'"Rag pickers", "Ladies Maids", and "Stitch Dames"': The value of feminine labour and early television costuming

Using previously unavailable material from the archives of the Motion Picture Costumers union (IATSE Local 705), this article reconstructs the emergence of television from the perspective of those working in Hollywood’s wardrobe department. Focussing on an area of screen production typically overlooked within media histories, it provides a corrective to the narratives of ‘great men’ in television and argues that the work of these (largely female) practitioners contributed enormously to the aesthetics of early television and ultimately secured its success in both the US and on the international stage. The article reexamines a period in which Hollywood’s supposed antipathy towards television was at its peak in the 1940s and 1950s, challenging the view that television was perceived as film’s subordinate ‘other’. It argues that this sentiment was not felt equally by all working in the ‘great industry’ of cinema. Rather, news of a potential ‘television boom’ was well received by Local 705’s members, and the union moved quickly to capitalise on this potential new influx of costuming work. Television promised not only stable employment for members, but also required a broadening of creative and technical skill, which many hoped would translate into a newfound professional respect.