Figure 1.-- Here we have two kinds of summer underwear for boys. This ad comes from the Eaton's 1940s Spring and Summer catalog. Eaton's was Canada's most important department store chain with an important mail order operation. Two styles of lightweight, sleeveless union suits ("combinations" in Canada) are modeled here. /i> |
Union suits were commonly worn by Canadian boys, although separate shirts and shorts were by 1940 more common, especially during the summer. Here we have two kinds of summer underwear for boys. This ad comes from the Eaton's 1940s Spring and Summer catalog. Eaton's was Canada's most important department store chain with an important mail order operation. Two styles of lightweight, sleeveless union suits ("combinations" in Canada) are modeled here.
This Canadian retailer began publishing mailorder catalogs in 1881, at least that is we
begin noticing them. We have catalogs from the 1970s, although we do not know about the company's current status. The 1970s catalgs were full of clothes which look like American styles. Timothy Eaton, founder of the huge all-Canadian department store chain bearing his name, was an Irish immigrant born on a tennant farm in northern Ireland. He was born in 1834 and followed his brothers to Canada in 1854. His brothers had opened a small dty goods store in St. Marys. Timothy Eaton began his business with a small dry goods business in Toronto during 1869. He built a giant retail store in Ontario’s capital city along with a country-wide mail-order business and a big new branch store in Winnipeg, by the time of his death in 1907. The Winnipeg branch was the first of many branches. Eaton Company business establishments eventually spread all across Canada when Timothy’s family successors extended the Eaton empire. Timothy masterminded the company during the crucial period of its early
development, spanning nearly 40 years. It was Timothy who implemented the concept of the "Department Store", in Canada, a concept which were already flourishing in London, Paris, and New York.
The union suit is a close-fitting underwear garment. The term union refers to the fact that a union suit involves the combination of both a shirt and pants (drawers) in a one piece suit. The garment commonly included a drop seat. This term began to be used in the 1890s. The term union suit was commonly used for adults. The children's version was a waist suit or a waist-union suit. Women also wore union suits. So did girls. But they were associated mainly with men because more men than women wore them. With boys and girls, I'm not sure. I think waist union suits were equally popular for boys and girls because of the waist feature. Union suits for children were essentially combination suits. But union suits without the reinforcement straps were mainly a boy's garment.
The page here shows two kinds of summer underwear for boys. This ad comes from an Eaton's Spring and Summer catalog for 1940, p. 146.
Eaton's offered two styles of lightweight, sleeveless union suits
("combinations" in Canada). Separate briefs and undershirts had already been
introduced in the United States and Canada, but the traditional
one-piece union suits (referred to in Canada and Great Britain as
"combinations") retained their appeal because they were comfortable to
wear and involved no bunching up or layering at the waist.
The Eaton's ad read, "Cotton Mesh 49 cents.
Athletic style White Cotton Mesh Combinations knit in fancy waffle
weave effect, and a comfortable weight for Summer wear. Cross-over
front style, they are Penman's make on full-fitting, roomy sizes with
wide overlapping seat and comfortable crotch. Sizes 24 to 32-inch
chest. 640-481. Price 49 cents."
The Earon's ad copy read, "Button-Front Style 50 cents
V-ncek, button-front style, of soft White Cotton Balbriggan. This is a
new sleeveless style with short legs that should be found cool and very
comfortable for hot Summer days. Full-fitting sizes, strongly finished
throughout. Wide overlapping seat. Sizes 24, 26, 28, 30, 32-inch
chest. 640-480. Price 50 cents."
One style, interestingly, has no buttons in
front and is put on by simply spreading the two shoulder straps apart
so that the boy can step into the garment. The other style has the
traditional buttons down the front. Both have a flap in the seat that
fastens shut with a single button.
These union suits are meant for
wear in hot weather--hence the lightweight fabrics (mesh cotton in one
case, knitted cotton in the other), the absence of sleeves, and the
short legs.
The sizes are by chest measurement--24 inches to 32 inches. This translates into an age range of about 10 to 16 years.
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