Figure 1.--The 1927 Franklin Simon catalog had a page on children's sleepwar and underwear. The title for the page us 'Underyhings both practical and smart for little girls and boys'. Sleepwear was seen as underwear. The garments are for children from 2-12 yeara of age. It was mostly for girls up to age 12, but there were a few items for younger boys as well up to 6 years of age. We get the impression that the store's line was bit upscale from Sears and Wards. The illustrations on the page are done in a top and bottom group. The top group is mostly sleepwear. The bottom group is underwear tops and bottoms. The styling suggests that this was a spring-summer offering.

The bottom group on this Franklin and Simon catralog shows girls and boys underwear. Notice the terminology. They are still using thev old-fashioned term 'vest' for the the top or 'T'/under shirt. This is still the British term. And they still use 'drawers' for underpants. The underwear was different for boys and girls. The boy's underwear is done as a two-pice affair. There is a T-shirt type top referred to as a vest, a term that was beginning to go out of style in America, but not Britain. Notice the ribbon at the neckline. The underpants are separate, but there seem to be button holes at the waistine which is not elacticized. Apparently they buttoned on to the top, but the buttons are not shown. We are not sure what the ribbed effect shoen by the illustration ar gcskleeve and leg cuff represents. We think it is two-ply material, not elastization. The girl's underwear is a sleeveless one-piece affair with a drop-seat. Notice the bloomer pants. We are not suyre whar the little aquare at the waist represents nor the vertical line from the neck. We are also unsure about about how closed bloomers were achuived. It does not look to be elcticized. If show there would hve been a drawstring which is not shown. The dated terminoology and the little bow on the boy's top suggests up-scale marketing.

Models 293 and 295: Vest and Bloomers

These garments are shown together at the top of the page with sleepwear, although we think they were more underwear than sleepwear. We are not even sure that many girls wore these garments to bed. The model 293 or top/vest ad copy read, "Parfait glove silk vest in pink or white. Sizes 4 to 12 years. $1.35." Vest mean to or undershirt. We are not sure what parfait silk meant, but it was apparently a high-qiality silk used to make gloves. Notice that pink and not blue was on offer. This suggests the mnodern color convenbtions were taking hold. The model 295 or bottom/bloomer ad copy read, "Parfait glove silk bloomers in pink, white, navy, blue, or tan. Sizes 4 to 12 years. $1.65." The range of color shows that the bottoms were not always bought to be worn with the top show on the page. The range of colors seem to match the colors of the skirts and hosiery worn by the girls. As the top never showed, there was no need to match. And the convention for underwear was normally white or other light color. The prices are also interesting. Prices like $1.35/1.65 may not sound like an expensive price, but in 1927 that was a price that most American parents could or would not pay for children's undewear. A further indication that Franklin Simon was an upscale store.

Model 299: Combination

Here we see a one-piece girl's underwear set called a 'combination'. This is not sleepwear, but clearly underwear (notice the knee socks and strap shoes displayed with it). It is a sleeveless garment meant to be worn with a skirt or dress. Note the little square. We believe this was a loop to support long stockings. Of coutse this was not needed with knee socks. At the ime lond stockings were still faiurly common. Also notice the drop bottom. Given the one-piece construction, that was an important conmvenience. The model 299 ad copy read, "Combination of white crossed-barred domity with bloomer knee. Sizes 2 to 12 years. $.75." Note it was only done in white, alyjoigh the illustration suggesrs a colored garment. Dimity was a lightweight, sheer cotton fabric popular for girls' and wmen's sunner underwear. Also used for bed upholstery and curtains. It is desribed as having a stout texture. It was woven in raised patterns which is what the cross-barred refers to. It is a fabric with a long history nd was done in silk or wool. With the industrial revolution in cam to almost entirely done in cotton. We are not sure how the bloomer leg closure was achieved. It may not be elasticbut rather a draw string, but that is not shown

