Finding Minnesota: The History Of Munsingwear Underwear

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Underwear is often an afterthought in our day-to-day life, but it gets a little more attention at the Minnesota History Center.

There are more than 3,200 historic pieces in the center's basement, dating back nearly 200 years.

And each one, believe it or not, has a unique story.

Linda McShannock is an associate curator for the Minnesota Historical Society. But she holds another title that is just as important.

"I'm the underwear lady," McShannock said. "I've been working with underwear my entire career here at MHS, because we have the best underwear collection in the nation."

And for McShannock, that is something to brag about.

"Mostly it's kept in your dresser drawer, and now it's under lock and key," she said.

The collection is kept in the basement, where room temperature is always 65 degrees and sodium vapor lights keep the fabric from fading.

Many of these undergarments were made by the Minneapolis-based Munsingwear Company.

George Munsing, an engineer and the founder of Munsingwear, thought wool underwear was too itchy. So he fixed the problem by putting silk on the inside and wool on the outside. After that, going commando was not an option.

Munsingwear also started making girdles, gowns and bras.

"We have a lot of 1930s bras in the collection," McShannock said.

They even dabbled in lingerie.

"You've heard of the term loose woman? That would refer to a woman who would go around not wearing a girdle," she said.

But times changed, and Munsingwear changed with it. Laces came from Switzerland; fashion ideas came from Paris.

"It's kind of like the movies. They went from black and white to color over time," McShannock said. "Advertising. They tried to sell more underwear."

Munsingwear's underwear treasures also show how they helped U.S. troops during World Wars I and II and the Korean War by making undershirts for soldiers.

"So much of their underwear production went to troops," McShannock said.

And the brief history of underwear would not be complete without briefs, complete with the patented kangaroo pouch, which needs no explaining.

"We have a piece from the 1930s and another piece from the 1970s," McShannock said.

It is all about weaving the fabrics with a story. Many of the undergarments have been donated, but they all had to visit a washing machine before ending up at MHS.

"We want things to have been worn because that's part of their history," McShannock said.

When Munsingwear closed its doors in the early 1980s, they donated their collection to the History Center. Other underwear artifacts have come from donations.

The underwear exhibit is not open to the public. For more information on the exhibit, call 651-259-3000.