1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: On March eighth, twenty eighteen, Women's International Day, mind you, 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:09,799 Speaker 1: I started getting ready for my shift at the Bloomingdal's 3 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,000 Speaker 1: in Beverly Hills, and I did what I always did. 4 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:17,480 Speaker 1: I blew out my hair, contoured my face, and then 5 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:21,279 Speaker 1: I sat at the corner of my bed, mustering the 6 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: strength to pull out my black pantyhose and zip up 7 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 1: what had become my work uniform, the Little Black dress. 8 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 1: And then something came over me. I opened up my 9 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:44,479 Speaker 1: laptop and I started to furiously type out an email. Hello, 10 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: this is money. Come on, I let's go se Yeah 11 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: from the Bloomy SPEP Center location forty nine point fifty. 12 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:55,319 Speaker 1: Because my manager has been on leave since October, I 13 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 1: didn't know who to bring this up to, so I'm 14 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: contacting HR directly. I have to unfortunately quit my position 15 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:11,119 Speaker 1: as a stylist immediately effective today, best Monica and then 16 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: I had sent That's how I quit working at bloomingdalf. 17 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 2: From Fudro Media and PRX. It's Latino Usa. I'm mariena 18 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:36,119 Speaker 2: Hosa today. The unknown history of the iconic little black dress. 19 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:45,920 Speaker 2: The Little Black Dress aka the LBD has become synonymous 20 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 2: with the cocktail dress. The LBD can be any style, 21 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 2: any fabric, but what it will always exude is confidence 22 00:01:55,200 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 2: and style. The LBD has been worn by everyone from 23 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 2: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Sonya Soto Mayor to 24 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 2: Princess Diana, and since the nineteen twenties it's gained the 25 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 2: reputation as the garment of liberation and access to the 26 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 2: modern world. Ever since then, the LBED has been reliably flattering, seductive, 27 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 2: and elegant. But it hasn't always been this way. For 28 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 2: many women, the Little Black Dress has and still is 29 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 2: a symbol of servitude and of work, because before it 30 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,360 Speaker 2: was the iconic symbol it is now, it was a 31 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 2: dress only worn by working class white women employed in 32 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:45,519 Speaker 2: department stores, as well as by black women who worked 33 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 2: as domestics in the homes of white Americans. In this episode, 34 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 2: producer Monigat Moralis Garcia shares a lot of experiences that 35 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:58,240 Speaker 2: she's had with the Little Black Dress. They used to 36 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 2: wear them to serve mostly white customers when they worked 37 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 2: at Bloomydale's, and then they ended up researching the origins 38 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 2: of the Little Black Dress while Mornigatt was in graduate school. 39 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 2: Don't get this twisted. This is not a Cinderella or 40 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 2: rags to riches story for monicam morelos Garcia. 41 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 3: No no, no, no, no, no no. This is a. 42 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 2: Story about the contradictions and the transformations of the little 43 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 2: black dress. Here's monicam moreles Garcia with the story that 44 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 2: we first aired in twenty twenty two. 45 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: I landed a job at Bloomingdale's in the summer of 46 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 1: twenty seventeen. The song This bu See had just come out. 47 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: It was that summer. I needed new clothes before my 48 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: first day of work, so I got myself two little 49 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,720 Speaker 1: black dresses, some black tights, and some sensible yet style 50 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: of shoes, ones that I can stand in all day. 51 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: I was now a stylist, which is just a fancy 52 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: way to say sales associate. But never mind that, and 53 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: for the next eight months, that's all I would wear 54 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: to work. I have never worn so much black in 55 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:18,919 Speaker 1: my life. My hair would be pulled back or straightened. 56 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: I would never wear my natural curls, and my makeup 57 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 1: and nails were always done and neat. At the time, 58 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,840 Speaker 1: I thought working at Bloomingdale's was a match made in heaven. 59 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: I have a passion for fashion. I needed a job 60 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: and they were hiring. It was kind of perfect. I'd 61 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: worked in retail before, but never a luxury, so I 62 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: thought it'd be different from other retail work. I even 63 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: thought it'd be kind of glamorous. 64 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:49,719 Speaker 2: Why is this store better than any other store? 65 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: I mean, what is this thing? 66 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 4: What on earth could she be talking about? 67 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: A store? 68 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:56,920 Speaker 4: A store that can reduce an intelligent woman to a slave. 69 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 4: The store is Bloomingdale's, known to its addicts as Bloomies. 70 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,720 Speaker 1: The blooming Dolls in Beverly Hills is a luxurious place. 