Memorial Day: Remembering Why We Celebrate

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memorial dayHappy Memorial Day! It’s that time of year, when business put on massive sales, parades are thrown, and speeches are made in honor of all the brave men and women who fought and died to defend our wonderful country in wars past. While Memorial Day carries a great meaning, do we really take time to think about all of the sacrifice that’s been endured on our behalf? Let’s take a look into the history of Memorial Day to better understand why we celebrate this very special holiday every May.

While there are differing opinions on the exact location of the first celebration Memorial Day, arguably the most touching of the stories occurred in Columbus, Mississippi on April 25, 1866. Several women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of fallen Civil War Confederate soldiers, and as the women were decorating graves, they noticed a handful of neglected headstones belonging to Union soldiers. Though the war ended one year earlier, Union soldiers were still considered the enemy. These women were disturbed at the sight of the bare resting places, and shared the flowers they brought with them on these vacant graves.

In honor of the women’s actions, and several others over the next two years, on May 5, 1868, Major General John A. Logan declared Decoration Day a day to honor the veterans of the Civil war by decorating graves with flowers, just as the women of Columbus had done. Major General Logan chose May 30th as the official Decoration Day because it was believed that flowers would be in bloom across the country on that day.

Inspired by a poem, Moina Michael coined her own poem: “We cherish too, the Poppy red/ That grows on fields where valor led/It seems to signal to the skies/That blood of heroes never dies.” Michael began to wear her own red poppy on Decoration Day and sold them to her friends and co-workers to wear as well. In 1922, the VFW became the first veterans’ organization to nationally sell poppies. The poppies caught on, and in 1942, the “Buddy” Poppy Program sold artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. Red poppies made by disabled veterans are still available every Memorial Day. Have you worn one?

In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon B. Johnson held a ceremony in Waterloo, N.Y., that honored local Civil War veterans. Flags were flown at half-staff, and businesses were closed for the day. Only five years later, in 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day to be a national holiday, celebrated on the last Monday in May, and we’ve been celebrating the holiday every since.

Today, businesses all over the United States close their doors, enlist holiday hours, hold sales, barbecues, rallies and parades in honor of Memorial Day. At Service Uniform, we are incredibly grateful to everyone who has fought to keep our country safe in years past, and those who continue to do so today.  What do you do to celebrate this reverent holiday every year?

7 Ways Your Uniform Puts in Overtime

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Your uniform works just like you, the same hours, same jobs, same situations…right? We’d like to argue that your uniform puts in overtime daily for your business. Uniforms are seen by everyone you encounter on your commute, lunch break and business meetings, exposing your brand to thousands of people daily.

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  1. Brand Exposure

Outfitting employees with customized uniforms creates excellent brand awareness for your business. Just think about it! Every where your employee travels outside of work when they have their uniform on is a chance for you to grab a new potential customer: on the train to/from work, at the fast-food joint after work, and even soccer practice.

  1. Safety

Are your employees working outside or on the street? Construction and Utilities uniforms put in overtime for your employees by alerting motorists they are working nearby. There is a very good reason these types of uniforms are brightly colored, and they are vital to your employees safety. In a welder’s shop, protective face gear ensures uniforms work overtime to take the heat instead of your employee.

  1. Increased Team Spirit

When your employees are required to dress alike, there is no room for competition in the workplace. In conjunction, when no one is competing with one another, there is increased team spirit and unity. Employers wrack their brains trying to get their employees to get along so they don’t have to deal with petty squabbling day-to-day. In this case, uniforms do their job of exposing your brand with an added bonus of making your employees happier.

  1. Raised Productivity

In conjunction with making employees happier, uniforms help increase productivity in your business. When employees are happy where they work, they are much more productive between the hours of nicen and five–it’s a fact! So, while your employees are working full-time, your uniforms are working overtime to create a better working environment.

  1. Promoting Company Pride

While uniforms help decrease the amount of competition, they also help increase a sense of pride workers have for their jobs. This sense of pride can convert employees into “brand ambassadors” outside the workplace. Just think of all of the soccer moms who might be interested in your business if they know another Mom works for the company and loves it!

  1. Monetary Benefits

When you provide uniforms to your employees, it saves them money. Whether you decide to provide uniforms as a part of a rental program or a required purchase upon hire, the uniform works overtime to ensure your employees have no job-associated shopping costs, making your employees happier and ensuring you are in control of the appearance of your business to your customers.

  1. Creating An Attractive Business

Not only do uniforms help create brand awareness, instill a better work ethic in your customers, and help keep your employees safe, they also work overtime to make sure your business looks attractive. For better or worse, we tend to judge people by the way they dress. When you choose the employee uniform, you ensure that the public gets the right idea about your business as soon as they see an employee.

A History of the Uniform: Automotive Industry

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It’s no secret that uniforms can be a game changer in a variety of industries, including restaurants, doctor’s offices, and distribution centers just to name a few. One fascinating industry that has almost always used uniforms is the automotive industry. Men and women who work on cars have constantly changed their styles over the years, so let’s take a look at the progression of automotive uniforms.

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As far as we can look back at mechanic uniforms, men and women have always needed one thing: a durable, protective garment. The fabric of these garments has changed ever so slightly through the years, from denim, to thick cotton, to the modern Touchtex, which helps mechanics stay cool and has soil release properties to stay looking sharp.

