Object: Shirt
Date: c. 1940
Medium: Cotton chambray
Country: USA
Credit Line: Museum purchase
Object number: P89.10.5
DescriptionShirt: blue denim; tailored shirt; two patch pockets; long sleeve
Label Text:The chambray shirt has been a workwear staple for as long as blue jeans. Made from plain-weave blue and white threads, it serves as a lighter-weight equivalent to denim. Where denim is sturdy, chambray is breathable, making it a perfect fabric for work shirts. The chambray work shirt was an unofficial uniform for laborers by the 1940s, and the term “blue collar” had become a euphemism for “working class.”
Exhibitions:
- Denim: Fashion’s Frontier