From Worth More to Worth Less: The True Cost of Manufacturing the “Wirthmor” Shirtwaist,1913–1921

Abstract

This paper examines the “Wirthmor” method, a management system put forward by the Cleveland-based apparel manufacturer, L. N. Gross Company, in 1913. Founded by Louis Newton Gross in 1898, the company became one of the largest shirtwaist manufacturers in the U.S. In his autobiography, Gross attributed the company's success to his development of the Wirthmor method, claiming that this system allowed the company to reduce 21% of its overall expenditures, while simultaneously offering consumers a garment that's “worth-more.” Despite standardizing the production of women's shirtwaists, the company's success largely relied on hundreds of female garment workers who ultimately lost their jobs once the shirtwaist fell out of fashion, revealing the true cost of a garment thought to be worth more. Overall, this paper shows how early systems of apparel manufacturing, like the Wirthmor method, laid the foundation for structural inequities that continue to shape the fashion industry today.