In Britain from the mid 19th century until the 1970s,
dustmen, coalmen, and the manual laborers known as
navvies wore
flat caps,
corduroy pants, heavy boots, and
donkey jackets, often with a brightly colored cotton
neckerchief to soak up the sweat. Later versions of the donkey jacket came with leather shoulder patches to prevent wear when shouldering a spade or pick. Mill workers in Yorkshire and Lancashire wore a variant of this basic outfit with
English clogs. The cuffs of the pants were frequently secured with string, and
grandad shirts were worn without a collar to decrease the likelihood of being caught in the steam powered machinery. By the early
Victorian era, a working class man's occupation could be identified through his attire. Millers, bakers and cooks wore white clothing due to the importance of
food hygiene,
knife makers,
blacksmiths and
shoemakers wore heavy duty leather aprons, butchers and fishmongers wore straw hats and red or blue striped aprons, and
cab drivers wore
top hats and caped
greatcoats as protection from the rain.
Costermongers wore one of the most distinctive outfits, comprising a
flat cap, well polished boots, a silk scarf known as a kingsman, and blue
corduroy trousers and waistcoat with gold huntsman buttons (i.e. buttons with a
hunting motif). The tradition of the
pearly king emerged during the late 19th century when a young
street sweeper named
Henry Croft imitated the costermongers' clothing by stitching
mother of pearl buttons to the seams of his jacket and trousers.
Asian workwear In Japan, workwear developed during the early 20th century from a synthesis of Japanese and European clothing. Tobishoku, Japanese high rise construction workers would wear
jika-tabi boots with
Nikkapokka pants which emerged from Dutch
knickerbockers and Japanese design. They were often stitched using
Sashiko, a garment mending technique originally made by Japanese farmers and fishermen to repair damaged garments. During the
Pacific War tabi boots were issued to
Japanese soldiers to facilitate
tree climbing. Modern Chinese workwear was developed from the five button
Zhongshan suit popularized by
Sun Yat-Sen and
Mao Zedong. This was derived from
fatigue blouses issued to the prewar German, British and Russian armies in addition to the blue denim
chore jackets and
shackets worn by French factory workers. Under Communism the Mao jacket became mandatory for all sections of society and was made in blue for the workers, grey or tan for
CCP members, black for policemen, white for naval officers, and green for the military. High ranking party members were entitled to four rather than two external pockets. In cold weather, a padded two-piece outfit based on the Russian
telogreika was worn by peasants and construction workers.
Maritime workwear , ca. 1910 Since the late 18th century,
merchant seamen and dockworkers have worn
denim flared trousers, striped
undershirts, knitted
roll neck jumpers, and short blue
peacoats. This basic outfit, paired with a thick leather belt,
flat cap and clogs, was also a mark of identification for
turn of the century criminal gangs such as the
Scuttlers. On the more luxurious
cruise ships and
ocean liners, deckhands wore neatly pressed
dress blues similar to those of the
Royal Navy and
USN, while waiters and
cabin stewards wore white
uniforms with a
band collar, gilded brass buttons, and a gold stripe on the trouser leg. In wet weather, historically sailors wore
oilskins,
Souwesters, and dreadnoughts. Contemporary
fishermen in poor weather generally wear a two-piece yellow or orange waterproof jacket and trousers. Modern updates to the traditional look include
polar fleeces,
hoodies,
baseball caps, and
knit caps. In Europe, the most common workwear onboard vessels is a
boilersuit. Straw hats,
sailor caps and tarred waterproof hats are no longer in widespread civilian use, but wool or denim versions of the
Greek fisherman's cap remain common.
Equestrian workwear Before 1900, the haulage industry relied on horse-drawn transportation in rural areas not served by a
train station. In the
Old West,
stage coach drivers,
wagon teamsters and
pony express riders wore linen
duster coats, tall boots and
slouch hats as protection from the dust and sun. The attire of the working
cowboy, copied from Mexican
vaquero clothing, included blue
jeans,
cowboy boots with
high heels, a
bandana, a
stetson hat, and a checked
western shirt with
pearl snaps. British
postmen, so-called because they originally rode
postilion on the horses of the
mail coaches that collected letters from
staging posts, wore a blue coat and scarlet
waistcoat to identify them as employees of the British crown. As of 2025,
Royal Mail continues this tradition by issuing red jackets and polo shirts to their employees. The first
safety boots, reinforced with iron plates, were introduced around 1600 to protect the postman's legs from the heavy
draw bar of the mail coach. Originally,
top hats were worn but by the 1850s these had been replaced with
peaked caps or
kepis which were less likely to be knocked off by low-hanging tree branches. Although
post horses had largely been superseded by
bicycles by the 1890s, postmen continued to deliver the mail on horseback to remote addresses until the 1950s. Although most
postal services wear blue, American
USPS mailmen have worn grey military pattern
ike jackets since the 1940s and Polish postal workers wore a
maciejowka cap and brown uniform derived from those used by the
Austro-Hungarian Empire before blue uniforms were introduced under communism. In colder countries like Germany, Norway or Finland, postmen wear
ski caps with a turn-down flap to protect the ears and face, while mail carriers in Australia, South Africa and the Southern US are issued shorts and
pith helmets due to the tropical climate.
Railroad use In the
Old West era,
Union Pacific train engineers and railroad workers wore distinctive
overalls, caps and
work jackets made from
hickory stripe before
boiler suits were invented in the early 20th century.
Railway conductors, porters and
station masters wore more formal blue uniforms based on the three piece
lounge suit, with brass buttons and a
military surplus kepi from the
Civil War era. In modern times, the striped engineer cap remains part of the uniform of American train drivers. == Modern era ==