71 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: It has three floors. The bottom floor is dedicated to 72 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: the men's department. There's moody lighting, the ViBe's aging rock Star, 73 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: and it smells like leather jackets. There's an escalator in 74 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 1: the middle of the store, so while you're going up, 75 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,279 Speaker 1: you get a bird's eye view of the layout and 76 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,360 Speaker 1: you can see the seamstress working on suit tailoring from above. 77 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: It's fabulous, and as the sound of her sewing machine 78 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:33,760 Speaker 1: begins to fade, you're in a completely different part of 79 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:38,200 Speaker 1: the store. The second floor. This is where the magic happens. 80 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: There's the makeup department, which to now, why I sell 81 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:46,839 Speaker 1: Tumford or all the expensive stuff there's fine jewelry where 82 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: you could casually order diamonds at the counter and have 83 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: them delivered to your home same day. And then there 84 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: are the bags in the shoes, Gucci, Valentino, Burberry, Balenciaga. 85 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 1: It's truly a shopping paradise. The escalator takes you up 86 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: one more time, and you're greeted by what seems like 87 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: fifty perfectly styled mannequins, each bright white and shinier than 88 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: the next. And just behind that display was my station, 89 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: about the size of a small bedroom. That's where I 90 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 1: would greet you and ask what brings you into the 91 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:23,679 Speaker 1: store today? Do you have any events coming up soon? 92 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 1: And while all of this is fabulous, that is all 93 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: for the customer, because behind all of the beautiful visual merchandising, 94 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:39,279 Speaker 1: underneath this little black dress, I can feel beads of 95 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:43,680 Speaker 1: sweat dripping down my back. My face hurts from smiling, 96 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:47,599 Speaker 1: my feed from staining all day. But providing service that 97 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:53,040 Speaker 1: goes above and beyond is the job. And as soon 98 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: as the client is gone, the glamour fades. You go 99 00:06:57,080 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: back into the fitting room and pick up after them. 100 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: There's Starbucks, cups, empty hangers, the clothes have been all 101 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,720 Speaker 1: left on the floor, crumpled up. And let me tell you, 102 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 1: there has been nothing more humbling for me than having 103 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:15,720 Speaker 1: to pick up someone's hot clothes off the floor. It 104 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: really made me think about the state of my life. 105 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 1: You shake out the clothes, re steem them, make sure 106 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: there's no makeup on the neckline, and then place them 107 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 1: back into the stock room, over and over again, no complaining. 108 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:32,760 Speaker 1: You're on your feet the whole time. If you dare 109 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: to sit, security will see you on the cameras and 110 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: your phone overring, reminding you you're supposed to be standing. 111 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 1: The job is constantly testing your patience. I'm quitting and 112 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: I'm never coming back. 113 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 5: This is it. 114 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: I'll do everything else but that. This is Natalie Garcia. 115 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: We met while working at Blooming Dells together. She used 116 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: to be the manager of BCBG when we met. She 117 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 1: had been working and met for about a decade. When 118 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: I asked her one of her most memorable stories from 119 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: her time working in retail, she told me about this 120 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,320 Speaker 1: one customer she was probably like in her eighties, and 121 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: she wanted leather biggings, And so Natalie places the leather 122 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: leggings in the fitting room for the woman to try on. 123 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: And as she's leaving to give this woman the space 124 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: to try on those leather leggings, the woman stops her 125 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 1: and she says, no, no, no, help me. So Natalie 126 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:36,439 Speaker 1: turns around because it's her job to get this woman 127 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:40,280 Speaker 1: into those leggings, and so she places each one of 128 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: her legs into those legging holes and Natalie is pulling 129 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:46,440 Speaker 1: as hard as she can to get this leather over 130 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 1: this woman's thighs. 131 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 6: I was like, lifted her and I was sweaty. 132 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,599 Speaker 1: And finally she's able to pull the leggings all the 133 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:59,080 Speaker 1: way up. And she didn't buy them. She was like, well, 134 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 1: I don't like them. She left them there. If you 135 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 1: talk to people who work in luxury retail, these types 136 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:13,040 Speaker 1: of stories are plentiful, rich people behaving badly. Haha. The 137 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:17,040 Speaker 1: stories are funny in retrospect, but it was shocking the 138 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:20,200 Speaker 1: first time something like this happened to me. Something about 139 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:25,199 Speaker 1: dressing rich, mostly white women is uncomfortable, especially while you're 140 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 1: wearing the little black dress your work uniform. You begin 141 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:31,760 Speaker 1: to wonder, why do I look like I'm her maid? 142 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,319 Speaker 1: And then you're like no, no, no, no, no, I'm overreacting. 