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
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.
