The French are famous and appreciated the world over for their art, wine, love, and fashion statements... 

So, it was no surprise to me when my new ami, Jérôme, shared his excellent style with photos of him in his sous-vêtements! He lives just outside of Paris and has an amazing variety of combinaisons (union suits). Take a look...

He emails: 

Hello Chris, I live in France (near Paris), I am 62 years old and I found your adresse in https://unionsuitfan.blogspot.com/

I like wearing long underwear almost every time (I stop wearing them, when the temperature is more than 30° C). I have a big collection of long underwear which are in cotton for the summer, or more warm for other seasons, with different colors. 

I have about 50 t-shirts with turtleneck which I wear with my underwear (which means two layers on top) when the temperature is less than 20° C...

... For me, which is important, is the right fitting and I like the sensation of underwear just pressing a little on my body. What is pleasant with a union suit is that, even if it is not perfectly fitting, the pants remains in place.

When I was young, I always liked to see long underwear in catalogs. I bought my first long underwear in 1986, when I was 27 years old. I began to wear them all the time when I was 30 years old.

I found my first Union Suits in the French Department Store, Printemps, in 1990 and there was a Mariner Union Suit, which didn't open in the back. It was 100% cotton...

I have about 50 two-piece long underwear and 9 union suits (the 7 in the photo, one other in cotton which is not open, and one other red I just ordered):

From left to right : Ali Express (striped)  Ali Express (striped)   DharmaTrading (white)   Hanes (white)   Hanes (red)   Hanes (navy blue)   AliExpress (Purple)

Best regards, 

Jérôme aka Kore (in esperanto - sound like korey)

If I ever make it to France, I'll be an American in Paris in my combinaisons! Thanks, Jérôme! You set the standard for us Union Suit Fans! Tout le meilleur, monsieur...Chris

This email from Scott Horne added on April 9, 2022:

Hi, Chris,

'Union suit' in French is ordinarily combinaison. That term depends on context, however, because it also refers to similar garments such as coveralls and wetsuits. Informally it can be shortened to combi.  «Costume d'union» makes no sense; it must have been generated by a computer.

There is also the term grenouillère, but it refers mainly to one-piece pyjamas.

Canadian French has the informal term combines, which refers unambiguously to a union suit. It is probably in decline nowadays.

Scott

Many thanks, Scott. So, appreciate your input... Chris

Then, added agreement from Jérôme (of France) on April 10, 2022: 

Hello Chris,

Scott is right, the term "Costume d'union" doesn't exist, even if it is easy to understand from someone who knows what union suits are! 

...you can wear union suits both as pajamas and as underwear.

Jérôme

Gentlemen:

Since I strive to be as accurate as possible in my blogs, Union Suit Fan and Union Suit Fans in the Limelight, I have omitted "Costume d'union" from the posting above and have more appropriately used "union suit," "combinations," and particularly "combinaisons" where warranted. I appreciate Scott and Jérôme for setting me straight.  Merci beaucoup, Chris

It's the first day of spring; granddad and I still are wearing our long, red flannel underwear! How about you?

Hy Hintermeister's Boy and His Grandpa: Dream Ship.

Well anyway, the boy's granddad wears red flannel union suits. Mine are either 100% flat cotton or, in the case of my Champion Duofolds, 100% inner layer cotton with an outer layer being a mix of 25% merino wool, 10% nylon, and 65% cotton: "two layer thermal underwear for warmth in cold weather.  Made in the country of India." I wonder if any Indians there ever are inclined to wear long-handled union suits.

Here in northern Idaho, a stone's throw from the Canadian border and at my home in the trees on a lake, we'll be lucky to hit 40 degrees today. Snow turning to rain tomorrow. Maybe we'll get to the low 50's by mid-week. Guess I will be wearing union suit underwear for another couple of months anyway.

Ahhh... Springtime! ...Chris

Hangin' Out with Connecticut Mike

Although he considers himself a "newbie," having only begun wearing union suits within the past four to five years, Connecticut Mike is a Union Suit Fan for sure. He hangs his suits, flannel shirts and other clothes on a clothesline for that fresh outside feeling. Here are some shots of his long one-piece underwear... 

