Women sewing, Munsingwear Corporation, Minneapolis, 1920. Photograph by C. J. Hibbard.

Women at knitting machines, Munsingwear Corporation, Minneapolis, 1920. Photograph by C. J. Hibbard.

Woman at Munsingwear knitting machine, undated.

Employees of the Northwestern Knitting Company, makers of Munsingwear, grouped in front of the Mammoth Modern Model Munsingwear Mills, Lyndale and Western Avenues, Minneapolis, 1912.

Munsingwear advertising painting, 1914.

Munsingwear Advertisement, featuring women's underwear, 1920s.

Parade float in Oklahoma displaying Munsingwear union suits, c.1908.

Men's full length Munsingwear union suit, 1890. The union suit is knit of a wool and cotton blend and has long sleeves, a high neck, full open front with twelve white buttons, and a back flap. The suit's knit cuffs are sewn to each sleeve and leg opening.

Munsingwear Advertisement from Ladies' Home Journal, 1897.

MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds

Minneapolis-based Munsingwear cornered the union suit market in the early 1900s and went on to become the largest underwear company in the world. MN90 producer Marisa Helms tells us that Munsingwear’s rise to under garment dominance all started with the invention of “itchless wool,” a revolution in its time.