143 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: It's literally my job to wear all black, and I 144 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,920 Speaker 1: can't show my tattoo on my foot with my grandma's name, 145 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:45,120 Speaker 1: so the black tights are just practical, and plus it's 146 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 1: my job to help her. It's literally optics. It's fine, 147 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 1: but at the same time, you're feeling all of the 148 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,280 Speaker 1: race and class dynamics playing out in that moment. So 149 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:01,120 Speaker 1: nothing is happening, but there's all this subtexts that's like unacknowledged, 150 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 1: and the customer is probably not thinking about it, or 151 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: maybe she is and it's just more polite to say nothing, 152 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 1: or maybe if she just thinks this is the way 153 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,920 Speaker 1: things are. Some people are meant to serve and others 154 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: are meant to be served. But whatever the case, the 155 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 1: air feels thick with what's left unsaid. Natalie never forgot 156 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:27,439 Speaker 1: the lady and the leather leggings. 157 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:30,319 Speaker 6: I think I went home and I cried that day too, 158 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 6: and I was just like, what does my life come to? 159 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:37,400 Speaker 1: And I knew it couldn't just be me and Natalie 160 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:40,760 Speaker 1: that didn't like the dress code. So I dug through 161 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:45,160 Speaker 1: dozens of reviews on glassdoor, the website dedicated to job reviews, 162 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 1: and the results show that the dress code for sales 163 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:55,439 Speaker 1: associates is a popular complaint amongst blooming Bell's employees. Dress 164 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:59,559 Speaker 1: code restrictions are strict, very hectic, customers are always right, 165 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:04,320 Speaker 1: even and they're absolutely wrong. Owned by Macy's, and it 166 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: shows certain departments will require initial investment, such as Sue's shirts, ties, blusses, etc. 167 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 1: Because the dress code is very strict and enforced. The 168 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:21,600 Speaker 1: single function HR successfully fulfills is monitoring dress code. Okay 169 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: for a summer job, but not the company for anyone 170 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:29,920 Speaker 1: looking to build a long term career. And all of 171 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:33,800 Speaker 1: these complaints about dress code makes sense to me because 172 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:36,120 Speaker 1: part of the appeal of working at a place like 173 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: Bloomingdale's is the possibility of fashion and glamour. But as 174 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 1: a sales associate, you have to be able to fade 175 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:45,679 Speaker 1: into the background. 176 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:50,760 Speaker 6: I remember asking like why do you always wear black, 177 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 6: and somebody an uppermatch and said, well, we don't want 178 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:55,040 Speaker 6: to compete with the client. 179 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: But the list of rules on how to look went 180 00:11:58,440 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 1: on and on. 181 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,560 Speaker 6: From our makeup to how we get our nails. I 182 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:05,199 Speaker 6: could have car legs, I could have had big hoops. 183 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,360 Speaker 6: On the third floor of Bloomingdal's. Each store had its 184 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 6: own look and because Natalie worked at BCBG, it meant 185 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:16,560 Speaker 6: that not only did she need to embody the BCBG brand, 186 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 6: but she had to always remain within the Bloomingdale's dress 187 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 6: code of black and navy business casual I remember not 188 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:27,080 Speaker 6: being able to wear dark lipstick because it made me 189 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:27,960 Speaker 6: look too much. 190 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: You know. As a manager, Natalie remembers having to police 191 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:36,200 Speaker 1: her employees, and that was hard because these were people 192 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:39,200 Speaker 1: she hired and sometimes saw more than her own family. 193 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:43,439 Speaker 1: She cared about them, so policing them over a dress 194 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,600 Speaker 1: code that she didn't even care about herself was complicated. 195 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:50,400 Speaker 1: But the dress code oft blooming Doll's was strict and 196 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:54,040 Speaker 1: not abiding by it could mean getting sent home or 197 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: being written up. I reached out to Bloomingdll's to ask 198 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:00,600 Speaker 1: them about their dress code policies and to get reaction 199 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:05,080 Speaker 1: about how former current employees feel about it, but I 200 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 1: did not hear back. Blooming Dell's was my last retail job, 201 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:11,800 Speaker 1: and in the years since I quit, all of those 202 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 1: little black dresses I used to wear to work have 203 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:17,240 Speaker 1: been donated, given away, or cut up and used as 204 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:21,079 Speaker 1: scrap fabric. Natalie left blooming Dells a couple months after 205 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: I did. She no longer wears little black dresses either. 206 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 6: I can't even buy black clothes right now because it 207 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 6: reminds me so much of like, Okay, I have to 208 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:31,560 Speaker 6: go to work. 209 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:36,960 Speaker 1: You've heard me complain a lot, I know, but hear 210 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:41,840 Speaker 1: me out. There was a time when working retail was 211 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:46,640 Speaker 1: a coveted job. It was an art a skill. But 212 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:50,360 Speaker 1: by the time Natalie and I were even born, that 213 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:55,400 Speaker 1: time had long passed. But one thing has remained the same, 214 00:13:55,480 --> 00:14:01,920 Speaker 1: though sales girls have always presented the little black. 