Song of the shirt

An examination of the clothing industry in mid nineteenth century England, its organisation, the distribution and exploitation of female labour, and the representation of this process in the media. Using dramatised scenes, stills and video material, this traces the development of a chain of seamstresses’ workshops, linked to a central wholesaler. The system, in force from the 1830’s onwards, is shown to depend on the rigorous subdivision of labour and the principle of paying just enough to keep the labour force above the starvation level. The films is divided into 3 parts, plus postscript, each dealing with one aspect of the total history. Cast includes Martha Gibson, Paul Bentel, Geraldine Pilgrim, Frazer Cains and Anne McNiff.