What Lies Behind the Work Jacket

Discover 300 years of class consciousness

When people think ""iconic blue canvas garment", the first thing that comes to mind is the "denim jean. Yet while it found great success across the Atlantic, it is the work jacket that left its mark on modern Europe.

No garment has ever embodied the profound shifts in the world of work quite like it. It is steeped in the demands of the working class.

Most people associate it with the 19th century, at the heart of the industrial revolution. But the work jacket dates back to a much earlier era — it even predates the French Revolution. In many ways, its role and origins remain largely unknown.

It is a textile steeped in values, labour and struggle. It carries nearly 300 years of social, economic and symbolic history.

A cut designed to protect and free the gesture

While its vivid colour catches the eye, the work jacket's main appeal lies in its function. It is a choice of cut before colour. Designed for work, it responds perfectly to the transformations of the working world.

It all begins at the dawn of the industrial revolution. From around 1760 to 1840, machines start appearing in workshops and factories. Mechanical and then automated, the tools of production modernise. In this context of innovation, the organisation of work is turned upside down. And with it, the lives of workers.

In the factories, workplace accidents multiply. Many workers are caught in the gears of machines. Clothing and limbs are often torn away. It is not uncommon to see workers mutilated, having lost an arm, a leg or a hand caught in the machinery.

A perfectly adapted outfit for new ways of working had to be found. A garment that could protect the worker from danger. The work jacket is the answer to this demand for safety.

Gone were the civilian outfits with overly wide sleeves and loose cuts. A simple, straight cut took precedence. Ideal for protecting the body without restricting movement.

The choice of material fell on canvas. A thick canvas suited equally to intense heat and cold. Highly resistant, it prevents cuts and scratches.

Another advantage of canvas is how easy it is to care for. It picks up less dust. The work jacket lasts longer than ordinary garments.

Originally, it consisted of a single piece. A smock fastened with a belt around the waist. Designed to be comfortable and practical. The patch pockets have no flap and are wide enough to hold everyday tools: a tape measure, instruments and a technical notebook.

It then evolved into different garments: jacket, trousers, shirt. Every trade found what it needed. For the metalworker, it was worn with a leather apron. Ideal against intense heat, burns and flying embers. For the textile worker, its dark colour concealed dirt, splashes and grease stains.

The work jacket greatly reduced accidents. It became the first PPE (personal protective equipment) in the history of labour. Easy to put on, it was made to protect the worker and their clothes.

An unexpected and revolutionary colour: Prussian blue

The work jacket almost never became blue.

Besides, the choice of a dark colour was not so obvious at the time. For while dark shades had the advantage of making stains less visible on fabric, dyeing clothes was once a laborious process.

Dyeing was expensive and didn't hold well on canvas. Dark colours were therefore largely reserved for the wealthy. They were never intended for workers, who wore out their clothes quickly.

The original colour of the work jacket is Prussian blue. Also known as Berlin blue, after the city where it was created, it is the first modern synthetic pigment.

Like many inventions, its discovery was purely accidental. It happened somewhere between 1700 and 1704, at the hands of a colour merchant, Johann Jacob Diesbach, who stumbled upon the shade following a failed experiment.

He was trying to reproduce Florence lake, a carmine — that is, red — pigment obtained by mixing cochineal, alum, iron sulphate and potash.

Running low on potash, he borrowed some from a colleague — but his colleague's supply was already mixed with an animal-blood preparation. Once the chemical process was complete, the long-awaited red turned to purple, then to blue. Prussian blue was born by accident.

This mixing error would turn into enormous profit. Prussian blue produced a very deep pigment, with excellent hold on canvas, obtained through a simple and inexpensive process. For years, its formula was so lucrative that it was jealously guarded.

The uniform of the working class

Practical and affordable, its durability proved itself. That opened the doors of every workshop and factory. By the mid-nineteenth century, it was the working garment par excellence — the standard dress of the labourer.

