Florence DiStefano in her basement sewing shop where she makes and alters garments for herself, family members and friends.

Forms part of a group of images depicting scenes at the home of retired ladies garment worker Florence DiStefano, Paterson, New Jersey, September 15, 1994.

Here she is operating a "Merrow machine" (manufactured by the Merrow Machine Company, Hartford, Connecticut) that affixes a kind of edge binding to fabric in order to prevent unraveling. Florence is wearing a smock she made that has the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) logo imprinted on the fabric; she used to wear this smock on the job.

italian americans retirees clothing industry ethnographic photographs sewing machines ethnography paterson nj florence distefano florence distefano basement shop garments members friends economic and social conditions new jersey working in paterson project collection working in paterson occupational heritage in an urban setting american folklife center martha cooper david alan taylor print ultra high resolution high resolution library of congress

01/01/1994

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

Public Domain