215 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:05,560 Speaker 3: Dress coming up on Latino USA. 216 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 1: In terms of fashion, the little black dress was revolutionary, 217 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 1: as the acceptance of black unto a woman's wardrobe meant 218 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,360 Speaker 1: that there was a loosening of the strict moral codes. 219 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:19,960 Speaker 1: The world was changing, and women with. 220 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 3: It stay with us, not by yes. 221 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 2: Hey, we're back, and let's keep digging. Now into the 222 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 2: history of the iconic little black dress. The department store 223 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 2: was the place where the little black dress went from 224 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:58,920 Speaker 2: a symbol of service to being a fabulous frock. But 225 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:04,880 Speaker 2: how When Monica Moreles Garcia researched the lbed and its history, 226 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:07,920 Speaker 2: they found out that the roots of the black dress 227 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:12,480 Speaker 2: were in working class women laboring in department stores, and 228 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 2: it was pretty unbelievable. How is it that women who 229 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:18,640 Speaker 2: lived more than one hundred years ago had had the 230 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 2: same experiences? How had so much changed and yet so 231 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:29,080 Speaker 2: much stayed the same. Here's Monica again with the rest 232 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 2: of the story. 233 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 1: Two weeks after I quit Bloomingdale's, I found out that 234 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 1: I got into an American Studies graduate program. And it 235 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,560 Speaker 1: was during my time there, while I was writing my 236 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 1: thesis that I came upon the hidden origins of the 237 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 1: little black dress. And finding out that history surprised me, 238 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 1: and it took me back to my time working at 239 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: Bloomingdale's and how I fit into all that history and 240 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:05,200 Speaker 1: what I found may surprise you too. 241 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:10,640 Speaker 4: In this country, the theory that all our by right 242 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:14,560 Speaker 4: equal has taken deeply, and the notion of making actual 243 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:18,960 Speaker 4: inequality evident by distinctions of attire is repugnant to many persons. 244 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:24,960 Speaker 1: This was reported in an eighteen ninety four Pennsylvania newspaper 245 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:30,800 Speaker 1: After shop Girls, the stylists of their time, protested against 246 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:34,240 Speaker 1: the need for black uniforms, claiming the black dresses were 247 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: a mark of servitude, not of a quote. Business woman. 248 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:43,120 Speaker 7: Uniforms are really important, particularly from the eighteen eighties to 249 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:47,080 Speaker 7: about the nineteen thirties because they would mark people as 250 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:47,920 Speaker 7: the sales worker. 251 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:52,000 Speaker 1: This is doctor Tracy Parker. She's an associate professor of 252 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:56,560 Speaker 1: Afro American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and 253 00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,880 Speaker 1: author of Department Stores and the Black Freedom Movement. 254 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:02,800 Speaker 7: And oftentimes the uniform is going to be dark, it's 255 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:06,960 Speaker 7: going to be inconspicuous. It provided uniformity for the store appearance. 256 00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:11,239 Speaker 7: According to managers. It could minimalize workers poor taste and 257 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:14,160 Speaker 7: lack of background. Because many of the workers who worked 258 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:16,280 Speaker 7: in department stores were going to be white women of 259 00:17:16,320 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 7: the working class. 260 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 1: And these were young women who were in cities with 261 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:23,199 Speaker 1: a new found sense of freedom and a little bit 262 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:28,400 Speaker 1: of disposable income. They could create passable imitation society dresses 263 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:32,919 Speaker 1: with nothing but a paper pattern fabric and a sewing machine. 264 00:17:33,359 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: But this created an issue at many department stores. Shop 265 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: girls were too successfully blending in with the store's client 266 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:47,119 Speaker 1: tell causing class distinctions to blur, and in response, many 267 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:51,399 Speaker 1: department stores began requiring their employees to dress in a 268 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:53,359 Speaker 1: simple black dress. 269 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,400 Speaker 7: It does a lot of work the uniform. It controls workers' 270 00:17:56,400 --> 00:18:01,000 Speaker 7: behaviors it makes customers feel more comfortable talking to workers. 271 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:04,479 Speaker 7: There's this belief that when a worker had nicer clothes 272 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:08,240 Speaker 7: on than the customer, this could read conflict. What they 273 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 7: wanted workers to do was sort of blend in and 274 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:13,720 Speaker 7: at least look sharp enough. There's something about dark clothes 275 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:16,879 Speaker 7: that we all know, like black clothes, navy clothes, look classy, 276 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 7: where you could still convince people to buy the type 277 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:22,120 Speaker 7: of lifestyle that you're. 278 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 1: Selling, meaning that part of the job is to look 279 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:30,520 Speaker 1: good and sound right. But what that also means is 280 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 1: that there is a wrong way to look and a 281 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 1: wrong way to speak. I have different voices and looks 282 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 1: that I've learned to use throughout my life. You probably 283 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 1: have them too. My academic voice when I want to 284 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:51,200 Speaker 1: sound smart and use words like epistemology, my head to 285 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:55,360 Speaker 1: toe lulu lemon fit so I don't scare the suburban 286 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:59,360 Speaker 1: moms that sprouts. They're all me, but they have a purpose, 287 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,480 Speaker 1: a way to change the perception of me, to downplay 288 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:07,080 Speaker 1: or play up parts of myself for the comfort of others. 