Natania Barron Profile picture
Sep 6, 2021 31 tweets 17 min read Read on X
1 - Welcome to #ThreadTalk, #LaborDay edition. Our topic? Mills, Strikes & Textile Labor.

Buckle up, though. There is a distinct lack of dazzle today.

We're meeting the makers & laborers of apparel history--& how they lived & died for their craft. @nataniabarron - September ...
2 - In Asia, & China specifically, silk became one of the first real fabric blockbusters for trade during the Han Dynasty, beginning the Silk Road.
Traditionally, weaving was left to women while men farmed & sold, and this continued as trade grew. Women working silk together...
3 - Francesca Bray puts it simply in "Textile Production & Gender Roles":“The growth of the textile industry involved new forms of organization of production that made men the skilled workers and marginalized women.”

This is by no means unique to China. It's the story of fabric. ImageFigure 1: Women presenting ...
4 - Silk farming was done on large & small scale, also often overseen by women. But profits, as we'll continue to see, were controlled predominately by men. China was not the first of the last country to politicize fabric.

Pictured, sorting cocoons in the Song Dynasty. Sericulture, The Process of...
5 - Fabric-making & its related trades requires keen eyes, focus, & lots of repetitive work. But as demand/technology grows, the rights of those doing the work diminish.

In the Middle Ages, the rise of guilds started to address protections. Sort of. If you're a man. Dyers gathered around a tub...
6 - With few exceptions, could not join guilds. Or if they could (especially if widowed) working hours/rules made it difficult to reap any benefits.

Depending on location, etc., (and of course talent, because talent = money) there were those who managed. 14c women sewing, below Four women sewing linen clo...
7 - The first protest I could find in Medieval Europe was 1274, in Ghent, when guild workers (weavers & fullers) united against working conditions.

Their employers reached out to all the nearby towns, & the strikers were locked out of work. Another occurred in 1303. Detail of a miniature of Ga...
8 - The weavers & fullers had quite a bit of influence for decades to come. By the mid-15th century, there was an all-out revolt in prosperous Ghent, against Phillip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. A few years, and 20,000 deaths later, Ghent fell... The burghers of Ghent surre...
9 - Now, enter the Luddites. Their leader was supposedly a man named Ned Ludd, but there's no proof he actually existed. Their focus? Destroying machinery that was taking their jobs. It started in Nottingham (yes, that one) and quickly spread, a rebellion lasting from 1812-16. An etching of Ned Ludd, who...
10 - But wait, maybe it's not that easy. Historians argue that it wasn't just about jobs & technology. It was about being heard. The Luddites might not have cared about the tech at all--they just needed to hit 'em where they hurt.

We still use the term today, perhaps erroneous. A contemporary visual of me...
11 - Parliament had to act fast because it was working. The Luddites were well-coordinated & secretive. And they made big news: Lord Byron was a vocal supporter after the law came down super hard on them (including executions and penal transportation). Below, Byron's smolder. A miniature of Byron with s...
12 - Of course, this is all super ironic, because at this time, we're at the peak muslin imports from the Dhaka region. And talk about horrific working conditions and no wages...

There's a whole other #threadtalk on that subject, if you missed that...

13 - More on that in a minute...

Seamstresses started working together for better wages & working conditions, collaborating with none other than Susan B. Anthony, in the 1860s. Unlike dressmakers, seamstresses were paid by the piece & worked incredibly long hours (16h or more). The Seamstress Harper's Baz...
14 - "The manner in which these women lived, the squalidness and unhealthy location and nature of their habitations... can be easily imagined; but we assure the public that it would require an extremely active imagination to conceive the reality.” NY Daily Tribune, March 7, 1845 Seamstresses. Frank Holl. 1...
15 - If this sounds familiar, this was what gave rise to sweatshops. Yes, factories were awful. But the contract model meant that immigrants, their families, children, and neighbors, could all "get in" on the work.

