Rare M one piece CENTENARY BRAND HORROCKSES CLOTH 1910-1914 Split Crotch "corset cover and drawers in one" or "combination chemise and drawers."

This is a wonderful example of Edwardian lingerie, and that little woven tag is the key to dating it. Size M this actually fits me with room to spare I'm a 8-10 Excellent condition.SLit crotch so open at the crotch I'll add more images

So with the open drawers visible, this piece sits firmly as 1891-1912, most likely 1900-1910, and it's a more collectible early form than a closed version.

That split is not damage and it's not a later fetish style. Before about 1910-1914 almost all women's drawers were made open like that. They were worn under the corset and garters so you couldn't pull them down to use a chamber pot. The overlap of the wide legs kept it modest under a long skirt.

What the tag means

The tag reads ESTD 1791 CENTENARY BRAND HORROCKSES CLOTH with the little seamstress figure.

Horrockses was not the dressmaker, they were the cotton mill that made the cloth.

The business was founded by John Horrocks who built his first mill spinning cotton on Dale Street in Preston in 1791. By the late 19th century it had grown to become the biggest manufacturer in the town and was famous for quality cotton sheets and longcloths. 

In 1887 the firm merged with Crewdson, Crosses and Co. and to mark its 100th anniversary they created the "Centenary Brand" in 1891. So any garment with this label has to be after 1891. The company was originally established by John Horrocks as a textile manufacturer in 1791, and that 1791 date is the company's founding, not the garment's date. 

That woven picture of a woman sewing is their trademark for longcloth that was finished to a standard fine enough for underwear and bridal trousseaus. Quality cotton sets from their mills in Preston were often kept unopened as trousseau items. 

Horrockses later became famous for something else, they launched a hugely successful fashion line in 1946 that dressed Queen Elizabeth II, but your piece is from the earlier, cotton cloth era. 

What the garment is

What you have is a Combination Suit, also catalogued at the time as "corset cover and drawers in one" or "combination chemise and drawers."

The museum description for this exact type is: Lady's white lawn and lace all-in-one combination undergarment. The handmade underwear is a combined chemise and bloomers. It has four buttons in the front and is trimmed with lace on the neckline. 

Yours is a textbook example:

_ Form: sleeveless bodice with deep V yoke, button front, fitted with side pin tucks, and knee length knicker legs gathered into eyelet ruffles

_ Fabric: fine white cotton lawn, which is Horrockses longcloth

•  Trim: Broderie Anglaise eyelet insertion and edging, plus the baby pink silk ribbon run through beading, very typical 1905 to 1912

Dating and historical context

This style replaced two separate pieces, the chemise and the open drawers, with one.

Edwardian women often wore combination underwear instead of a separate chemise and drawers to reduce the bulk at the waist. A 1911 manual put it plainly: "Combinations combine the slip bodice and drawers type, and are certainly more economical than two separate garments." 

That mattered because the Edwardian silhouette was all about a tiny waist and a smooth, close fitting skirt over an S-bend corset. Two waistbands created lumps. One did not.

Based on the Centenary label and the cut, yours is most likely 1900 to 1912, with the sweetest spot around 1905 to 1910. The wide eyelet yoke, the low V with ribbon bow, and the bloused knicker bottoms with frills are peak Edwardian lingerie dress.

These were worn directly next to the skin under the corset, so they were washable workhorses, but also a place for a woman to show needlework skill and femininity where only she would see it.

Why collectors love this piece

1.  Original cloth label intact: Most lost their tags, and Horrockses woven tags are collectible in themselves

2.  Uncut and unaltered: with the original buttons, eyelet, and that pink ribbon, The ribbon looks replaced to me

3.  Transitional history: it shows the move from Victorian separate drawers to the modern slip and later the teddy

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