Hello! This is Ameko from HELICE, an American casual select shop.
Workwear such as overalls and work jackets are essential to "American casual" style.
This time, let's look at the history of workwear's birth, along with famous brands!
＜Table of Contents＞
Part 1: How American Casual Was Born in America
Chapter 1: What is American Casual?
Chapter 2: The Age of Exploration and the Birth of Jeans
Chapter 3: The Golden Age of Workwear ← You Are Here!
Chapter 4: The Birth of Military Wear
Chapter 5: Movies, Music, and Youth Culture
Chapter 6: Ivy, Preppy, and Hippie Culture
Part 2: How American Casual Became a Culture in Japan
Chapter 7: GHQ and the Influx of American Culture
Chapter 8: VAN and the Ivy Boom
Chapter 9: Shibuya Casual and Vintage Clothing Boom
Chapter 10: Magazines That Fostered American Casual Culture
Part 3: Japan Becomes the World's Foremost American Casual Nation
Chapter 11: Okayama Denim and Kojima
Chapter 12: The Birth of Replica Brands
13: The Philosophy of Japanese American Casual Brands
Chapter 14: Made in Japan, Valued Worldwide
Final Chapter HELICE's Message on American Casual Culture
The Outbreak of the Civil War, Shaping America's Future
In 1861, America reached a major turning point.
In the vast expanse of America, conflicts between the North and South intensified, escalating into war.
The "North" was centered on commerce and industry, advocating for protectionist trade to safeguard its own industries and opposing the expansion of slavery.
The "South" advocated for large-scale agricultural plantations growing cotton, slavery, and maintaining free trade.
With the victory of the "North," which possessed superior industrial power in this Civil War,
America significantly shifted its course from an agrarian nation to an industrial power.
Furthermore, during the Civil War, technologies for mass weaving fabrics, streamlining sewing, and standardizing sizes rapidly developed in order to supply large numbers of soldiers with identical uniforms.
America Aims for Prosperity After the War
In 1865, with the end of the Civil War, America was still a young, developing nation.
Cities existed on the East Coast, but a vast wilderness stretched westward.
To connect cities from the East Coast to the West Coast,
to create logistics, and to become a prosperous nation where goods, people, and money flowed freely—
What was needed for this immense goal was the "railroad."
At that time, the only means of transportation were crossing the continent by horse-drawn carriage or sailing around South America.
For the monumental project of the transcontinental railroad, which would determine the nation's future,
laying even a single rail required hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of laborers.
With the end of the Civil War and the abolition of black slavery,
people from China and Europe began to migrate to the American continent as laborers.
They blasted through rocky mountains, built bridges, carried railroad ties, and laid rails,
working tirelessly in scorching heat and snow-covered mountain ranges.
Railways Gave Birth to New Workwear
Then, in 1869, the transcontinental railroad connecting America's East and West Coasts was completed!
People and goods could now travel at an unprecedented speed.
And with the development of this railroad, many workwear brands were born.
Here are two famous brands!
First! Carhartt!
They began producing durable duck canvas (a very sturdy and thick fabric made from densely plain-woven thick cotton yarn) jackets and overalls for railway workers and construction workers.
Duck fabric, which was thicker and more abrasion-resistant than denim, gained high popularity in demanding work environments.
Even today, the brand's iconic brown duck jackets inherit the manufacturing philosophy of that era.
Second! Lee!
Lee started as a wholesale business dealing in food and general merchandise.
While selling clothing, they began developing their own products due to delayed deliveries, thus starting their journey as a workwear manufacturer for railway workers and farmers.
Hickory stripe overalls.
Coveralls.
Engineer caps.
These were all garments actually worn by railway workers.
It is said that the hickory stripe pattern was designed to make dirt and oil stains less noticeable.
Moreover, the short brim of the engineer cap
was a practical shape that wouldn't get in the way in the narrow locomotive cab and made it easy to see ahead.
America Was Driven Not Only by Steam Locomotives
With the birth of the transcontinental railroad, cities developed, logistics emerged, new industries grew,
and the country of America itself underwent significant transformation.
Many laborers contributed to the growth of the nation.
Miners digging deep into the earth for coal.
Lumberjacks felling giant trees that had grown for hundreds of years.
Farmers cultivating vast agricultural lands.
In each of these fields, the necessary clothing was born,
and they eventually became the beloved American casual wear of today!
The introduction of those clothes would be lengthy, so I'll save the rest for the latter part!
In the latter part, let's look at the story of how workwear further evolved in mining, forestry, and agriculture, which secretly supported America's development!
To be continued in "Chapter 3: The Golden Age of Workwear, Part 2"
HELICE
359-1117 Tokorozawa-shi, Saitama, Yurakucho 14-15
We select Japanese brands that focus on materials, techniques, and designs, centered on American casual style.
In Japan, there are techniques cultivated over a long history.
The craftsmanship of artisans who know materials inside out.
The aesthetic sense residing in the details.
And the passion and pride of the makers.
Clothes that are carefully made and whose charm you feel more and more as you wear them.
And clothes that you want to cherish and wear for a long time.
We carefully deliver such garments, born from Japanese craftsmanship.
