Mens Suit Underwear: A Classic Blast from the Past. Did you know that mens suit underwear is a thing. No, we are not referring to underwear that men wear under their suits. Instead, we are referring to top-to-bottom one piece undies.

We are, of course, familiar with long johns but we’re just learning about suit underwear which is also known as “union suit”. Here’s an advert from a JC Penney catalogue which features a full ankle length union suit, a mid length underwear, and a nainsook mid-length union suit.

According to wikipedia, this kind of underwear actually originated as women’s wear as an alternative to constricting garments but it soon became popular among men who discovered the wonders and joys about union underwear. Nah, we’re joking about the wonders and joys one.

Here are some blast from the past advertisements declaring the virtues of suit underwear:

Now, just how uncomfortable were underwear in the past such that comfort becomes a selling point for this Lewis Union suit?

Wanna buy a no-button union suit from Fuld and Hatch?

Hanes advert proclaiming the unbeatable values of its suit undies for men and boys.

Anyhoo, as fashion preferences change, the union underwear has given way to the long johns — see our posts in Men in Long Underwear — but some companies, to this day, continue to make and sell union underwear.

You can find them in Calvin Klein stores or Dolce and Gabbana but they are available in more specialized mens underwear brands like 2xist and Nasty Pig. Here’s a union underwear from the latter brand:

And here’s one from 2xist:

Update: Turns out that you don’t actually have to look for specialty brands to buy your union underwear. Hanes, which is as mainstream as mainstream goes, remains a believer in the virtues of this kind of underwear and continues to sell them. Yay.

Mens Suit Underwear: A Classic Blast from the Past. Last updated: August 1, 2020 at 5:36 am.