289 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,439 Speaker 1: And working in retail, I developed my customer service voice. 290 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,800 Speaker 1: It sounds like this, and it helps me sound helpful 291 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,719 Speaker 1: and enthusiastic and enthusiastic to help you. 292 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:26,120 Speaker 7: Some stores actually encouraged women workers to learn a couple 293 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 7: of words of French so they could use this while 294 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,200 Speaker 7: they were selling. But the idea back then selling was 295 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:34,879 Speaker 7: still an art. You were selling people not only a lifestyle, 296 00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:38,400 Speaker 7: a way of life, a way of looking, a way 297 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:42,080 Speaker 7: of behaving. But those workers, the way they were dressed, 298 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:45,159 Speaker 7: the type of words they used, their affect had to 299 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:48,440 Speaker 7: convince white middle class women that they knew what they 300 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:51,400 Speaker 7: were talking about and not to sort of read any 301 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 7: type of conflict between the two. 302 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:59,359 Speaker 1: But then in nineteen twenty six, something unexpected happened. Vogue 303 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:03,000 Speaker 1: magazine featured a black Chanel dress. It was deemed the 304 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:07,520 Speaker 1: uniform of all chic women, but to many working class 305 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:12,000 Speaker 1: women and girls, the declaration was nonsensible had they not 306 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:15,800 Speaker 1: been wearing black this whole time. Inspired by shop girls 307 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,560 Speaker 1: in their little black dresses seen in theaters, amusement parks, 308 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:23,679 Speaker 1: and even speakeasy's, Chanel's aim for its little black dress 309 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:27,040 Speaker 1: was to make rich girls look like any old girl 310 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:30,600 Speaker 1: on the street. It was part of Chanell's poor look, 311 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:36,960 Speaker 1: simple clothes made with luxe fabrics. Slowly, the little black 312 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:41,280 Speaker 1: dress became associated with youthfulness and rebellion, and now a 313 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:45,920 Speaker 1: big fashion house was declaring the little black dress elegant, sophisticated, 314 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:51,199 Speaker 1: even chic. Soon other fashion designers like Juvant She and 315 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 1: Dior followed suit. In terms of fashion, the little black 316 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:02,359 Speaker 1: dress was revolutionary, as the acceptance of black into a 317 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,399 Speaker 1: woman's wardrobe meant that there was a loosening of the 318 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:09,280 Speaker 1: strict moral codes. The world was changing and women with it. 319 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:13,200 Speaker 1: Unmarried women began pouring into cities to work in these 320 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:20,760 Speaker 1: new glamorous spaces the department store. For many women, department 321 00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:24,639 Speaker 1: store work was a good, respectable job and worked that 322 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:26,639 Speaker 1: you could leave at the end of the day and 323 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,480 Speaker 1: enjoy leisure time that the big city had to offer. 324 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,440 Speaker 7: There's a moment when sales work is considered to be glamorous. 325 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:35,480 Speaker 7: So there's all these movies about white working class women 326 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:38,120 Speaker 7: working in a department store and it's how she meets 327 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:40,879 Speaker 7: her husband. It's like the Cinderella fantasy of working in 328 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:41,840 Speaker 7: a department store. 329 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty nine, Joan Crawford started The Women, a 330 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:48,960 Speaker 1: film about the social lives of society women and the 331 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 1: social climbing shop girls who were sleeping with their husbands. 332 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 1: Crawford plays the shop girl and she dons the LBD 333 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:01,680 Speaker 1: behind the perfume counter. Pretty girl like you. With all 334 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:05,040 Speaker 1: the rich men that float in here, I have afraid 335 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:06,879 Speaker 1: when they come to discount and they have other women 336 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:07,480 Speaker 1: on their mind. 337 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:10,320 Speaker 3: I shouldn't think you'd let that disturb you. 338 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:13,800 Speaker 1: And it didn't disturb her, And in the end, Joan 339 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:18,960 Speaker 1: Crawford's character's social climbing was her demise and after shutting 340 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:20,640 Speaker 1: her little black dress. 341 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:25,160 Speaker 2: Well, girls, looks like it's back to the perfume kind. 342 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 5: Of for me. 343 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:29,359 Speaker 1: The shop girls, a pop culture archetype, still shows up today, 344 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 1: and it's actually so apt in a society driven by consumption, 345 00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:37,359 Speaker 1: because the department store is a place teeming, you know, 346 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:42,719 Speaker 1: with temptations, deals and steals and least not sales, girls 347 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:46,520 Speaker 1: looking to climb the social ladder at any cost. But 348 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:51,040 Speaker 1: that is just a Hollywood story. It is made up 349 00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:55,800 Speaker 1: because the reality of working in a department store was 350 00:22:55,840 --> 00:23:00,919 Speaker 1: that everything was all concocted by retaillers to make upper 351 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,240 Speaker 1: class white women more comfortable. 