FRUMPY uniforms are being banished to the history books thanks to two businesswomen who are putting the art into smart as PAULINE HAWKINS discovered. . .

THE catwalks of Paris and Milan may never play host to the tailored pinstripe suits and elegant bootleg trousers designed by an East Lancashire company.

Supermodels Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss are unlikely ever to wear the longline jackets and lined dresses manufactured by Simon Jersey -- unless they become air hostesses or work for a security or car rental company.

But at any one time it is estimated that between seven and 10 million people around the world are wearing workwear from the think-tank based on the Sykeside Drive industrial estate in Altham.

With the corporate image becoming increasingly important, especially in the leisure industry, uniforms and workwear are big business worldwide. Simon Jersey, established 30 years ago, now has an annual turnover of £28million and supplies clothing to companies in more than 120 countries.

Its success is due in part to two leading ladies who head its design and marketing departments and who strive to create clothing that is stylish, practical and comfortable.

But Viv Jebson, marketing director, and head of design Stephanie Dodds are keen to stress that businesslike and professional doesn't mean dowdy and dull.

"Clothes don't have to look like uniforms to be suitable for work. If you have enough people in the same outfit you are presenting a 'uniform' appearance," said Stephanie.

Out have gone blouses so tight across the chest and so short in the body that they refuse to stay tucked in the waistband of the unflattering skirt.

A search through the company's new catalogue, which stretches to over 360 pages, reveals fashionable, practical designs which would look at home in High Street stores, designed in a variety of styles and colours.

And the company doesn't need celebrities like David Beckham to promote its stylishness and casual smartness.

Employees at the Altham head office are the "guinea pigs" when it comes to trying out the durability and comfort of the product.

Their new portfolio of clothing for employees in hotels, restaurants, security companies, healthcare, banks and solicitors' firms found an appreciative audience when it was launched two weeks ago. Stephanie joined Simon Jersey nine years ago after working for another corporate clothing company. Before that she worked in the fashion industry and was employed for a short time by Laura Ashley.

She said: "We do in-house trials for our own catalogue ranges. We test all sizes to make sure the fit is right. It is a good PR activity and the staff feel involved.

"When we launch a new catalogue we do an internal fashion show.

"The new fabrics are similar to ones you might find in the High Street. The prices are not too dissimilar and the styling is quite modern.

"We get good feedback from the companies. We carry out four customer surveys per year where we send out a questionnaire to a sample of our customers, and we have won customer service awards." Everything from bow ties to maternity tailoring occupies pages in the latest catalogue. Good-looking girls and handsome men sport the latest dungarees, chino trousers and polo shirts.

These are professional models, but interspersed in the section breaks are pictures of ordinary working folk from around the world wearing Simon Jersey clothes -- including maid Rita Sukonnova, of the Hotel Katerina in Moscow and Salmi Hamza, employed as a cleaner in Algeria.

And the company's next catalogue may feature its own staff -- with volunteers from the Altham headquarters having their faces immortalised on the pages of a businesswear bible seen by company bosses all over the world.

Viv, who joined the company two and a half years ago, said: "We also have operations in Germany, France, Holland and Ireland and sell through a network of distributors in Malta and the Middle East." She said the design and marketing teams work closely together when preparing the catalogue and planning what will be retained from previous clothing ranges. But each has its own role to fulfil and neither woman steps on the other's toes.

"I wouldn't know where to begin to design garments," Viv said.