Great overview: americanhistory.si.edu/sweatshops/his…
16 - Sentiment started to change after 1900. In 1911, came the Triangle Shirtwaist fire where 146 garment workers--mostly women & girls--died. The youngest were 14. When the building caught fire, they could not escape because the doors had been sealed against theft & truancy. Image of Triangle Shirtwais...
17 - The horror of hearing & seeing women falling to their deaths raised public awareness. Even though workers had been dying from brown lung, arsenic poisoning from green dye & a variety of other ailments for ages, they couldn't ignore this one. NYC stood still. Funeral, below. A funeral procession for th...
18 - Then in 1912 came the Bread & Roses strike in Lawrence, MA. Downplayed at the time as a "spontaneous" event, modern historians now believe it was a significant, coordinated strike. And it was inclusive of people across racial, ethnic, and gender lines. Women marching in the Bread...
19 - 1/3 of workers in Lawrence, a local physician reported, died before the age of 25. And the mill employed children under 14 (illegal at the time). Mill capacity: 32,000 workers, who earned about $9.00 for 60 hours/week. Workers on the picket line,...
20 - Things got heated. The police did as you'd probably expect. The militia got called in. But the strikers did not back down. First Lady Helen Taft got wind, the Senate got involved, and eventually the strikers got higher wages... well, for a while, anyway. Militia facing off with pea...
21 - It was the first of many strikes, but eventually the textile industry retreated from New England altogether. Went somewhere, right?

So, about India. Prior to the 1920s, we have very little written record of uprisings or strikes. Because imperialism. But there were strikes. Mills in Mumbai (Bombay) --...
22 - Mills in India were about five times the size of an average mill (in the 1920s) as in the US or England. And we know that in spite of imperial rule, serious attempts were made at mobilization and better conditions by the “Bombay Mill Hands Association” as early as 1884. Narayan Meghaji Lokhande, f...
23 - N.M. Lokhande, previous picture, helped establish basic rights for workers including:
- a weekly Sunday holiday
- In the afternoon, 1/2 hour break
- work from 6:30am and close by sunset
- salaries paid on the 15th of each month Women in a cotton mill, spo...
24 - And now, well, fashion is even faster. The machinery still needs little hands. Sweatshops are still everywhere. Industrialization has shifted the American and British textile industries, but it's still not changed. @UNICEF has a sobering look.

labs.theguardian.com/unicef-child-l…
25 - That family on the first image? You know what they're doing? They're making ornamental flowers for hats. Green flowers made with dye laced with arsenic. Scheele's green. A green we knew was poison for years, but let workers get sick because it was an illness of the poor. Skeletons dancing in fine c...
26 - Lacemakers and seamstresses and dyers went blind. Factory workers died horrific deaths. Fashion is beautiful--it's art. But it's also built on privilege, on power, and meant for those who want more of it. This thread was just the tip of the iceberg, really. So much more... A young girl about 12, work...
27 - Twitter isn't the best medium for this deep dive stuff--it's hard to really convey. But it's worth considering today especially.

The history of sweatshops in the US by the @smithsonian is really remarkable stuff. Read it if you have the time.
americanhistory.si.edu/sweatshops
31 - And that does it for this week's #threadtalk. A last reminder that this is not ancient history... this is still happening.

Signing off. Thanks for reading.

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More from @NataniaBarron

Oct 18, 2021
1 - Dim the lights, grab the popcorn: #threadtalk is going to the (creepy) movies. 🎃🍿🥤

This special edition features a broad list of films that haunt, terrify & sometimes titillate--but always with style. Horror, musicals, cartoons (& odd Disney choices) we've got 'em all. 🔪 The original release poster of the 1975 cult film, "The
2 - NOTE: Inclusion in this list does not mean my personal approval of their director(s), creator(s), actors, producers, etc. Hollywood is nasty on a good day, & some of these films have not aged well.

These are pulled from *my* personal experience in horror films. So, YMMV. Photo by Raúl Nájera on Unsplash  - a sign on a background
3 - I'm beginning with ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968). Starring Mia Farrow as the mother of a the spawn of Satan himself, I definitely saw this movie way too young (thanks, Mom!).

The poster it fantastic, but it's Farrow's innocent pastel wardrobe that makes the fashion statement. This is a poster for Rosemary's Baby. The poster art copyrigMia Farrow in ROSEMARY'S BABY in a striped cotton dress, emp
Read 29 tweets
Oct 4, 2021
1 - 🎃 Welcome to #ThreadTalk! It's the spookiest month & we're jumping right in with a look at ghostly garb👻!