352 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:05,440 Speaker 7: Because this is supposed to be sort of their club 353 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 7: of sort. They could spend all day there they is 354 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 7: it you'd go early in the morning. You could drop 355 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:14,120 Speaker 7: your kids off at the nursery. You could go listen 356 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:16,120 Speaker 7: to a little piano, have a couple of coffee, meet 357 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,399 Speaker 7: ups with some friends, buy a bunch of stuff, and 358 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:19,119 Speaker 7: then go home. 359 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:22,840 Speaker 1: And you wouldn't be carrying your bags either. They would 360 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:25,160 Speaker 1: be personally delivered to your home. 361 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 7: You could walk into these departments ores and they were 362 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,480 Speaker 7: just gorgeous. You know, this was new technology. This was 363 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 7: electric lighting when they could get it. This was escalators. 364 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,359 Speaker 7: This was you would walk in and in Marshall Fields 365 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:40,720 Speaker 7: that was in downtown Chicago. The ceiling of Marshall Field 366 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:44,959 Speaker 7: was actually done by Tiffany and Company, the jeweler. So 367 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:47,760 Speaker 7: everything about the store when you walked in made you 368 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 7: feel made you feel like you were somebody. It made 369 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:53,719 Speaker 7: you feel special. And then to have someone cater to 370 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:57,239 Speaker 7: you hand and foot made you feel special. That was 371 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:01,000 Speaker 7: just the type of It was just lavish sky merchandise 372 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:02,720 Speaker 7: and services. That's what they offered. 373 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:06,120 Speaker 1: But as more and more black Southerners were moving up 374 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:09,760 Speaker 1: to these large, bustling cities like New York and Chicago, 375 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:14,399 Speaker 1: luxury department stores had to make some decisions who was 376 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,200 Speaker 1: allowed to enter and who was allowed to work there. 377 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:20,720 Speaker 7: It's not until the nineteen fifties and sixties with the 378 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,320 Speaker 7: civil rights movement that you see the racial dimensions of 379 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:28,600 Speaker 7: sales work really change. But if you're a black customer too, 380 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:32,399 Speaker 7: you could go and shop. Maybe some stores would say 381 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:34,640 Speaker 7: you can only shop in the bargain basement. They would 382 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:37,639 Speaker 7: find that they couldn't get service at a lunch counter 383 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,040 Speaker 7: or the restaurants or the beauty stores, and they were 384 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:43,560 Speaker 7: certainly prohibited from trying on and returning clothes, and they 385 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:47,560 Speaker 7: weren't allowed to get credit. And there's cases where even 386 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:51,280 Speaker 7: when one day they could enter the store, maybe next week, 387 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:53,239 Speaker 7: arbitrarily they're not allowed to. 388 00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:58,040 Speaker 1: In her book, Doctor Parker tells the story about Dorothea Davis, 389 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,080 Speaker 1: a black woman who would the help of young black 390 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:04,520 Speaker 1: activists of the sit in movement in Charlotte, North Carolina, 391 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:07,720 Speaker 1: was able to get hired as a salesperson at a 392 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:11,440 Speaker 1: department store. But even then the store wants to keep 393 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:13,959 Speaker 1: it quiet, hush, hidden. 394 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:18,439 Speaker 7: They don't want their white clientele, theyre preferred clientele, to 395 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 7: know that they've done this, and so they put her 396 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 7: in the basement of the store and a department way 397 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:29,000 Speaker 7: in the back where she's selling furniture, but African Americans 398 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,440 Speaker 7: are coming down to the basement with their purchases like 399 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:33,520 Speaker 7: a little lipstick and saying, I'm going to check out 400 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:37,119 Speaker 7: with you. I want the store to know that you're important, 401 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:40,560 Speaker 7: that you make a difference, and that they should hire more. 402 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:45,760 Speaker 1: And as the work became increasingly integrated, a clash of 403 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:47,959 Speaker 1: events and reactions began to happen. 404 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:51,600 Speaker 7: By the late nineteen sixties, you have more and more 405 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:56,320 Speaker 7: racial upheavals. The Kitting assassination certainly unleashes a lot of 406 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:00,439 Speaker 7: anger and frustration, and which you see as that some 407 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:02,720 Speaker 7: of these department stores close as a result. They don't 408 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:05,320 Speaker 7: want to be bothered, and increasingly they're putting all of 409 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:09,200 Speaker 7: their energies into the suburban branches, not the downtown branches, 410 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:11,480 Speaker 7: which is key because at this point in time, in 411 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:14,919 Speaker 7: the sixties and seventies, public transportation doesn't go out to 412 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,040 Speaker 7: the suburbs in many places, and that's on purpose. The 413 00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:21,240 Speaker 7: idea is that you keep black and brown people in 414 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,480 Speaker 7: urban centers and you leave the white middle class to 415 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,280 Speaker 7: live in a fairyland of whiteness. 