Universal Fashion Company 800 - Working Blouse

Universal Fashion Company

I've found several different founding dates for Universal Fashion Company, with the earliest date being 1881, though I've been unable to find newspaper advertisements for them before 1884.

Hartford (USA) Courant, p.1

Monday, January 7, 1884

Camden (New Jersey) Courier-Post,

Friday, March 7, 1884 p.4

Advertisements showing garments are very rare for Universal

The New York Times

Monday, May 4, 1885, p. 15 (in their Suplemento Hispano-Americano)

In the early years of the paper pattern industry there were many companies that flourished for a few years before going out of business or being absorbed by another company, but Universal was still in business in 1894. This advertisement provides a nice list of selling points.

Owensboro (Kentucky, US) Messenger

Saturday, January 6, 1894, p. 8

1894 would prove to be the last year that Universal patterns were advertised in newspapers.  By 1895 Universal was being sued by some of their agents who had been falsely promised exclusive territories, and by 1896 Universal was in turn suing to recover monies owed them by their agents. Universal's legal troubles persisted until about 1899 when they seem to disappear from the scene.

The Working Blouse

The term "blouse" when applied to men's garments confuses people today. When this pattern was made, the term was used for a men's outer garment. In English, the term survives today (just barely) in the term "middy blouse." 

The working blouse is a practical garment. It typically functioned as an over shirt, protecting the shirt underneath. The banded waist makes it safe to wear around machinery and keeps out dust or chaff. (1) 

Universal wasn't the only pattern company offering a working blouse pattern. In 1894, Butterick offered several working blouse patterns in its Delineator magazine.

The Delineator, April 1894, p. x

Note how Butterick uses the term  "jumper" interchangeably with "working blouse." Clothing terminology is always fluid.

The Merchant Tailor Museum has a very similar working blouse in their collection. The extensive piecing probably indicates a home-made garment.

Utilitarian garments such as the working blouse were good candidates for the early mens' ready-to-wear industry, which was boosted by the development of the sewing machine. (2) Levi Strauss offered a working blouse in its catalog as early as the 1870s, and this garment is thought to be an ancestor of their iconic denim jacket.

Several years ago JoAnn Peterson at Laughing Moon brought to my attention an eBay auction for a 19th century fireman's shirt that could have been made from this pattern, the cut was so similar.

Making the Working Blouse

Stay tuned!

Trade Card for Universal Fashion Company

(1) Eventually the working blouse and waist overalls would be combined into a single garment called a "working suit" or "union overalls."

(2) The men's ready-to-wear industry may have been given a boost by the American Civil War (1861-1865.) Once the demand for soldiers' clothes dried up, there would have been both capacity and skills in sizing and construction. Prior to what we understand today as ready-to-wear, garments like the working blouse were probably produced by the slops trade.

Originally posted July 27, 2008, updated September 30, 2024.

Home Pattern Company 157 - Ladies' Matinee or Morning Blouse

Authorized by the American Red Cross, this pattern was produced during World War I (1914-1918.)

The pattern is referenced in Junior Red Cross Activities Teachers Manual, American Red Cross publication #606, published on October 15, 1918. The Manual is a terrific resource for understanding how war work could be integrated into school work, starting even in the primary grades. Before getting into the specifics of the articles to be produced, the manual discusses how the schools' war work can be used to teach social responsibility and contribute to community service. (See Chapter V)

Thus, while sewing clothes for refugees was incorporated into home economics instruction, it could also be used to teach geography about France and Belgium, and current events about the war. In addition to sewing skills, other aspects household economy to be taught included clothing care and repair, and clothing the baby. (See Chapter VIII)

The manual states that "The garments to be made may seem somewhat unattractive in color and design and materials used. Remember that we cannot expect the French and Belgian people to change their habits and customs and if we wish to be truly helpful we must not try to force our opinions and practices upon them when they have definite ideas as to what they wish."  (p. 301) In particular, the Belgians were thought to have a preference for dark colors, though part of this may have been due to limited resources for laundering.

At this time, the term "morning blouse" appears to be used for a garment worn at home while attending to the morning's household chores.  In the February 15 issue of Vogue magazine for 1917, patterns for morning clothes and sports clothes are shown on page 82. (A little confusingly, the model wearing Vogue's stylish version of a morning blouse is shown holding a tennis racquet.) The construction and materials used would allow the morning blouse to be laundered at home.

By the third year of high-school, students could make the morning blouse in "flannel, outing flannel, or very heavy galatea, dark colors only." (p. 362) At this time, flannel would have been understood to be wool flannel, while outing flannel was made of cotton. Galatea was a firmly woven cotton fabric, typically twill or sateen weave, usually used for nurses' uniforms and children's clothes. 

Note that the instructions on the back of the envelope explain how to make a flat felled seam, advising the maker to observe how the sleeves of a man's shirt are sewed into the armhole.  This tells us that such seams were common in men's shirts but probably not in ladies' clothing. The strengthening provided by a flat-felled seam justifies the additional time it would have taken to make the seam.

Here is a front view of the blouse made up in a dark cotton remnant, both without and with the belt:

This is an unprinted pattern.

Originally posted on 4 July 2008, substantially rewritten with new information on 5 January 2024.