The history of long underwear; also known as thermal underwear, or affectionately some call it “long johns”. An invention born out of convenience and advancements in technology. Elastic and rubber meant waistbands and no longer needing to be “sewn into” your full body of long underwear for the winter.

Where did the term “Long Johns” come from?

The story behind the term is not as cut-and-dry as is the story with jockstraps, nonetheless there are some clever ideas out there.

One school of thought comes from the foundation of “long johns” being found in Derbyshire, England. There has been a company there with a 225 year history. The story says that John Smedley’s Lea Mills, is the creator of the actual garment and it was then named for heavy weight boxer John L. Sullivan (19th century). The company still does produce long johns.

A second school of thought has been put forward that the term “long johns” comes in fact from the french term for the garment; “longues jambes” (long legs).

A little Canadiana History in the story of long johns. First introduced to 17th century England, becoming popular as sleepwear in the following 18th century; it was near the end of the 19th century when 2 Canadian brothers (Myles and John) created the famous Stanfield’s Unshrinkable Underwear. 07 December 1915 the first pair of long johns were introduced by a Canadian, Frank Stanfield.