Made in Yorkshire; the commercial manufacture of everyday womenswear between 1945 and 1989

The research examines the contribution of Yorkshire based manufacturers in the women’s ready-to-wear market in the UK between 1945 and 1989, extending the existing literature which mainly focuses on the manufacture of men’s tailoring in Yorkshire. Using archival and object based research to document the evolution of local sites of production in this period, everyday clothing is used to document the social and cultural changes taking place in Yorkshire women’s lives in the mid-20th century. Factors contributing to the success, and eventual decline, of the commercial clothing industry in Yorkshire during this period are debated, as well as the role that female entrepreneurs played in dressing Yorkshire women.