A
Thespian Union Suit Fan
Growing
Up, Part I
by Ron Payne, Guest Contributor
Growing
up back in the 50's there were union suits in the inventory of
clothing stores that served small towns and farming communities. I
always shunned union suits as being too ridiculous looking when I was
a youngster. But when I got into high school and was changing into
gym clothes, I saw a few of the boys from the nearby farms wearing
union suits without shame. They laughed at themselves and ribbed each
other over their "hillbilly" long johns. But there also
seemed to be an element of pride in wearing "country boy"
underwear.
I
grew up in Loudoun County in northern Virginia on a farm between
Purcellville and Lincoln. My Dad wore two piece thermal underwear but
no one I knew wore union suits. I'd only seen men in union suits on
TV or in the movies and it was always associated with comical
humiliation. Like John Payne in "Restless Gun" when masked
men held him up and made him strip down to his union suit. He had to
walk into town in his one-piece long johns while the townsfolk
laughed. But I saw union suits at the clothing store in Purcellville
and, of course, there were the Sears catalog ads. Any type of long
underwear seemed an embarrassment to me when I was a kid. So I
avoided the thermal two piece type that my father wore, not to
mention union suits. Being shy, I was afraid of looking stupid and
having people laugh at me.
When
I went to college I got my first union suit and really liked the way
it felt when I was outside on a cold day. But I never wore union
suits as my standard winter underwear until I took a job at a lumber
and mill works for a while in the mid 70's. From November to early
March most of the workers wore some sort of long underwear, and for a
few of us, union suits were the long johns of choice. I experienced a
bit of that same feeling the farm boys in high school felt. Sure, I
looked kind of comical when I got home from work and stripped off my
layers down to my union suit. But I felt a bit of pride that I was
wearing the sort of long johns that generations of working men wore
as part of their rural identity.
I
ran
across your blog while shopping for new union suits (I keep ripping
them at the elbows). I now live in Alexandria, Virginia. Retirement
won't be too far off and I can probably get back to wearing union
suits all winter long. Today, as a white collar professional, I don't
wear union suits every day as I did then. But winter weekends still
provide me with an opportunity to don my favorite long underwear. I
admit I enjoy feeling part of that fraternity.
Continued.....
I grew up pretty much like Ron Payne, I didn't want to be seen wearing long underwear though most of the men in my family did. They worked in plants and outside. One time though I saw my grandfather in just his union suit walking into the kitchen as though it was the most natural thing in the world. And for him it was. That changed it for me. I wanted a union suit myself and eventually I bought one and have been a convert ever since. It's great to be a part of this tradition. In fact I'm wearing one now.
ReplyDeleteHey Anonymous: Ron and I appreciate you checking in with us. Was good to hear from you.
DeleteYou've asked the kind of Union Suit Ron is wearing in his photo. I don't think he'd mind telling you himself. He reports: "The union suit in my picture is my Stanfields, a great example of the work-a-day union suit." ...Chris
ReplyDeleteAre you wearing them daily now? Is it your primary underwear, and if so, during all times or just certain seasons?
ReplyDeleteNot wearing union suits daily. Still working in a well heated office. But on most winter weekends, I have them on. And today is Sunday, so...
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time my mom dressed me in two-piece "thermal underwear" or "long johns" as I came to know them later on. I cried and cried! I thought that they looked like my sister's tights (you might have to look up that term if you are a man of a certain age).
ReplyDeleteI was in graduate school back in the 1990s when I found an honest to goodness union suit at a cheap clothing store. I ended up buying them and really liked the way they felt. Long johns, especially those with a waffle fabric, were too hot and uncomfortable. The union suit was just right.
At this point, I go to a place called "Newport Dry Goods"--a store that has been around forever in the small East Tennessee county known as "Cocke County". They sell long johns that have slight imperfections. It's kind of hard to find union suits here in the south. Not sure why that is. I end up getting a ton of long johns to hand out to the homeless who live here in Knoxville.
I started wearing Union Suits when I was going to a Chicago gay bar Union Suits night. They are the sexiest underwear I’ve ever worn because of all the buttons to unbutton. Great when the front is open and love to trap door in the rear for easy access instead of pulling your pants down to my ankles. Red is my favorite!!
ReplyDeleteVery sexy, mate
ReplyDelete