The owners of large factories provided it free of charge. In smaller workshops, it was the worker's responsibility to obtain and maintain it.

The garment was kept as long as possible, mended as needed. Patching the work jacket was, in fact, commonplace. Thispatchworksuccessive patches of blue can still be found today in certain second-hand shops.

Workers' unions fight to obtain it from employers. It is part of the working class's hard-won social gains.

Its success takes it beyond the factory floor. It is adopted by painters, sailors, railway workers and postmen. With its democratisation comes a sense of class belonging.

If the work jacket is the worker's uniform, the working world is divided over what it stands for.

For some, wearing the work jacket is a source of pride. It marks belonging to one's factory, to one's social class. For others, it is a sign of inferior status — to the point where some workers refuse to wear it.

Particularly among skilled workers. They see in it the mark of their subjugation. Their more technical trades are also beginning to be affected by the automation of tasks.

By choosing the work jacket, the worker sets himself apart from bosses and foremen. This is the beginning of the white-collar / blue-collar divide. The work jacket then becomes a way of life and a class consciousness.

A work garment repurposed

From the 1970s onwards, workers abandon the work jacket. It is no longer synonymous with dignity. They prefer the lab coat — or they simply want to come in their own clothes. In doing so, they assert their freedom to dress as they please.

At the same time, it is taken up by a whole section of the student movement during the May 68 protests. Although they are not part of the working class, some activists wear it proudly. The work jacket represents the convergence of workers' and students' struggles.

It steps beyond its original purpose and enters popular culture. Then it makes its appearance on the haute couture runway. Taken up by designers such as Dior, Marithé et François Girbaud, it walks the catwalks — becoming a timeless garment.

After workers, students, and the fashion world, it is artists who adopt it. Like New York photographer Bill Cunningham, who loves its large pockets — perfect for slipping in his camera and notebook.

For visual artist Annie Perrin, it is the symbolic value that draws her in. In her art installation, she displays piled-up work jackets. Through them, she denounces the relocations that shatter the lives and livelihoods of local workers.

Whatever form it takes, the work jacket remains intrinsically tied to the values of labour. It is associated with working-class identity in the most fundamental sense. With a culture of making. Artisanal and artistic.

The HABILE work jacket

If the work jacket is making a grand comeback today, it is for the same reasons as before. Fans ofworkwearlove its unfailing practicality.

It is the durable garment par excellence. And it is precisely within this logic of durability that the French brand HABILE brings the work jacket up to date.

Today it stands as the emblem of a wardrobe that is both timeless and deeply modern. It is an iconic piece that can be worn for a lifetime.

The HABILE jacket has a straight, unisex cut — without being uniform. It was designed to suit all body types, tall or short, women or men.

Its fabric is cotton twill. 100% natural. A comfortable, breathable and above all ultra-resistant textile. With a notable suppleness — particularly compared to Moleskine — thanks to its crossed threads.

Durable, it respects your skin and the environment. It is manufactured in Portugal under the Oeko-tex standard 100 label, the most demanding environmental certification in dyeing. The colour does not bleed. No risk in the wash. Which allows it to be worn again and again, for a long time.

Functional, it works for every season. Summer and winter alike. It replaces the denim jacket and avoids the double denim effect. Which explains its popularity amongstreetstylers.It can also be layered under another jacket, creating a beautiful tonal play on blue.

Reversible, it flips in one move to change up your look. The HABILE work jacket is two jackets in one. A unique advantage over traditional work jackets. It works by day or by night. Depending on your mood and your routine.

Reinventing the work jacket also meant achieving a perfect finish: every detail of the HABILE jacket has been carefully considered — double stitching and a print directly on the reverse side. No lining effect. Double-headed snap buttons, at once elegant and practical for fastening the jacket in either direction… A concentration of reimagined craftsmanship, made for you.

For everyone who wants a garment that's both proud and functional. In its bleu de France or its variations (ultramarine blue, pine green or blue-grey)

You're going to love wearing it. For a long time.