Help with dating boys knickers?

[Jamie Jennings-Gee]

Hi, I'm new here and hope I'm in the right place for some help. I love vintage clothing and recently acquired some great boys knickers, but don't know their origin or how to date them. I'm afraid I'm not overly knowledgeable about fabrics/and terms so please bare with me on my descriptions. They are a navy/tan marled corduroy fabric with stretchy knit cuffs. They are lined in a natural fabric (I want to call it muslin?) which is "aged" looking. They are very well constructed by machine with a zipper (Rapid) and snap (United Carr Dot Snappers). Two inside tags. One says "Happy Kid, Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.". The other says (difficult to read, so I believe this is what it says)...Garment made of Cravenette, WEE DUROY, Reg. U.S. Pat. Off, Hockmeyer Fabric. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[poppysvintageclothing]

Hi Jamie,

Please include a photo so we can see them.

http://forums.vintagefashionguild.org/threads/faq-how-to-post-a-photo.52756/

 

[Jamie Jennings-Gee]

Thanks Mary Jane for responding. Here are some pictures of the knickers.

 

[Jamie Jennings-Gee]

Oops sorry the one label picture is so blurred. Trying again.

 

[fuzzylizzie]

The zipper is a good clue. Very few clothing items had zippers before the late 1930s, but children's clothing makers were an early user. Both labels say the name is registered at the trademark office, but I could not find a record of either one. Maybe someone with better search skills than me can locate them.

Oh, I found Twee Duroy. It was first used in 1922.

My best guess: later 20s through late 30s.

 

[poppysvintageclothing]

Those are adorable. I have always liked that two-toned corduroy!

 

[fuzzylizzie]

Okay, I did a search for United Carr Dot Snappers and they were first used in 1938. My amended guess is that these date from the late 30s, through pre-war 40s.

 

[Jamie Jennings-Gee]

Thanks Fuzzylizzie and Mary Jane. I've been searching around myself. I found the Snappers dating back to 1939. Googling "Hockmeyer and Twee Duroy" (thanks! I was totally ignoring that "T" on the label as part of a border) got me a great 1933 newspaper ad with a picture of what looks just like/described like these knickers as part of a boys suit for $7. I'm guessing they made these suits throughout the 1930's until??. I think you are right about the latter age guess. It would seem that above the knee knickers (popular in 20's, but disfavored by boys) fell out of favor for below the knee (as these would be) in the 30's into the 40's. I'm so tickled with these. Other than a really poor job somebody did fixing a seam separation in the seat (with a glaring mis-match thread stitched all wonky) these are in fantastic shape. I plan to remedy that travesty asap.