He reports, "All through December we had mild weather with fog, drizzle and straight up rain all the time so that definitely interfered with any clothes hanging.  Over the past 2-3 weeks though we've had plenty of single digits and a couple of nice snow storms.  The past couple of weekends have been good for drying; good sun, a breeze and cold!  You had asked why hang the suits out.  Well, growing up with Depression Era grandparents probably instilled some frugality for sure but, along with that, everything hung out smells just great and fabric seems to last longer and shrink less.  Good union suits tend to be hard to find and anything with wool is a bit pricey so it just seems to make sense to take good care of them so old school hanging on the line is what we do.

It was about 9 degrees when the pictures were taken and I can assure you that those were frozen stiff as a board.  A few hours later inside and that underwear was dry and pliable. Had some flannel shirts out there too.  Flannels and Union Suits, might just be a good title for a country western ballad!

Thinking the frozen days may be behind us til next winter, starting to see some daffodils pushing up pretty good.  Still getting some nights cold enough to enjoy a good union suit but the days are warming up... Mike"  

Thanks, Mike! Nothing like that sunny, out-door freshness. Here are some more shots of long underwear flapping outside in the breeze. Guess you're not the only one displaying union suits in the great outdoors:

Even on a city rooftop:

In previous emails, Mike and I discussed union suits. From Mike, February 2019:

"Good evening Chris, Greetings from Connecticut. It is a little cool here at the moment.  Snowing but changing to freezing rain in a few hours and then by tomorrow afternoon they are saying 50 degrees so I'm not sure that tomorrow will be a good union suit day but, the last week was for sure.

Unfortunately, I can't say that I had any family influences to sway me towards union suits.  As a kid I saw them worn in old movies like Abbot and Costello and the Three Stooges and definitely saw Alfalfa boxing in them.  But, they were never offered as an option but weren't necessarily looked at negatively either, just something from a different era.  I did have the two piece thermals and could never stand them.  They just seemed so bulky under street clothes that you couldn't move comfortably, they definitely didn't seem all that warm and probably worst of all either the shirt rode up in the back or the waist band rode down and you were the recipient of a nice draft.  So while I had them they probably spent the majority of their lives in a drawer.

I'd probably have to credit Amazon for perking my interest in union suits. I received an email from them with a ton of things that they thought might interest me and there was a red suit. I like reading some reviews as they can be pretty darn entertaining so I thought that I'd see what the union suit feedback was. I saw a lot of praises and some warnings to stay away from stuff like Hanes and Indera. So I poked around online and found referrals for good quality brands and did more research but didn't really pursue anything as the better suits just seemed a little pricey.  

One day I stumbled onto your blog and really enjoyed the stories and general info and that probably got my interest going again.  With enough diligence online I eventually found a retailer in Canada with some closeout wool/cotton Stanfield's at a very attractive price so I made the plunge and ordered one up and waited patiently for it to arrive. I was like a kid at Christmas on the day that the mailman dropped it off and I wasn't disappointed in any way.  

The fabric and construction of the Stanfield's is top notch. I was completely thrilled with the fit and promptly went out for a good forty-five minute walk to test them; it was about 24 degrees out and they didn't leave me cold anywhere. I love how there is never any riding up or down at my back so we are draft free. Without waist bands and shirt tails overlapping there is no bulk at all in the middle and there is just plenty of room overall so that you can move freely. I really like how even your body temp stays, it's kinda like you have a central heating system since the same temperature air can move from your ankles to your neck and wrists. That won't happen at all with a two piece job.  

They are completely comfortable wearing around the house (especially a drafty 100 year old one) by themselves or with a flannel shirt on top and you can quickly throw your trousers on over them to go to town.  I found myself living in the first set so it wasn't long before a few more found a new home with me so I never need to be without while they are going through the laundry.  I've never ever had any garment that was so practical and comfortable.  Even the misses got a kick out of them and thinks that maybe she might get herself some to try too, LOL.  That might be a hint for me to remember at birthday or Christmas time...Mike"

Some guys like to hang their union suits indoors to dry: