Figure 1.-- Ads for E-Z Waist Union suits appeared at least twice in the Ladies' Home Journal for 1919--in October, 1919, p. 210, and in November, 1919, p. 211. The illustration for the November ad shows two children (a boy and a girl) dressed only in their waist union suits and black stockings (the hose supporters are already attached and visible), leaning over the banister in their home and calling downstairs to find out what Mother is preparing for their breakfast. They are obviously getting dressed for school.

Ads for E-Z Waist Union suits appeared at least twice in the Ladies' Home Journal for 1919--in October, 1919, p. 210, and in November, 1919, p. 211. These were of course the months when children were shifting from summer to winter underwear, so of course these waist union suits are shown with long sleeves and long (ankle length) legs; but E-Z also made summer versions with short sleeves ang legs. All the styles were equipped with reinforcing straps over the shoulders and waist buttons to support trousers or skirts, and they also had additional reinforcement straps for the attachment of hose supporters which were fastened by buttons or safety-pins at waist level under the armpits. E-Z Mills was located in Bennington, Vermont, with distribution headquarters in New York City.

E-Z Mills

We note the company here is reffered to as E-Z Waist Company. One source indicates that the company was located in Carterville, Geoggia. This may have been where their mill was located. The company appears to have been incorporated in New York. The product line over time included juvenile anbd boys' sportswear, including pullover seweaters and bllouses, T-shirts, briefs, trunks, and outer and under shorts. We are not sure when EZ Mills was founded. An advertisement for E-Z Waist Suits in Parents' Magazine [October, 1930, p. 72.] Note that the girl's suit is sleeveless while the boy's suit has short sleeves. I believe, however, that both styles are for either boys or girls. These suits appear to have no reinforcement straps and are therefore, strictly speaking, untaped union suits rather than waist union suits. We notice EZ Mills ads into the 1950s.

Ladies Home Journal

Ads for E-Z Waist Union suits appeared at least twice in the Ladies' Home Journal for 1919--in October, 1919, p. 210, and in November, 1919, p. 211. As the oldest still publishing, most respected women's service magazine in the country, The Ladies' Home Journal has always focused on issues of crucial importance to millions of women. Since its first issue in December 1883. This long history make The Ladies Home Journal and invaluable source of information on American fashion trends. Its covered an incredibly wide range of topics beyond just fashion, from the latest medical research and consumer news to parenting know-how, workplace survival, good skincare, nutrition facts and much, much more. It was The Ladies Home Journal who sucessfully merged the elements and produced the right formula, becoming the top ladies magazine in America. The Ladies' Home Journal both empowered women and applauded their growing power. We also notice patterns offered in the magazine.

Waist Union Suits

In the early 1920s the waist union suit was developed and remained popular until the mid 1940s. This garment (for both boys and girls up until about the age of 13) combined the basic one-piece union suit, the standard form of children's underwear, with the underwaist (with reinforcement straps, waist buttons, and garter tabs) so that a single garment could do duty for two. Wearing one layer rather than two made getting dressed easier, and mothers saved money by not having to buy both a union suit and an underwaist or garter waist. These suits were sometimes referred to as "combination suits." Waist union suits came in both summer and winter styles. The summer style was usually made of nainsook and was like a junior version of adult BVDs. It had short legs and was usually sleeveless so as to be cool. Usually the girl's summer style was a bit different from the boy's summer style, the latter having front buttons from the neck to the crotch. The winter style was knitted like ordinary union suits and could be had with short sleeves and knee-length legs or with long sleeves and ankle-length legs. All these garments, whether winter or summer, or whether for boys or girls, were equipped with waist buttons for outer clothing and tabs for hose supporters. Waist union suits normally had all the features of an underwaist plus the usual features of a summer or winter union suit. These went out of style in the mid-1940s when long stockings ceased to be widely worn and when garter tabs on underwear were no longer necessary.

Seasonality

This ad appeared in November 1919. The company also placed an ad in the October issue of Ladies Home Journal. The two ads have different illustrations and different texts, but they both advertise the same product--winter-style waist union suits. The two ads are rather similar. The October ad features a different domestic scene--Father playing with his youngest son before bedtime by holding him up high in the air while two older children, a boy and a girl, stand by. All the children are only half-dressed and wearing their waist union suits, hose supporters, and black stockings. These were of course the months when children were shifting from summer to winter underwear, so of course these waist union suits are shown with long sleeves and long (ankle length) legs; but E-Z also made summer versions with short sleeves ang legs.

Construction

All the styles were equipped with reinforcing straps over the shoulders and waist buttons to support trousers or skirts, and they also had additional reinforcement straps for the attachment of hose supporters which were fastened by buttons or safety-pins at waist level under the armpits. The illustration is revealing. Note the three buttons across the back of each suit which close the drop seat. There are three reinforcement straps down the back and front, each ending in a button for the attachment of trousers or skirts.

Hose Supporters

White hose supporters (a separate item, not sold with the union suit) are attached (probably by means of safety-pins) to tape loops at the end of the strap that ends underneath the armpit. Although white hose supporters are shown in the advertisement, many children would have worn black rather than white garters. The stockings of course are black--the standard color worn by almost all boys and girls in 1919.

Gender

These suits appear to be unisex--suitable for both boys and girls from ages 2 to 13. Wearing these union suits eliminated the need for a separate underwaist, functioning both as a waist and a union suit at the same time.

Domestic Scene

The illustration for the November ad shows two children (a boy and a girl) dressed only in their waist union suits and black stockings (the hose supporters are already attached and visible), leaning over the banister in their home and calling downstairs to find out what Mother is preparing for their breakfast. They are obviously getting dressed for school. I would judge the children to be about 7 and 10 years old. This is not the kind of scene that was recorded by family snapshots, both because dad was normally the photographer and because it was an indoor scene. (Indoors photography was still complicated in 1919.) We are not sure just how accurately the illustration depicts a morning scene in an american home. Of course the fact that the father is dressed in a suit suggests a family living in comfortable circumstances, as does the staircase.

Ad Copy

Here is the ad copy text, "What's for Breakfast? Smiling rosy faces over the banister. Mother sings all day and Father goes to the office whistling. No wonder they plan and conspire for the comfort of such as these. [HBC note: Since this is 1919, not 2005, parents are referred to as "Mother" and "Father," not "Mom" and "Dad.] 3-in-1--Shirt--Drawers--Waist. The E-Z Waist Union Suit. Trade Mark Registered. For Boys and Girls--Ages 2 to 13. Truly a garment of ease in putting on and off, of satisfaction in wear; of strength and durability that cut down the household budget. A fabric that challenges the utmost of stress; perfect attachment for hose [supporters] and outer gartments, indestructible buttons of real bone, sewn on knitted tubular straps which give lengthwise and so take the strain of youthful acrobatics off the button and off the body. It is a supremely comfortable construction that responds readily to every move and posture. Your favored store should have E-Z Waist Union Suits in Summer and Winter weights. If not, write The E-Z Waist Company, 61 Worth Street, New York. To Dealers: Most wholesale distributors of Children's Underwear carry E-Z Waist Union Suits. If yours does not, write to us."

Other E-Z Ads

We note anumber of other E-Z ads. We notice an ad for E-Z waist union suits in 1915. The 1915 ad shows the placement of the reinforcement straps in front but does not clearly show where and how the supporters attach. For a later version of E-Z Children's underwear, see the E-Z ad for 1937, in which one of the models is a waist union suit--now considerably simplified as regards the reinforcement straps.

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Created: June 5, 2004
Last updated: 6:45 PM 7/22/2005