London & Devon - Fashion-Wise

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 19th Year

Issue

Issue No.

2

Date Released

Oct 1965

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1National Story - Pounds Shillings and Sense
2. 2Hampshire - Joy Ride
3. 3London & Devon - Fashion-Wise
4. 4London - Thirsty Work

Story

Story No. within this Issue

3 / 4

Summary

NoS synopsis: the use of coal in dress manufacturing
NCB Commentary - Oxford Street, London, W1 - to many women a mile-long mecca for anything from a button to a welding trousseau.
On the first floor above this dress shop, Gerald Victor, joint managing-director, checks one of the designs for Europe’s largest fashion manufacturers.
At the company’s factory in Plymouth 800 men and women make the dresses and suits.
Paper patterns are cut out. Using the pattern as a guide a band saw cuts out parts for a hundred or more dresses at one go.
The paper pattern is used to check the accuracy of the cut.
This is how a skirt is pleated it’s something like a venetian blind - though less revealing.
The skirt is rolled up and goes into a steam cabinet which sets the pleats.
Overlock applicaion prevents the edges of the material fraying.
And how long, ladies, does it take you to pipt a neat button-hole?
Blind stitching a hem - another laborious task for the home dressmaker.
And what about zips - straight as a die and neatly hidden.
Putting in a dart.
And so part by part the dresses and suits are assembled.
Sally here, wearing a dress that she helped to make, dashes away with a steaming iron in the finishing section.
And at the end of the line Mrs. Austin adds the final touches such as belts.
A dust cover for the journey to the shops.
The variety is there but the final choice is yours.

Keywords

Industry and manufacture; Fashion and costume; Fuels

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases
Films on Coal Catalogue   1969, p.51
The National Archives COAL 32   /13 Scripts for Mining Review

Credits:

Sponsor

National Coal Board