Throughout the years, the necessary elements of the automotive uniform have not changed much. A mechanic’s uniform needs pockets to hold tools used over and over during the day. Classic name embroidery and company logo embroidery has also stood the test of time. Sometimes we see the name and company logo on a patch, sewn on to the work shirt, and sometimes we see the embroidery placed right on the shirt itself.

When we take a look back at automotive uniforms of yesteryear, we see a lot of “coverall” style uniforms. Or, more accurately stated, the mechanic’s jumpsuit. These early uniforms were created to protect an employee’s arms, legs, and underclothes from getting grease, oil and other automotive-related byproducts on them. We still see this style of uniform in many automotive garages today, as these coveralls protect an employee’s underclothing from the grease and oil workers are exposed to when working on cars.

A little later in history, mechanics graduated to a long-sleeve work shirt made of thick material to protect them from the messy automotive environment, worn with thick work pants or jeans. The graduation from coveralls to a work shirt allows the company to save a little money on uniforms and gives mechanics the freedom to wear pants that are most comfortable to them.

Today, many mechanics don’t feel the need to wear long sleeves to protect them from their working conditions, and a short-sleeve work shirt has become a more comfortable uniform. Though short-sleeves offer less protection for the arms, they still offer effective protection while working on cars. Almost all automotive uniforms today still include an embroidered name patch on one breast and a brand logo patch on the opposite breast of the shirt.

Today, mechanics can choose from a wide range of uniforms including industrial work pants, short and long-sleeved shirts, coveralls and work jackets. Just as short-sleeved shirts provide a certain level of comfort in summer months, lined and unlined work jackets protect mechanics from the elements of their jobs while keeping them warm in the winter months.

It’s our job at Service Uniform to make sure your employees are protected and comfortable, that’s why we offer a variety of automotive uniforms that suit every need. And, while you’re shopping for uniforms for your automotive garage, don’t forget to pick up shop towels, fender covers and anything else you might need to keep your shop clean and running smoothly.

May the 4th Be With You

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A uniform can sometimes reveal a lot about who you are as a company, and what you stand for. Is your look polished and clean with polos and khakis? Or, does your business character show a more laid-back, get the job done in a t-shirt message? Today, May 4th is the unofficial Star Wars Holiday, and as we take a little time to practice our lightsaber moves, we also take a look at a few of the uniforms in the movies and how they symbolize the light side and the dark side of the Force. May the 4th be with you!

May the 4thBe With You

The uniforms throughout the Star Wars series say a lot about what side of the Force each character is on. From military uniforms, to rebel uniforms, to a lack of uniforms on some characters, the light side is characterized by white, gray and sometimes brightly colored uniforms, while characters on the dark side wear black or very dark colors.

Luke Skywalker, the main character of the original three movies, or Episodes 4-6, undergoes major character growth as he transforms from a farmer boy into the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy. As Luke undergoes this transformation, his uniform follows suit. When we first meet Luke on Tattooine in Episode 4, the first film ever released, he doesn’t even know about the Jedi Knights. His costume is a white tunic, with white pants, and a cumbersome utility belt. Here, white symbolizes Luke’s naivety, and his purity, letting the audience know he’s a good guy.

As Luke progresses through Episodes 5 and 6, his uniforms gets noticeably darker. In Episode 5, he heads to the Dagobah system to train as a Jedi with Master Yoda, wearing a sand-colored uniform. Only a slight color variation from the previous film, Luke has fought the Galactic Empire, and watched his mentor, Obi Wan Kenobi die. Luke’s darker shade of white shows the view that he has undergone transformation, but that he is still aligned with the light side of the Force.

By Episode 6, Luke has been told that the most evil man in the galaxy, Darth Vader, is his father which makes him believe Obi Wan lied this him about his heritage, he’s fought Darth Vader and lost an arm, and he’s lost his best friend Han Solo to Jabba The Hutt. These events lead Luke through a serious amount of inner-turmoil which is depicted in his uniform in Episode 6, a black tunic with black pants. Is he on the dark side now? It would seem so if the viewer relied solely on the first scenes of Episode 6, where Luke is talking low and controlling the minds of almost everyone he meets on his way into Jabba the Hutt’s lair.

In this third film, Luke walks a razor-sharp edge and could turn to the dark side at any moment to join his father. In the last scenes of the film, after Luke fights the evil Emperor and almost dies, his father, Darth Vader throws the Emperor into a deep pit, saves Luke, and ends up getting severely injured in the process. It is only when Darth Vader makes the ultimate sacrifice for his son, that Luke makes his final decision to stay in the light, which is depicted by a flap of his black tunic falling open to reveal the color white.

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Image from www.inafarawaygalaxy.com

The little we see of Luke Skywalker in Episode 7, he wears a gray tunic and large gray cloak, and even his hair is white, symbolizing his alliance with the light side of the Force.
As you can see, uniforms can really tell a story about who you are. When designing your custom uniform, whether that includes embroidery stitching or a customized image stamped on using heat sublimation, think about what you’d like to portray to the world about your business. Are you on the light or dark side of the force?