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Long underwear, often called long johns, is a style of two-piece underwear with long sleeves and long legs that is normally worn during cold weather. It offers an advantage over the union suit
Union suit

A union suit is a type of one-piece long undergarment. Created in Utica, New York, United States, it originated as women's wear during the nineteenth-century United States Victorian dress reform, as an alternative to constricting garments, and soon gained popularity among men as well....
 in that the wearer can choose to wear either the top, bottom, or both parts depending on the weather. Long underwear are also less commonly known as "long handles".

Modern long underwear has largely supplanted the one-piece union suit.






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Long underwear, often called long johns, is a style of two-piece underwear with long sleeves and long legs that is normally worn during cold weather. It offers an advantage over the union suit
Union suit

A union suit is a type of one-piece long undergarment. Created in Utica, New York, United States, it originated as women's wear during the nineteenth-century United States Victorian dress reform, as an alternative to constricting garments, and soon gained popularity among men as well....
 in that the wearer can choose to wear either the top, bottom, or both parts depending on the weather. Long underwear are also less commonly known as "long handles".

Modern long underwear has largely supplanted the one-piece union suit. It is usually made from a cotton or cotton-polyester blend fabric with a box-weave texture, although some varieties are also made from flannel
Flannel

Flannel is a soft #Weave fabric, of various fineness. It usually doesn't have a nap , and instead gains its softness through the loosely spun yarn it is woven from....
, particularly the union suit, while many newer varieties are made from polypropylene
Polypropylene

Polypropylene or polypropene is a thermoplastic polymer, made by the chemical industry and used in a wide variety of applications, including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes....
, such as the Capilene
Capilene

Capilene is the clothing company Patagonia 's name for its polyester material with a hydrophilic surface finish. Capilene is made out of polypropylene....
 trade name.

The type known as "thermal underwear" is made from two-ply fabric, which uses trapped body heat to insulate against cold air.

Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford
Benjamin Thompson

Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford , Fellow of the Royal Society was an English-American physics and inventor whose challenges to established physical theory were part of the 19th century revolution in thermodynamics....
 has been credited with inventing thermal underwear.

An adjustable two-piece design is credited to Truro, Nova Scotia
Truro, Nova Scotia

Truro is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County, Nova Scotia and is located on the south side of the Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth at the eastern end of Cobequid Bay....
 native Frank Stanfield
Frank Stanfield

Frank Stanfield was an entrepreneur and political figure in Nova Scotia, Canada. He represented Colchester County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1911 to 1920 and from 1925 to 1928 as a Conservative Party of Nova Scotia member....
 of Stanfield's Limited
Truro, Nova Scotia

Truro is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County, Nova Scotia and is located on the south side of the Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth at the eastern end of Cobequid Bay....
 who patented his design on 7 December 1915. Earlier, in 1898 Frank Stanfield and his brother John
John Stanfield

John Stanfield was an industrialist and political figure in Nova Scotia, Canada. He represented Colchester in the Canadian House of Commons from 1907 to 1917 as a Conservative Party of Canada member....
 had developed a product called Stanfield's Unshrinkable Underwear.

The pants are known as "Charlie Pants" on the US TV show "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" and this name has started to catch on with the general public.

Etymology of "Long Johns"

According to Michael Quinion
Michael Quinion

Michael Quinion is a British etymologist and writer. He runs the web site World Wide Words, devoted to linguistics. He graduated from Cambridge University, where he studied physical sciences after which he joined BBC radio as a studio manager....
, "John" may be a reference to boxer John L. Sullivan
John L. Sullivan

John Lawrence Sullivan was recognized as the first heavyweight champion of Boxing from February 7 1882 to 1892, and is generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring rules....
, who wore a similar looking garment in the ring. This explanation, however, is uncertain and the word's origin is ultimately unknown.