Vintage American Underwear: Nazareth Waist Union Suit (about 1930)


Figure 1.-- An important American manufacturer of underwear was Nazareth, named for the eastern Pennsylvania town where the factory was located. Nazareth underwear was popular with mothers who purchased children's school clothes (rather like Hickory garters manufactured by Stein). Here we have te top (shirt) part of a Nazareth waist union suit. Put your cursor on the image to see the bottom (pants) part of the suit.

The waist union suit was developed in the early 1920s and remained popular until the 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. An important American manufacturer of underwear was Nazareth, named for the eastern Pennsylvania town where the factory was located. Nazareth underwear was popular with mothers who purchased children's school clothes (rather like Hickory garters manufactured by Stein). Here we have a Nazareth waist union suit. The images here show the features of a waist suit very clearly. This waist union suit was designed for winter wear and is apparently made of mixed cotton and wool yarns. It is size 12 (i.e. for a boy or girl of 12 years) with a chest measurement of 30. In the 1920s and 1930s some children still wore long stockings on top of long underwear, particularly in rural areas or in places where the climate was cold and the heating non-centralized. Nazareth also madelong sleeved waist union suits and short legged waist union suits for children who didn't want to wear long stockings on top of long underwear. Waist union suits became popular in the 1920s and 1930s with mothers who preferred their children's underwear to incorporate the features of an underwaist

Waist Union Suit

The waist union suit was developed in the early 1920s and remained popular until the 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.
Nazareth Waist Company

An important American manufacturer of underwear was Nazareth, named for the eastern Pennsylvania town where the factory was located. Nazareth underwear was popular with mothers who purchased children's school clothes (rather like Hickory garters manufactured by Stein). They specialized in children's underwaists and waist union suits for boys and girls between the ages of 2 and 15. The waist union suit here is a Nazareth product for which HBC has archived several interesting advertisements but no actual garment. We notice the Nazareth Waist Company active in the 1920s. We have some basic information on the company. It was founded by Gustav Adpolphus Schneebeli (1853-1923), a German immigrant, born in Neusalz, Germany, who settled with his parents in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and attended the Moravian Parochial School in Bethlehem. Schneebeli moved to Nazareth in the 1880s and founded the Nazareth Waist Co., a knit-goods firm that specialized in children's underwear. Later he established a lace manufacturing company of which he became the sole owner (1888). He was elected to the U. S. Congress as a Republican representative from Pennsylvania (1905), but served only a single term . He died in Nazareth, Northampton County, Pa., February 6, 1923, and was buried in the Moravian cemetery there. The Nazareth Waist Co. founded in the 1880s became a very prominent manufacturer of children's waist suits, and indeed the term "Nazareth Waist" became a household word throughout the nation. The company had offices in New York City and mills in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. The company appears to have concentrated on children's underwear. We note promotional literature for children's underwear in 1920. We also notice waist suits they offered. We do not know if they offered any other items. An example of a Nazareth ad can be found in a 1929 issue of Parents. They often advertized in magazines like Parents. The company's producr line seems very similar to E-Z Mills which also made waist suits at te same time.

Chronology

The date is a bit uncertain. Unlike advertisements and photographs which are often dated, vintage clothing is more difficult to date. A HBC contributor knowledgeable about vintage clothing estimate that this Nazareth waist union suit dates roughly to 1927-32.


Figure 2.-- The label here had two numbers, 12+30. At first I thought that mean that the shirt and pants were sized differently. The use of the equal sign, however, must mean that Nazareth was providing an age/size equivalent. This was very rare. We do not see other companies doing this. The 12 surely must be 12 year old children. What we are not sure about is what the 30 represented. Itbmust be either a chest or waist size.

Sizes

The label here had two numbers, 12+30. At first I thought that mean that the shirt and pants were sized differently. The use of the equal sign, however, must mean that Nazareth was providing an age/size equivalent. This was very rare. We do not see other companies doing this. The 12 surely must be 12 year old children. What we are not sure about is what the 30 represented. It must be either a chest or waist size. A HBC contributotor tells us, "The label signifies age 12 and chest size 30. Waist suits and union suits for children were normally sized by chest size (no difference here between boys and girls). The Sears and Wards waist union suits tended to come in even numbered age sizes, e.g., 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13. Most children older than 13 wore ordinary union suits because they no longer needed the waist buttons for trousers and skirts. But some of the advertisements tell us that by special order, you could still purchase a waist union suit for sizes up to age 14-15 years. If boys still wore long stockings after the age of 13 in the 1920s and 1930s, they usually wore ordinary union suits (with either short or long legs) and garter waists or suspender waists."

Features

The images here show the features of a waist suit very clearly. This waist union suit was designed for winter wear and is apparently made of mixed cotton and wool yarns. It is size 12 (i.e. for a boy or girl of 12 years) with a chest measurement of 30. The various images illustrate the features. 1. Short sleeves and ankle-length legs. 2. Reinforcement straps over the shoulders that end in a taped-on button on each side for attaching bloomers, short trousers, or other additional clothing. 3. Tape loops under each waist button for the attachment of hose supporters for long stockings 4. A three-button drop seat in the rear. 5. Buttons down the front from neck to crotch for front closure. 6. Knitted cuffs at ankles. 7. Knitted of gray-white mottled yarn--popular especially with boys because the texture was exactly the same as that used in men's union suits. The appearance is supposedly rugged and masculine.

Long Stockings

In the 1920s and 1930s some children still wore long stockings on top of long underwear, particularly in rural areas or in places where the climate was cold and the heating non-centralized. Nazareth also made long sleeved waist union suits and short legged waist union suits for children who didn't want to wear long stockings on top of long underwear. Waist union suits became popular in the 1920s and 1930s with mothers who preferred their children's underwear to incorporate the features of an underwaist--i.e. waist buttons for additional clothing and tabs for hose supporters--thus obviating the necessity for a separate waist. There was also an obvious economy in combining the various functions in a single garment--undershirt, underpants, and waist for the support of long stockings and other clothing.

Advertisemnts

HBC has archived several Nazareth waist unions suits from the 1920s. We believe that this is an indicator that these garments were particulsarly important in the 20s. These ads come from Parents, Ladies Home Journal, and other important period periodicals. These offerings include: 1921 Journal Nazareth ad, 1922 Journal Nazareth ad, 1927 Parents Nazareth ad 1927-28 Parents Nazareth ad, and 1929 Parents Nazareth ad A major competitor was EZ Mills. An example is 1920 Journal EZ Waist Union Suits.

Reader Comments

A HBC reader writes, "I was especially interested in this item because I remember boys of my own age (at about 11 or 12) wearing suits just like this. I didn't myself wear waist union suits (as I explain in my personal reminiscence page) because my mother opted for ordinary union suits with a garter waist added. But the waist suit was a popular option and very common during the 1920s and 1930s. One of my cousins, as I recall, wore underwear like this."











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Created: 5:37 AM 5/19/2008
Last updated: 4:01 PM 5/19/2008