United States Advertising: Sexton Summer Waists (1921)


Figure 1.--Sexton Manufacturing placed an ad for summer waists in the "Good Housekeeping Magazine". The material is light-weight cotton nainsook. It features an adjustable shoulder strap to allow for the boy's growth. It has reinforcement straps over the shoulders and down the back with waist buttons for the attachment of trousers--either shorts or knickers.

Sexton Manufacturing placed an ad for summer waists in the Good Housekeeping Magazine (June, 1921, p. 88). It shows boys' summer weight waist suits made by Sexton Manufacturing Co. of Fairfield, Illinois. The material is light-weight cotton nainsook. It features an adjustable shoulder strap to allow for the boy's growth. It has reinforcement straps over the shoulders and down the back with waist buttons for the attachment of trousers--either shorts or knickers. The buttons can be used for girls' skirts also. It has a special kind of garter tab with two metal eyelets for the fastening of the hose supporter pin and an open slot through which the supporter can be passed if the boy wishes to wear his garters inside rather than outside his underwear.

Sexton Manufacturing

The Sexton Manufacturing Co. was locted in Fairfield, Illinois. The company was founded by George C. Sexton from St. Louis who took over the Woolen Mills in Fairfield, Illinois, in 1907. The remodled mill made blue shirts and overalls, i.e., men's and boys' work clothes. In 1909 the company was in financial trouble, but was saved from ruin by Mr. Sexton's brother-in-law, H. G. Ferguson. At this point the Sexton Company began making men's athletic underwear. By 1917 the business was booming. In one week during World War I the company produced 150,000 pairs of underwear for the War Department. The Sexton boys' waist suits, advertised in 1921, were a boys' version of men's athletic nainsook union suits widely sold by the Sexton Co., but the boys' version featured reinforcement straps, waist buttons for fastening on short trousers, and special tabs for supporters that allowed the garters to be worn either inside or outside the underwear (a feature similar to that of Alheneeds made by Sprague). Almost universally, boys in 1921 needed provision for long stockings. In 1935 Mr. Ferguson sold stock to workers and local people in Fairfield, Illinois. Then the factory went out of business and most of the investors lost their money. The Sexton company provided employment and company-built housing for many people in Fairfield, Illinois, and was a major factor in the growth of the town. Sexton summer underwear (mostly union suits and waist union suits) was widely worn by men and boys throughout the United States for about 25 years (1910-35).

Good Housekeeping

Sexton Manufacturing placed an ad for summer waists in the Good Housekeeping Magazine (June, 1921, p. 88). Good Housekeeping first appeared May 2, 1885. It was one of of several popular women's magazines established suring the 1880s and 1890s. The magazine provided information about running a home and raising children. This the modern Good Housekeeping conytinues today. The Good Housekeeping seal of approval was developed to assure housewives of a product's value. Letters from readers were an important facet. The early magazine, however, also included a broad range of literary offerings. Good Housekeeping was founded by journalist-businessman Clark W. Bryan in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The magazine moved to Springfield, but by 1911 the circulation was only 0.3 million. This changed when it was purchased by the William Randolph Hearst and moved to New York. The citculation was soon in the millions of copies. Many well known writers have contributed to Good Housekeeping, including Somerset Maugham, Edwin Markham, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Frances Parkinson Keyes, and Evelyn Waugh. Following the death of President Calvin Coolidge his widow, Grace Goodhue Coolidge, memorialized him in its pages. In an efforts to stay close to its audience, Good Housekeeping accepts articles by ordinary readers who are not professional writers. No one individual is more associated with Good Housekeeping than famed American children's illustrator Jesie Wilcox Smith. Over two decades, Good Housekeeping brought her work into millions of Americans homes every month (1917-33). In all she did more than 200 covers for the magazine.

Waists

Waists or waist suits were essentially the same as union suits, meaning one-piece under shirt-underpants combinations. Waist suits were especially for childern. The term waists means that there were buttons at the waist to help hold up pants and stockings. Summer waiss would normally have shot sleeves and shortened legs in various lengths. They were normally for children up to 12-13 years of age. Teenagers from 13 to 18, especially boys, just wore ordinary union suits without the reinforcement straps, waist buttons, and garter tabs. These came in both summer (nainsook) and winter (knitted) styles; the winter styles could have short or long sleeves, and short or long legs. The choice depended to some degree on climate and season. Some boys older than 12 still wore long stockings of course, usually with knee pants or knickers, but if they did, they tended to wear separate garter waits for their stockings rather than waist union suits.

Sexton Ad

The Sexton ad offers boys' summer weight waist suit. The material is light-weight cotton nainsook. It features an adjustable shoulder strap to allow for the boy's growth (figure 1). It has reinforcement straps over the shoulders and down the back with waist buttons for the attachment of trousers--either shorts or knickers. The buttons can be used for girls' skirts also. It has a special kind of garter tab (figure 1) with two metal eyelets for the fastening of the hose supporter pin and an open slot through which the supporter can be passed if the boy wishes to wear his garters inside rather than outside his underwear. This style of garter tab is also featured on the Allheneeds waist suit (1915) advertised by Butler on an earlier HBC page. There is also a girl's style with bloomers instead of straight legs, but the girl's suit is otherwise the same as the boys'. Note, however, that the girls have a choice of colors--white, black, blue, and pink in various combinations--whereas the boys wear only plain white.

Ad Copy

The ad copy reads: "How can underwear stand it? Many a mother, sighing wearily over ripped and torn little garments, will answer, `it doesn't stand it.' That is because she hasn't put her kiddies into Sexton Union suits. It isn't merely that they are so firmly and honestly sewed or that the fine nainsook material is so strong.; Sexton Unionsuits for boys and girls come safely through the most violent play because they are so full and so scientifically designed that literally no strain is put upon seams or fabric. The elastic web seam in the back has a lot to do with this body yielding quality. And how the boys and girls do love this garment! It slips on and off so quickly and is so cool and comfortable. The girls' style has bloomer legs with elastic and comes in all white, white waist with black sateen bloomers and white waist with pink or blue bloomers. The boys' style is like Dad's. Both have buttons for outer garments and garter tabs so arranged that garters can go inside or out. Sizes 2 to 12 years. If your favorite store doesn't carry Sexton Underwear, which it probably does, we will direct you to a store that does carry them. Sexton Mfg. Co., 430 Main Street, Fairfield, Illinois. Sexton Underwear & Nightwear for Men & Children"

Suart " Allheneeds " Waists

Notice the waist suit or underwear offered by Stuarts for younger boys in 1915. They were pattened as "Allheneeds" meaning the only underwear or stocking supporter that he needed. They could be worn with these tunic suits. Note the boy is holding one of the straps that could be used to hold up long stockings. They included many of the inovative features of the Sexton summer waists.






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Created: March 18, 2004
Last updated: 11:50 PM 6/28/2005