Descriptionxviii, 221 p. "Elizabeth Hawes was a fashion designer, unusual in that she was deeply involved in left-wing politics and saw design in political terms. Her first book, Fashion is Spinach, was a best selling expose of the fashion business. She was later the editor of the News for Living section of the progresive newspaper PM. There she transformed the tradition women's page into one that focused on education ,consumer issues, and affordable, but stylish living. "Realizing her need for some firsthand experience of ordinary working life, Hawes took a night-shift hob as a grinder at the Wright Aeronautical plant in Paterson, new Jersey, an experience that formed the basis of Why Women Cry, or Wenches with Wrenches (1943). Here, in one of the rare war plant diaries to rise above propaganda, Hawes laid out a 'bread and roses' platform of radical proportions."" Bettina Berch in Encyclopedia of the American Left.