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Uniform

Designer Vera Maxwell American
1942
Not on view
Rosie the Riveter--the woman who replaced enlisted men in the war industries--required practical attire. In 1942, Sperry Gyroscope commissioned this "Rosie the Riveter" ensemble from Vera Maxwell with the plea that the garment be ready for use in heavy industry, but that it would also make women feel attractive when it was worn. Norman Rockwell's famous aircraft-worker Rosie on the cover of the May 29, 1943 Saturday Evening Post is an ironic copy after Michelangelo's Isaiah, but Maxwell's canny solution was to combine service need with an attractive, streamlined jumpsuit as suitable as any other sportswear to contemporary beauty as well as utility. Of course, one can see that the McCardell "Popover" worked for the homemaker in the same way for another work category, including several buttoning options.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Uniform
  • Designer: Vera Maxwell (American, 1901–1995)
  • Date: 1942
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: cotton
  • Credit Line: Gift of Vera Maxwell, 1947
  • Object Number: C.I.47.60.1
  • Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute

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