Sartorial
WORKER’S BLUES Liam Jefferies on the iconic French brand Vetra, which has become synonymous with hardy workwear for the last 100 years
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“The postwar years saw Vetra rise to global renown for its savoir-faire workwear. By the 1960s, some workers unions had even insisted upon Vetra workwear in their contract negotiations, so synonymous had the brand become with qualité, durabilité and longévité”
n the modern age, no words evoke a chap or chapette’s sense of dread more than the phrase ‘casual dress code’. However, with this overarching informality seen in recent times, no item has been as adapted more from its humble beginnings than the bleu de travail, the French worker’s jacket. Often distinguished by colour – notably an eye-catching Hydrone blue (an early form of ‘hi-vis’), the worker’s jacket saw its beginnings as purely utilitarian garb, first adopted by railway workers in 1800s France. Manufactured from robust moleskin or cotton, the jacket was intended to bear the brunt of physical work, and was cut in a loose fitting, functional style reminiscent of the sack coat, that is, without any complicated pleating or accoutrement, save for an array of pockets and, notably, sleeves that could be rolled up. Much like serge de nîmes across the pond, worker’s blues were quickly adopted into life outside the factory floor, and the workwear jacket would be made famous by public personae such as singer Lou Reed, photographer Bill Cunningham and hedge-trimmer Monty Don. There is one company which has become a
byword for the bleu de travail, in fact the very name itself, and that is Vetra of France. The Vetra story begins in 1920s Paris. Edouard Beerens married his wife Constance and, as a wedding present, received the keys to an apron and overalls atelier located on Ile Saint-Louis, in the heart of the city. It is from this workshop that Edouard began to create his range of workwear garments and Vetra was born in 1927. With the growth of the following decade, Monsieur Beerens soon found himself upping sticks and
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