worker jacket
Jacket
ca. 1979 (made)
ca. 1979 (made)
| Place of origin |
This blue cotton 4-buttoned down shirt jacket with two patch pockets above hem is a women’s jacket, generally known in the West as a jacket of the ‘Mao’ suit or 'gong ren fu' in Chinese, literally means 'worker clothes'. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, this style of jacket was generally worn by factory workers and it later became the national uniform of the people.
It was manufactured by Minquan Garment Factory in Wuhan city in the 1970s. Women's clothing from the 1950s to the 1970s was mainly functional and limited in style. Most women wore loose-fitting trouser suits. The most common colours were blue, grey or khaki.
It was manufactured by Minquan Garment Factory in Wuhan city in the 1970s. Women's clothing from the 1950s to the 1970s was mainly functional and limited in style. Most women wore loose-fitting trouser suits. The most common colours were blue, grey or khaki.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | worker jacket (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Twill weave cotton |
| Brief description | Woman's cotton jacket, known as the 'Mao jacket', manufactured by Minquan Garment Factory in Wuhan city, China, ca. 1979 |
| Physical description | Woman's jacket of blue twill weave cotton. |
| Credit line | Given by Monica Collingham |
| Object history | The donor, Monica Collingham, bought this jacket during a trip to China in April 1979, a few years after the death of Chairman Mao and the consequent fall from power of the ‘Gang of Four.’ She remembers it was one of the approved garment designs at the time, and a lot of people in China were wearing them. She was then living and working in Hong Kong. At the time of her visit China was at war with Vietnam. She recalls China was still very pro-Mao, his poems were on walls in public places, and the country was just beginning to open up to foreign visitors. |
| Production | Manufactured by Minquan Garment Factory in Wuhan city |
| Summary | This blue cotton 4-buttoned down shirt jacket with two patch pockets above hem is a women’s jacket, generally known in the West as a jacket of the ‘Mao’ suit or 'gong ren fu' in Chinese, literally means 'worker clothes'. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, this style of jacket was generally worn by factory workers and it later became the national uniform of the people. It was manufactured by Minquan Garment Factory in Wuhan city in the 1970s. Women's clothing from the 1950s to the 1970s was mainly functional and limited in style. Most women wore loose-fitting trouser suits. The most common colours were blue, grey or khaki. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | FE.81-2019 |
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| Record created | April 9, 2019 |
| Record URL |
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