564 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION F. 



who undertake 'better-class work when they can get it. As army clothing orders 

 filtered through the tailoring trade, this reserve of labour was quickly absorbed. 

 Employment amongst unskilled workers was exceptionally good, and few women 

 were drawn from this source, but many ladies' tailors, dress- and blouse- 

 makers, as well as charwomen, cigar and cigarette makers, box-makers, short- 

 hand typists and foreign correspondents, book and envelope folders, babies' and 

 women's boot and shoe makers, umbrella makers, and workers in luxury trades 

 generally were attracted to the trade. Any woman who was able to manage 

 a machine could obtain employment. The output was increased by extra over- 

 time, the Home Office allowing relaxation of factory legislation on application 

 by particular firms. To meet the demand, new factories and workshops for the 

 manufacture of khaki clothing were started, and other workshops were con- 

 verted for the purpose of making the necessary clothing for the Army. Premises 

 engaged in making underclothing, ladies' mantles and costumes, as well as 

 ordinary tailoring workshops, were immediately adapted for the purpose. In 

 one instance, a walking-stick manufacturer suddenly gave up his trade, and a 

 week afterwards was employing a dozen people in making khaki clothing. In 

 another case, a refreshment contractor for weddings gave up his ordinary business 

 and converted his premises into a khaki-clothing factory. 



By the middle of February the New Armies had been clothed and contracts 

 were cut down by about 50 per cent. The clause prohibiting sub-contracting 

 was reinserted into War Office (but not Territorial) agreements, and those small 

 sub-contracting workshops which were not taken over by the contractors were 

 soon busy on overdue civilian and shipping orders which had accumulated. 



The War Office has decided shortly to return to the original pattern of Army 

 clothing and this will mean a reduction in the number of those firms able to 

 undertake the work. Merchants' stocks of civilian work are, however, depleted, 

 and the shipping trade is brisk, so that the diminution of Government orders or 

 their concentration in fewer firms will probably not cause for some months any 

 appreciable increase of unemployment in the trade. Workers in dress who were 

 absorbed by the tailoring trade will probably still find a demand for their labour 

 in other branches of the clothing trade. 



To sum up : 



(1) Compared with other trades, the tailoring trade shows a very considerable 



increase of women's employment, probably an increase of 20,000 or 14 per 

 cent., owing to the placing of Government orders for military clothing. 



(2) This increase has occurred in the ready-made, wholesale bespoke and medium 



branches of the trade in processes such as machining and finishing, which 

 are normally women's work. There has been no appreciable displace- 

 ment of men by women save in minor operations, e.g., ' laying out' and 

 ' rolling up ' in the cutting rooms. 



(3) Before the War the limit to which women could be employed in tailoring 



was practically reached. Men's processes are either too heavy or require 

 more training than the majority of women are prepared to give. 



(4) Military tailoring is normally a special branch of the trade. The simplifi- 



cation of the design of military clothing made it possible, however, for 

 firms normally doing only civilian work to undertake the manufacture of 

 khaki clothing. Further facilities were afforded by the relaxation of the 

 clause in agreements prohibiting sub-contracting. 



(5) The War Office clothing requirements have now been met, and clothing 



contracts have been considerably reduced in consequence. Sub-contracting 

 has been prohibited, and it is stated that the original design of the clothing 

 will shortly be revived. This will result in a decrease in the volume of 

 women's employment. 



(6) The future of women's employment in the tailoring trade will be affected by 



the further introduction of machinery. Since the War, small workshops 

 have introduced machinery and power to an unprecedented degree. The 

 use of the Hoffman press, which is worked by women, has displaced 

 men hand-pressers to a limited extent. A felling machine, which would 

 displace women finishers, is on the market, but it has not yet been taken 

 up to any extent by the trade. 



