hindlemann, entrepreneur, began at the age of 10 by juggling 3 paper routes and an elementary school career.  Whether it was his first bicycle, a Model T Ford with a crank which he bought for $50, or his upgrade to a roadster with a gear shift and a rumble seat, Dave always paid his own way.  He grew up in Mount Vernon, NY, where his dad was a contractor in the garment business.  The Wall Street crash with its domino effect destroyed elder Harry’s own career when his clients went bankrupt.

The family headed West.  Dave abandoned his full scholarship in engineering at Syracuse University, apprenticing with his father in a small Denver-based clothing factory, instead.  Working by day, coaching at a rec center and taking business courses at night, six-feet four-inch 20 year-old Dave Hindlemann started his first company in 1936, Pioneer Wholesale Tailors (later Bell Tailors). 

“I’ve never regretted owning my own business,” Dave emphasized.  “I never go to sleep at night worrying that the next morning some executive will tell me my job has been abolished.”  For many years, it was one of the best known local suiting stores, and when the War came, it was requisitioned by the US government to manufacture military uniforms. 

Dave served in Europe under General George S. Patton.  He was an acting major when the War ended, and he distinguished himself by earning two bronze stars, an oak leaf cluster, and letters of commendation for his bravery in battle.

Subsequently, he was commissioned by the Allied Forces to go to Germany, where he was put in charge of the garment factories that made clothing for the newly released concentration camp prisoners.  He joked that the garments were made in 2 sizes:  too big, and too small. 

 

When 1946 came, the soldiers returned home—not to proprietous pinstripe suits, but to open-collar shirts, slacks, and sport-coats: custom tailoring for the masses had become a thing of the past.

Dave adapted the wartime uniforms his company had made to marching bands, parochial schools, and ceremonial groups.  His firm became one of the larger band uniform houses in the country as he converted from the cost-prohibitive woolens to the new technology of synthetics, and as his tailoring shop became a factory of mass-production:  Five or six tailors mushroomed to 50 or 60 sewing professionals. 

For those individuals who couldn’t or didn’t want to come into the shop to work, he set up contract agreements for sewing professionals who worked in their homes—a good 30 years before “outsourcing” and “contractors” were considered viable means of labor.  Bell Tailors became Bell Manufacturing Co.  “Flexibility is everything“ Dave noted.  “If you can’t change with the times, you get left behind.”

In 1981, he turned 65 and he gave up the high overhead and stresses of operating a large factory, downsizing to a smaller shop and staff— Custom Uniform Company—again modifying as budgets for band uniforms got smaller and society changed focus.

 

Today, after 23 years in partnership with his daughter, Deb Webster, Dave’s “smaller” business is more challenging than ever.  All styles of custom-designed garments are manufactured for national distribution as cut & sew, private label, and under the Custom Uniform Co. label.  Inventory also includes ready-to-wear garments when a customer desires a more generic item.

He used to say, “I like being a big fish in a small pond.  We can make small quantities, lots of different things.  It’s fun.  Having fun is more important than making the most money.  If you don’t enjoy coming to work every day, you’ll never be a success at what you do.”

Married for over 59 years, Dave and his wife, Phyllis, had 3 children and 4 grandchildren.  Without hesitation he stated, “Family has always been first.  Even in the early years I always tried to make time for my family.” 

Proud that his business would succeed him, Dave felt that his greatest impact had been the production of a quality product.  “We’ve always had very conscientious quality control.  Delivering a good product to the customer, learning as much as I can about things as I go: that matters to me.  I like to learn from people, ideas, and products.”

He had an engineer’s mind, and he used it to manufacture garments for over 70 years by drafting patterns and creating high quality garments.  He helped to set the standards for men’s suiting, for the military, and for band uniforms that are still maintained today.  As one colleague said of him when he was in his 80’s, “Dave has forgotten more than most people knew in the first place.” 

“So many things have changed,” Dave would reflect.  “It used to be a handshake was a man’s word.  Now, it’s about contracts and money—cut and dried.  The personal element is missing.  I’m fascinated by all the technological developments, but I sometimes question our priorities and our values—that objects have become more important than people.”

Dave Hindlemann worked 5.5 days a week and he stayed present in the shop until age 90 when he passed away in November, 2006.  “When a wise man dies, a library burns to the ground.”