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Factory Girls at the Old Clothes Fair, Knott Mill The central focus, and visual center of this exterior composition, is a young woman who holds a dress up in front of her. The young woman, her hair pulled back and wearing a necklace and earrings, is simply dressed and wears sturdy shoes. As she gazes down at a fashionable orange dress, two other women in dark shawls attend her. One checks for the fit, while the other holds a vivid red dress up for her to see. Due to their strong coloring, both sample dresses stand out from the rest of the more muted colors in the composition. Immediately to the right of the central group, a young child sits in a stroller and appears to be eating a sandwich. Moving to the edge of the composition, another young woman wearing simple clothing tries on a pair of sturdy shoes. A man who wears a red scarf, tweed jacket and simple hat with a blue flower attends her. In the left foreground there is a small, lit iron stove. A top hat and some cast off clothes placed near the stove are balanced by a group of shoes and clothing on the opposite side. Behind the stove are two additional shawled women who appear to be discussing a bottle held by the younger of the two. Behind them, a dark and decorative column rests on a series of steps. Crowds of interacting people, primarily women, move about in the middle ground. They all wear simple clothing. Several are in groups. To the left of the central group two women share the same shawl as they look towards the young woman holding the fancy dress. To the right, two women - their backs to the viewer - cling together as they happily move about the crowd. Rows of plain, multi storied buildings with windows - one being the White Lion Inn - move the eye from the middle ground to the background. There, in muted earth tones, industrial buildings with tall chimneystacks appear to evaporate into a mist. Background Knott Mill, in Manchester, was the site of a twice-weekly market. The tall iron column indicates the market square, once a Roman camp, A primary feature of the market was the second-hand clothes stalls, run by Irish women. '...thread bare garments, translated by the cunning hand of the cleaner and mender into a delusive freshness, are sold to the needy poor of the busy city.' (Treuherz, p58) Young factory women, although not by any means wealthy, made a decent salary. Necessities of life and industrial work demanded the simpler, sturdier clothing and shoes worn by each of them. The young girl examining the fashionable dress indicates visions of grandeur, and an occasional longing and desire for something beautiful. The two girls, who stand as one on the left, reinforce that sentiment. They look, but do not touch. Although the factory is ever present in their life, there is a jolly life at the market. The two women at right indicate a strong sense of camaraderie among the factory girls. As they mingle among the crowds, they look around and wave to those that they know. …the liberty of the ladies, their passion for their fashion… That peculiarity of the English urban poor, and their preference for the cast off clothes of a richer class to a special attire of their own – has, in fact, reached the Dorset farm folk. Like the men, the women are, pictorially, less interesting than they used to be. Instead of the wing bonnet like the tilt of a wagon, cotton gown, bright-hued neckerchief, and strong flat boots and shoes, they (the younger ones) wear shabby military bonnets and hats with beads and feathers, ‘material’ dresses, and boot heels almost as foolishly shaped as those of the ladies of highest education.
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