Taken from archives of The Daily Journal : times have sure changed! It seemed a revolutionary, if not startling concept. Appearing like the ultimate in wardrobe malfunctions during an era when gender roles were clearly defined, some were taken aback at the very thought. Others, however many others, in fact were eager to join in. The year was 1970. At the dawn of a decade that would give full rise to the women’s liberation movement, Vineland’s female work force literally began to show that they too could wear the pants. Or make that pantsuits. For, in 1970, a smattering of local businesses, such as Garwood Mills and the Bank of New Jersey, first let ladies on the payroll shed chilly and conservative skirts and dresses in favor of pantsuits or, in some cases, even slacks. In 1970, the women of Bernard Popick Associates, a local advertising firm, won the right to cover their legs after producing statistics suggesting that male colleagues would gawk less and work more. Bosses at the I.C. Schwarzman store on Landis Avenue, and Kings Department Store at Park Avenue and Delsea Drive, felt that clerks wearing pantsuits actually boosted sales. In fact, said a spokesman for Kings at the time, the controversial new fashion trend accounted for half of the store’s dress business. Yet not everyone was as enthusiastic. A survey conducted by the Vineland Times Journal that year showed that associates were not permitted to wear them on the selling floor at downtown’s J.C. Penney, although female workers in other departments were. Clerks at the Landis and Delsea Two Guys couldn’t wear them either, and, wishing to remain anonymous, the manager of one business was emphatic that ladies’ pants had no place in a retail department store. In 1970, employees at the Vineland branch of the Bell Telephone Company began a trial period after devising their own somewhat complicated policy. It allowed for well-tailored pants and tops of matching color and material. Clothing meeting these guidelines was appropriate if it looked formal enough to wear out to eat directly from the office. Meanwhile, at the local People’s National Bank of New Jersey, an internal poll concluded that 28 girls out of 34 were in favor of pantsuits. Yet four weeks after the poll was conducted, no one had yet appeared at work wearing them. One city banking official cut right to the chase when asked if his own branch was prepared to follow the emerging trend. If it brings in more depositors, he quipped, I’m all for it.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 01:11:24 +0000
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