Model 301: Vest

Model 301 is a boy's unfnder shirt which is decribed a 'vest' (figure 1). It is term beginning to go out of style in America , but till used in Britain for both both boys' and girls' undershirts. The garment is basically an undershirt/'T'shirt with a low neckline and an added fancy bow ribbon which of course mothers might like, but boys would not fiund vert appealing. That is why the sizes only go up school entry age--6 years. There seems to be added fabric at the sleeve hem. We think they may have been buttons at the waist hem to hold up underpants which were not elasticized, but they are not shown. The 301 model caption read, "Boy's vest of finely knitted cotton with short sleeves. Sizes 2, 4, and 6 years. $1.15." At the time this was 2 to 3 times the price to what boys' undershirts could be purchased for at lower price stores. A reader writes, "One item I interpreted differently is 301. I think the vest in 301 did not include buttons. If it did, it would have needed tapes to keep the garment from tearing where the buttons were. I think the under pants were designed to be worn with a under waist worn over the vest. What do you think?" You know that these garments are now so old that vuirtually no one alive remembers wearing them and of course all the mothers are gone. And we do have maby ccounts of adults remember wearing them. So we have to piece it all togrther from the ample record of catalogs and mgazine ads. You may be correct and no buttons are shown in he illustration. I see, however, a problem with your idea. For button on garments to work, the buttons had to be lined up with the button holes. If they were just a little off there was a problem. Thus garments were purchased as sets. I think it is more like that 301 and 303 were sold together as a set. The vrious support garments were designed to keep up the stockings and outer garmnents. If our reader is correct, the underpants would have to be worn over the waist and I have never seen an example of this is any period advertising and illustrative drawings and photographs.

Model 303: Drawers

Model 303 is a pair of underpants which are called drawers (figure 1). Notice the termm drawers rather than underpants. They were done with a back drop seat. Notice the button holes at the waist wgich we believed lined up with buttons on the undershirt top. The waist was not elasticized so this is how the underpanhts were held up. You have to pity the poor boy who was virtually inprisioned in this affair. Now a 6-year ols may have been able to rise to the occasion, but younger boys woukld have real trouble, espdcially with the buttons to the back flap. And undoing the buttons was the easy part, rebuttoning them would have been even more difficult. And all of ghis would have been even more diffuicult if urgency was an issue which was often the case. Younger pre-school boys would have required mother's assistance which of course was not available at school. The model 303 press caption read, "Boy's drawers to match model 301. Sizes 2, 4, and 6 years. $1.15."

Figure 2.--The 1927 Franklin Simon catalog had a page on children's sleepwar and underwear. The title for the page us 'Underyhings both practical and smart for little girls and boys'. Sleepwear was seen as underwear. The garments are for children from 2-12 yeara of age. It was mostly for girls up to age 12, but there were a few items for younger boys as well up to 6 years of age. We get the impression that the store's line was bit upscale from Sears and Wards. The illustrations on the page are done in a top and bottom group. The top group is mostly sleepwear. The bottom group is underwear tops and bottoms. The styling suggests that this was a spring-summer offering.

Model 305: Drawers

Model 305 is a pair of underpants described as drawers (figure 2). This was the term for underpants in the 19th century and still used in the early-20th century. Notice the waist button holes. These were for buttons on the undershirt and held up the underpants because the waist was not elasticized. There was no drop seat. The model 305 ad copy read, "White cambric drawers finished with lace edging andcribbon beading. Sizes 2 to 12 years. $.85." The decoration suggests that these were for girls. Cambric, or batiste, was one of the finest and most dense kinds of cloth. It is a lightweight plain-weave cloth. It derived its name from the French commune of Cambrai. It was woven in greige (the natural color of the fiber) , then bleached, piece-dyed and often glazed or calendered. Initially it was made of linen. ith the ibdustrial revolution it came to be cotton as well.

Model 307: Bloomers

Model 305 is a pair of underpants described as bloomers (figure 2). We are not sure why these underpants were called bloomrs and not drawers like the 305 underpants above. The leg openings seem the same, although not decorayted. We are also unsure how they were held up because there do not seem to be any button holes on the waist. Given the term 'bloomers', we assume that these were girls' underpants. The 307 ad copy read, "Bloomers of white cross-barred muslim, Sizes 2 to 12 years. $.50." The shading in the illustration suggsts that the grment was colored, but this apparently was done to indicate a waving pattern. Muslin includes a variety fabrics of varying weights and fineness, but is always a plain weave, cotton fabric.

Model 308: Diaper Drawers

Model 308 were underpants discribed as diaper drawers (figure 2), meaning for todlers at the potty training stage. They were very plain, exceotvthe sclloping, and inexpnsive. They apparently were for both boys nd girls, actually more for boys than girls were generall quicker to develop the needed skills than boys. The 308 ad copy read, "Diaper drawers of white nainsook with finely scalloped edging. Sizes 1, 2 anbd 3 years. $.50." Nainsook is a soft, fine, lightweight form of muslin.

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Created: 5:46 PM 1/18/2019
Last updated: 6:08 PM 1/19/2019