Origin of the American Use of Dungarees

[Wilson Gray]

Carter Rila writes:

"My granddad wore union suits all his life."

Mine, too, down home in East Texas, regardless of the season, the
weather, or the temperature: sleeves to his wrists, legs to his
ankles, just as you see cowboys wearing in Western movies.

There were also union suits with short sleeves and short legs. As a
young'un, I wore these, even after my branch of the family moved up to
Saint Louis.

-Wilson Gray
–––
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
-Mark Twain



On Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 8:26 PM, Carter Rila <elcutachero at yahoo.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Carter Rila <elcutachero at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Origin of the American Use of Dungarees
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> You folks are all too young to have experienced the clothing worn before WW=
> II and just after. It was the custom for farm boys to go barefoot and wear =
> only bib overalls. No shirt no undies. Adults who worked the crops did wear=
>  shirts with overalls and probably undies. My granddad wore union suits all=
>  his life.
> http://pro.corbis.com/search/Enlargement.aspx?CID=3Disg&mediauid=3D%7B498E8=
> AB2-859B-4D66-9BE2-453E57A6D754%7D=A0
> And there was an abbreviated one piece sleeveless garment=A0worn by men and=
>  especially by city boys who wore shorts year round with knee socks.=20
> http://www.costumes.org/history/20thcent/1930s/realsilk/10underwear.jpg
> I saw a lot=A0of=A0old movie shorts and films like Our Gang, and the Fighti=
> ng Sullivans, five brothers who joined the Navy and were lost when their sh=
> ip was torpedoed. They grew up in a small town so their clothing was more d=
> ignified than farm boys=A0but less formal than what city boys wore. Althoug=
> h before WWII the official Boy Scout uniforms had long-sleeve shirts and sh=
> orts with knee socks. See Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms series.=20
> As to dungarees, the term originated in the Indian subcontinent and was car=
> ried by the British and Indian troops to Malaya where the US Navy kept ship=
> s on the China Station and the Yangtze River Patrol.
> Dungarees were dark trousers and light blue shirts. They were worn only on =
> dirty duty such as in the Submarine Service and by the "black gangs", those=
>  who worked in the below decks ratings, Motor Machinist, Coal-passer, Water=
>  Tender, and other dirty conditions.
> The deck ratings, Radiomen, Quartermasters (navigation assistants), Radiome=
> n, Gunners, etc, etc, wore undress blues or whites for service and dress wi=
> th the decorated cuffs and collars for liberty.=20
> In recent years the hobby of impressionism has become popular. Original war=
> time garments are scarce and now are collectable as artifacts. In addition,=
>  with the modern diet few can wear the sizes of those days. So most cannot =
> wear their original unforms even if they still have them. Impressionists pu=
> t on demonstrations and wear exact replicas of everything from the skin out=
> . They also use replica weapons in the case of the Civil War dor the origin=
> als have so much value as collectables. This has been true since the late f=
> ifties.
> Here is one listing for USN dungarees as worn late in WWII. Belted trousers=
>  with loops
> http://www.wwiiimpressions.com/usn.html
> The original pattern adopted for general duty had=A0a long sleeve=A0chambra=
> y shirt and trousers with patch pockets adjusted by a white shoe lace throu=
> gh eyelets on the small of the back. Also prominent=A0bell-bottom legs. The=
>  Coast Guard wore USN unidorma except for insignia.
> http://www.uscg.mil/history/gifs/Uniform_WWII_6_300.jpg
> Navy Seabees and Advanced Base personell wore their own olive drab cotton u=
> niforms of different cut than Army or Marine patterns.=A0These were collect=
> ively referred as utilities by Navy and Marines alike.=A0This is the USN wo=
> rking uniform.
> http://www.uscg.mil/history/gifs/Assisting_Wounded_Iwo_Jima.jpg
> Remember in olden days a fleet sailor could wear conspicuous clothing becau=
> se he was not the target, he was on the target. !
> Here is a modern version of the erstwhile USN dungaree trousers. Note both =
> male and female versions. The latter pattern is much more recent than even =
> Vietnam.
> http://www.militaryhq.com/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=3D52
> =A0
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org