416 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:33,360 Speaker 1: Fairyland of whiteness. I don't think that's changed. The thirteen 417 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:38,000 Speaker 1: mile drive from South LA where I lived, to Beverly Hills, 418 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:42,000 Speaker 1: where the Bloomingdals was. It could easily take over an 419 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,120 Speaker 1: hour in traffic. And that's because there's no easy way 420 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:48,399 Speaker 1: to get there. And if you ever learn anything about 421 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:52,920 Speaker 1: Los Angeles freeways, you'd know that that was on purpose too. 422 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:56,600 Speaker 1: I used to drive to work in my little black dress, 423 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,640 Speaker 1: weaving in and out of traffic, trying to use different roots, 424 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:03,640 Speaker 1: always trying to beat traffic, and always wondered how many 425 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:06,120 Speaker 1: of us were there trying to figure out the fastest 426 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 1: ways from the poorer areas to the rich ones, wearing 427 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:17,320 Speaker 1: these antiquated symbols of service. Anyhow, back to doctor. 428 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:22,360 Speaker 7: Parker, Kmart becomes the number one retailer by the late 429 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 7: nineteen eighties. So you've got suburbanization, you've got the rise 430 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 7: of major discount department stores, and so department store merchants 431 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:36,560 Speaker 7: retailers decide, we're going to model ourselves after this discount model. 432 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:38,439 Speaker 7: We don't have to put that much money into what 433 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:41,120 Speaker 7: it looks like, we don't have to train our sales 434 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:42,200 Speaker 7: workers in the same way. 435 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:46,199 Speaker 1: And in the eighties and nineties, trickle down economics and 436 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:53,520 Speaker 1: globalization profoundly changed the way fashion was produced, marketed, sold, bought, worn, 437 00:27:53,880 --> 00:28:01,719 Speaker 1: and thrown away. Fast fashion was born. My first retail 438 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:03,919 Speaker 1: job was in two thousand and eight, and when I 439 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:07,919 Speaker 1: started blooming Dell's in twenty seventeen, I had had nine 440 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:11,719 Speaker 1: years of work experience under my bell and I had 441 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:15,439 Speaker 1: done everything from working at an Amazon warehouse to selling 442 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:18,720 Speaker 1: time shares to working at Sephora. So when I got 443 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:22,439 Speaker 1: the job at Bloomingdale's, it definitely wasn't the worst job 444 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:25,359 Speaker 1: I'd ever had, but it was the one where I 445 00:28:25,359 --> 00:28:29,280 Speaker 1: got screamed at the most by customers. Why would someone 446 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:30,840 Speaker 1: not one of our performan bills? 447 00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:33,719 Speaker 7: It's fun, I mean, I think every day. 448 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:36,960 Speaker 1: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most common 449 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:44,920 Speaker 1: occupations for Hispanic women are maids, housekeepers, cashiers, secretaries, administrative assistants, 450 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: and retail salespersons. So it didn't feel like an accident 451 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,080 Speaker 1: that I had done four out of these six jobs. 452 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:56,040 Speaker 1: So when I would catch a glimpse of myself dressing 453 00:28:56,080 --> 00:29:00,400 Speaker 1: someone in the fitting room mirror, I would think, why, 454 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:04,680 Speaker 1: why is this my job? And why is it that 455 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:08,440 Speaker 1: I have to dress this woman? What about certain people 456 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 1: do we think makes them more suitable for certain types 457 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:15,000 Speaker 1: of work. The little black dress let customers know that 458 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:18,800 Speaker 1: I'm the sales girl. I'm not their equal. It was 459 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:22,040 Speaker 1: my job to make them feel catered to, but at 460 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:24,880 Speaker 1: fourteen dollars an hour, it just didn't feel worth it 461 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:27,560 Speaker 1: to me to be reminded of how people saw me. 462 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:32,480 Speaker 1: Here's Natalie again, my former coworker at Bloomingdale's, who we 463 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:34,200 Speaker 1: heard from in the first part of the show. 464 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:39,600 Speaker 6: That whole the customer is always right is very embedded 465 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:43,600 Speaker 6: in retail culture. So because the customer I'd always right, 466 00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:46,160 Speaker 6: they can talk to you any type of way, but 467 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:47,680 Speaker 6: it is very degrading. 468 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,320 Speaker 1: Both Natalie and I fell into working in retail. It's 469 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:53,560 Speaker 1: a really easy job to get when you need a 470 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:57,480 Speaker 1: job fast, so it wasn't a goal of mine. It 471 00:29:57,560 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 1: kind of just happened to be the first place that hired, 472 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:04,240 Speaker 1: and the same for Natalie. I need money, I need 473 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:08,680 Speaker 1: to pay val. Compared to the total workforce, retail workers 474 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:11,600 Speaker 1: are more likely to be women and less likely to 475 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:15,600 Speaker 1: have bachelor's degrees. They're more likely to live in poverty, 476 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:20,200 Speaker 1: and while overall most retail workers are white, Hispanic and 477 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:22,320 Speaker 1: Black workers are overrepresented. 478 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:26,160 Speaker 6: I come from an immigrant home where my dad worked 479 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:27,920 Speaker 6: on the field to my mom working sweatshop. 