Figure 1.-- We note what looks like an underwaist dating from the early 20th century. The dealer describes this as a, "Child's darling muslin underwear top / shirt from the early 1900's. Bone buttons would fasten the shirt to the underwear bottom. Bone buttons also fasten the front of shirt. Criss cross back.".

Underwear could be quite complicated in the late 19h and early 20th century. It is important to assess garments like underwaists to understand how children dressed. Various make shift arrangements were used through the mid-19th century. Clothing companies developed a variety of support garments to meet the needs of women and children. Underwaists were one og the garments developed for children. Underwaists were very commonly worn by American children in the late-19th and early 20th century. And the photographic record does not help us with underwear and support gatments. Images of actual vintage underwear adds thus is very important and adds to the informaton we have collected in the catalog section. These garments were most commonn in America. We notice some of these garments in Europe, but the Europeans were more apt to msake do with makeshify arrangements like pins.

Muslin Underwaist (United States, early 20th century)

We note what looks like an underwaist dating from the early 20th century (figure 1). The dealer describes this as a, "Child's darling muslin underwear top / shirt from the early 1900's. Bone buttons would fasten the shirt to the underwear bottom. Bone buttons also fasten the front of shirt. Criss cross back."

Underwaist with Adustable Shoulder Straps (United States, 19??)

This American garment is a typical boy's underwaist with adustable shoulder straps to allow for the boy's growth (figure 1). It buttons down the front and has reinforcement straps over the shoulder with taped-on waist buttons around the waist line so that short trousers or possibly knickers can be buttoned on. There are garter tabs at the sides with metal pinning tubes so that supporters for long stockings can be attached. These were standard garments for children during the 1920s for boys (and also girls) from about age 2 to age 12. Many of the girls' underwaists had lace or other adornments around the neck and often buttoned down the back whereas boys' underwaists were usually plain like this one and had front buttoning.

Knit-style Underwaist (United States, 1915-20)

This knit-style underwaist looks to date to the 1910s, probably about 1910-15. This is a typical knitstyle underwaist with reinforcement straps for the support of outer clothing such as trousers, skirts, bloomers, and additional underwear. It has two rows of bone buttons around the waist line and, additionally, on the sides, tabs for hose supporters. It isn't quite clear whether these tabs are metal pinning tubes of just tape loops to which the saftey pins can be attached. The buttoning is in the back, which would make it perhaps preferable for girls up to the age of about 14 or boys younger than ten. But the waist may have been reversible. Underwaists were worn on top of ordinary underwear (usually union suits) and, in addition to their function as supporting garments, provided additional warmth in winter. Most underwaists during this period were for both boys and girls from about age 2 to 12. But underwaists were also worn by older girls up to about 14 or 15. Even some boys still wore them into their teenage years, although suspender waists were more common for boys older than 12.