Thrills, chills & blood-curdling horrors await as we take a trip through history & ask the question: "Okay, but what would that ghost *actually* be wearing?" 🎃 October 3, 2021 - @nataniabarron - #ThreadTalk - Ghostly Gar
2 - We're starting in Japan. Because Japan has the best ghosts & my favorite art. Yūrei (幽霊) are closer to a Western concept of ghosts, but spirits of all kinds are common through Japanese folklore.

This one is from the incredible Bakemono no e, dating from around 1700.
3 - The Yūrei are often depicted as women with long, black hair. By the date of this print, I'd say a kosode (a kimono precursor) would be a good match.

The colors are natural, pale, haunting. You see in the embroidered closeup, too, all the sea grass & shellwork. Just wow. This sumptuous robe is among the earliest extant kosode (gar
Read 12 tweets
Oct 4, 2021
It's astounding how often spicy scenes get trashed in fantasy, but I find I spend way more time working them out--especially because they have to serve a lot of purposes.

For me, it's always an emotional/character moment. The reader is going to be REALLY paying attention now.
This is especially true in a romance, where the characters are coming together for the FIRST TIME.

It's got to have that emotional punch, and a lot of complexity. Otherwise it's like a bad fight scene. Lots of equipment/weapons, and bad choreography.
Personally, for me, *how* a character initiates intimacy, with whom, and in what way, is a big glimpse into who they are.

I love writing it.
Read 5 tweets
Sep 13, 2021
1 - It's time for #threadtalk! Today's topic, the Grand Dame of Damask: Anna Maria Garthwaite.

This silk icon has quite a tale, but so does her stomping ground of Spitalfields, London.

And beyond the frippery? The horrors of 18thC England: persecution, riots & taxes🕍🔪💷
2 - Anna Maria was born in 1688 in Lincolnshire, to Rev. Ephraim Garthwaite & Rejoyce (rad name). The family was well to do & Anna Maria would have had a basic education. She showed early artistic prowess, like in this 1707 cut-paper work of a village w/remarkable detail. This cut-paper work picture shows a country house of around
3 - I mean, look at the incredible detail on this. Each and every tree has a different shape & leaf pattern, far beyond basic representation. The little horse and rider, the delicate horns on the deer. Painstaking work here that foreshadows the skill of an artist, to be certain.
Read 35 tweets
Aug 3, 2021
1 - Hey folks! It's a surprise #threadtalk on the medieval theme of the moment: #TheGreenKnight! I just had to come out of hibernation to talk about what I saw in the theater.

Velvet! Crêpe! CROWNS! Pentagrams! I've got you covered. Well, at least *partially*. 📗🪓 Dev Patel as Sir Gawain in The Green Knight fro A24 Films. A
2 - Yes, we're starting with that cloak & color choice. Keeping things spoiler-free here, Gawain is seen wearing a golden velvet cloak very early on.

It's quilted, so nice & warm. It's golden, but also a bit ochre--yellow can mean golden, but also... well, cowardice, y'know? Dev Patel as Sir Gawain in The Green Knight by A24 Films in
3 - Velvet is a perfect choice for the nephew of Arthur. It's HELLA expensive (as we've covered; links later). This is SILK velvet. Not polyester crap from the 70s. And it takes skilled labor beyond reasoning to make.

But it also *absorbs light*. I feel like this is essential. Dev Patel as Sir Gawain in the Green Knight from A24 films.
Read 23 tweets
Aug 2, 2021
Do I hate Lancelot? No. I'm mostly French. I enjoy quite a bit of the French stuff. I also like that he sticks it (hahahahaha) to Arthur.

Do I hate Malory? Hate is a strong word, but I think a lot of Malory is crap and ruinous.
That said, I'm generally of a mind that nearly everyone in the Arthurian canon is terrible in one way or another.

As I said in my #GreenKnight review: it's about entropy and destruction, a golden age deteriorating toward a dystopia.

There are glimmers of joy, but it's rough.
Love means treason; loyalty means war.

Unification means subjugation and cultural erasure.

Mordred isn't the problem. Uther begins the whole dynasty with unspeakable violence and deception. Magic is the scapegoat, but it's a weapon of war just the same.
Read 5 tweets

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