480 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:32,000 Speaker 1: So working at retail what an upgrade from that. When 481 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:34,800 Speaker 1: I was eleven, my mom went back to school and 482 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:38,440 Speaker 1: became a medical assistant, and I remember feeling really proud 483 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,960 Speaker 1: of her, and from that point on our lives became 484 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:45,440 Speaker 1: much more stable. She used to tell me three things. 485 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:50,720 Speaker 1: One don't get pregnant. Two, get as much schooling as 486 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:56,640 Speaker 1: you can, and three never depend on a man. So 487 00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:59,240 Speaker 1: when I left my mother's house at eighteen, I felt 488 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:03,920 Speaker 1: really lucky. She wasn't financially dependent on me, and I 489 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,560 Speaker 1: know some of my cousins and my friends didn't and 490 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:09,959 Speaker 1: don't have that same privilege. I was able to go 491 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:11,720 Speaker 1: out in the world and be like, I want to 492 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:14,640 Speaker 1: be a writer. How can I make that happen? And 493 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:18,120 Speaker 1: so I worked a bunch of low wage and fulfilling jobs. 494 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:21,120 Speaker 1: I dropped in and out of community college. I moved 495 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:23,920 Speaker 1: to la and just like the women at the turn 496 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:26,200 Speaker 1: of the century, I found myself working at a luxury 497 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,840 Speaker 1: department store in the big city. So working in retail 498 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 1: as a means to an end, I felt like an 499 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:34,880 Speaker 1: upgrade from the life my mother had lived. 500 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:41,880 Speaker 6: When I see women of color, especially in these settings, 501 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:44,080 Speaker 6: I know that of necessity. 502 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:46,040 Speaker 1: It's not something that they're like, oh, I'm dreaming of 503 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:47,400 Speaker 1: working in a luxury story. 504 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:49,920 Speaker 6: You know, it's a necessity, And I know they probably 505 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 6: have bigger goals because I kind of see myself in that. 506 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:56,320 Speaker 6: At bigger goals, I was dreaming constantly, But that's a 507 00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:57,360 Speaker 6: whole journey. 508 00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:02,600 Speaker 1: In May of twenty twenty, Macy's Ink, who owns blooming 509 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:06,760 Speaker 1: Dell's and Macy's, established a minimum wage of fifteen dollars 510 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:10,600 Speaker 1: an hour throughout the company, one more dollar than I 511 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 1: was making five years ago. And now that I'm a 512 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:19,000 Speaker 1: quote unquote respectable college educated person, I've had to wear 513 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:23,920 Speaker 1: a uniform and I probably never will again. And I 514 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:29,720 Speaker 1: think about that a lot. Respectability. Sixty three percent of 515 00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:33,400 Speaker 1: hourly workers at Macy's Ink are non white, Almost half 516 00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:36,880 Speaker 1: of them are black and LATINX. The customers, on the 517 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:40,800 Speaker 1: other hand, are mostly white, over fifty percent at Macy's 518 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:45,720 Speaker 1: and sixty one percent at blooming Dell's. Today, the lbed 519 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 1: has become shorthand for glamour, promising to make us look thinner, 520 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:55,480 Speaker 1: more glamorous, and for most women, it has crossed over. 521 00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:58,360 Speaker 1: Women wear the little black dress to feel more like 522 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:03,320 Speaker 1: Hollywood icon Audrey he Burn or supermodel Linda Evangelista. But 523 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:08,400 Speaker 1: we cannot forget the origins of the little black dress, 524 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:11,920 Speaker 1: because wearing the little black dress not only conjures up 525 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:15,960 Speaker 1: all of the fabulousness it has become, it also conjures 526 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:19,040 Speaker 1: up all of the working class women who had worn 527 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:22,840 Speaker 1: the dress before them, and all of the people who 528 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:29,479 Speaker 1: still have to wear the dress today. 529 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,920 Speaker 2: This episode was produced by Morica Morales Garcia. It was 530 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:52,520 Speaker 2: edited by Adre Lopez Cruzado. It was mixed by Julia 531 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:57,040 Speaker 2: Gruso and jj Carubin. The Latino USA team also includes 532 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:05,080 Speaker 2: Rosa Na Guire, Feliciao Minuez, Fernanda Chavari, Jessica Ellis, Victoria Strada, Dominiqueinestrosa, 533 00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:11,080 Speaker 2: Renando Lanos Junior, Stephanie lebou Luis, Luna Marta Martinez, Dasha Sandoval, 534 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:16,120 Speaker 2: Neur Saudi and Nancy Trucchuillo. Penille Ramirez, Marlon Bishop, Maria 535 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:20,160 Speaker 2: Garcia and myself are co executive producers. I'm your host, 536 00:34:20,200 --> 00:34:23,120 Speaker 2: Marien Posa, join us again on our next episode. In 537 00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:25,719 Speaker 2: the meantime, I'll see you on social media, mostly on 538 00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:30,280 Speaker 2: stag jest proxima yatlu savez, debayes Bye. 539 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:35,960 Speaker 5: Latino USA is made possible in part by California Endowment 540 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:39,600 Speaker 5: building a strong state by improving the health of all Californians, 541 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:46,480 Speaker 5: Skyline Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for 542 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:52,360 Speaker 5: more than fifty years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to 543 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:55,759 Speaker 5: promote a better world at Hewlett dot org. 544 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:01,640 Speaker 2: About to get rid of a bunch because I'm like, 545 00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:05,840 Speaker 2: there's no way that I can wear this many lbeds 546 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:06,800 Speaker 2: ever again.