Date: 06/08/1999 Page: D1
Section: Living
Author: By Pam Berry, Globe Staff
They're the hard-hatted men and women who toil daily on the most expensive highway project in history. Theirs is Big Dig couture.
PAULA MORGAN
Front-end loader operator
FAVORITE PART OF OUTFIT: ``My hard hat, given to me by a sandhog named the Sandman. It's a collector's item.''
LEAST FAVORITE PART OF OUTFIT: ``My hard hat. It messes up my hair. At the end of the day I have hat hair.''
GOOD-LUCK CHARM: A scapular (a pair of small cloth squares) she received at her first Communion that she wears inside her hard hat. It reads: ``He who dies while wearing the scapular will never suffer the eternal flame.''
LABARON JONES
Carpenter
MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTION OF A GET-UP: ``The person in the outfit.''
ON THE NATURE OF THE JOB: ``I love the dirt and the dust. I love to wake up, do a hard day's work, get dirty, go home, and go to bed.''
ON WEAR AND TEAR: ``I have five pairs of jeans, and three are gone in one month.''
WHERE HE SHOPS: Harry the Greek's. ``He has discounts for construction workers.''
BILL HICKS
Electrician
HOW HE STAYS CLEAN: ``Coveralls -- or overalls -- are great. You can take them off at the end of the job and look halfway decent.''
BEST PART OF OUTFIT: ``Pockets. Coveralls have a place for everything.''
CHANGE DOESN'T COME EASY: ``I've had the same style of outfit for 27 years.''
ALICE HOFFMAN
Laborer
DRESS CODE: ``It's a dirty job, but I wear lipstick and perfume every day.''
FAVORITE PART OF OUTFIT: ``My jeans. They fit well, look good, and get the job done.''
HER FASHION PHILOSOPHY: ``Look good. Feel good. Smell good.''
MICHAEL GALLANT
Apprentice bricklayer
ON HIS SUIT: ``It's a Tyvek suit that protects me when we grind down epoxy.''
ON HIS LOOK: ``Pretty foolish. I don't see any style.''
DISLIKES: ``The hard hat. It's no fun wearing a hard hat when it's hot.''
LIKES: ``The safety glasses. They only cost $5.''
DAVID SALISBURY
Surveyor
PAIRS OF BOOTS HE WEARS DOWN IN A YEAR: ``Four. I walk on concrete constantly.''
ON STAYING DIRT-FREE: ``I have one of the cleanest jobs on site, so the laundry is not too bad.''
BEST PART OF HIS DRESS CODE: ``I get to work in jeans and a T-shirt.''
WHY HIS VEST IS ALL-IMPORTANT: ``For two reasons: It's required by law and it has seven pockets.''
JOSEPH LEMIEUX
Pile - driver operator
HIS LOOK: ``I cut the sleeves off my T-shirt to keep cool, keep clear of getting caught, and for sunning my arms.''
HOW MANY HE HAS: ``The company gives us five orange T-shirts, so I have a clean one every day.''
WHAT'S UNDER HIS COVERALLS: ``Shorts. I try to wear the least amount of clothes that I can.''