Vintage Advertisement of the Week – September 12, 2024
Vintage Advertisement taken from the Ladies Home Journal – October 1956.
It all started in Warwick, Rhode Island, back in 1851. Two brothers named Robert and Benjamin Knight purchased a mill and started spinning cotton into cloth to make undergarments and affordable clothing.1 Thus, cotton became the fruit of the loom.
The iconic brand’s trademark, fruit piled up aplenty, was designed in stages and over the years. (Note, when we think of Fruit of the Loom, our brains automatically insert a cornucopia. The truth is there is no evidence Fruit of the Loom ever used a cornucopia as their trademark. Just like the Monopoly Man never wore a monocle. it’s our brains getting confused with Mr. Peanut. In the case of Fruit of the Loom, it could be our brains getting confused with a Thanksgiving centerpiece. I digress…) The origin story lands squarely on the shoulders of Rufus Skeel’s daughter, Jessica Skeel. Rufus was a cloth merchant from Providence, RI. While visiting the factory with her dad, Jessica painted fruit on bolts of muslin clothes the company was to use. The marketing department found out the products that had her painted fruits on them sold more than the plain items. Jessica started out by painted a swaar apple, a fruit her family enjoyed.2
Swaar Apple Photo3
The Fruit of the Loom logo has changed over the last century. But fruit has always been its focal point.
The goal of Fruit of the Loom during the mid-20th century onwards was to sell high quality, affordable undergarments. The biggest innovation for the underwear industry, besides affordable pricing and high quality, was the 3-pack. They began selling men’s boxer briefs in 3-packs in the 1940s. They were also the first underwear manufacturer to advertise on television in the 1950s.
Fast forward to the 1980s. Anybody else remember the Fruit of the Loom Guys? They were eerily similar to the Kool-Aid Man. Check out this cheesy commercial featuring them in 1987, complete with David Allen Grier no less! I’m trying to figure out what the guy in the brown is supposed to be. A raisin? A date? A pineapple? If you know, please put me wise.
There are so many highlights to a company that has been around for over a century and is still going strong. From their partnership with sports leagues and clothing manufacturers (baseball and basketball) to their helping make parachutes for the Allied Troops in WWII, to providing for the everyday American, they really made their mark on the clothing industry. Check out a fun timeline just some of Fruit of the Loom’s highlights over the years here.
Back to the vintage ad at the very top. The guys look like they are straight out of Leave to Beaver or Father Knows Best. Even going causal back then was keen. Everyone looks so crisp and put together.
I am honestly salivating over the simple elegance of the outfits the mother and daughter have on. It looks like they are ready to go camping in very comfy, yet spiffy clothes. Where oh where can I get some Fruit of the Loom corduroys for $3.98 and a snazzy red zip up jacket like that for only $4.29. When I do the math, it’s not as cheap as it sounds. That would be $46.06 and $49.56 respectively. Yet, for high quality, comfortable, nifty clothes, I would pay it. Maybe it’s not outlet prices, but it’s not too far off the mark.
The ad at the top really hits home to the driving force of apparel purchasing power in the 1940’s, 1950’s and onward. It is speaking directly to the matriarch of the family. Advising her to buy Fruit of the Loom for her entire family. If she does it shows she cares. It also shows those around her family that they have good, yet sensible taste. What else would you expect from a century old company founded in the heart of New England? Sensible, practical, quality made goods.
Look good and loom large with Fruit of the Loom.
- “Fruit Story – Static.” Www.fruit.com, http://www.fruit.com/fruit-story-static.html.
↩︎ - “History – Fruit of the Loom, Inc.” Fruit of the Loom, Inc., 2019, http://www.fotlinc.com/our-company/history/. Accessed 11 Sept. 2024.
↩︎ - Swaar Apple Tree. “Swaar Apple Tree.” Trees of Antiquity, 2019, http://www.treesofantiquity.com/products/swaar-apple-tree?srsltid=AfmBOoplFpQlsrwIPnfPYpXdd1muOI2j0iMk8bJXEGPiMslRp6csvZH2. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.
↩︎
Tidbits and Timemachines 