''Showtoons'' were a trademark of unisex children's

underwear Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

that were manufactured by Hanes, established in 1989, and disestablished in 2009. Its competitor, Fruit of the Loom, manufactured the gender-specific '' Funpals'' (for boys) and '' FunGals'' (for girls) brands. The reasoning behind the brand segregation is for marketing purposes.

Summary

Each individual undergarment started out as a pair of either plain white briefs or plain white panties until the desired prints are added in the manufacturing process. Differences found between the male and female undergarments included the fly in the boys' underwear (for easier urination) and the feminine waistband in the girls' underwear (emulating that of women's full cut panties). The softness of the

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor p ...

fabric used could have also determined whether the undergarment was to be worn by a male child or a female child when outside of its original packaging box. Examples of

Saturday morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a ...

s and movie

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

s that appeared on a pair of Showtoons underwear included Tinkerbell,

Blue's Clues ''Blue's Clues'' is an American live-action/animated children's television series, created by Angela C. Santomero, Todd Kessler, and Traci Paige Johnson, that premiered on Nickelodeon as part of its Nick Jr. block on September 8, 1996, and c ...

, and the

PBS Kids GO! PBS Kids Go! was an educational television brand used by PBS for programs aimed at early elementary-age children, in contrast to the younger, preschool target demographic of PBS Kids. Most PBS member stations aired the PBS Kids Go! block on ...

television show

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more w ...

. Characters that were considered to be "retro" and "vintage" on Showtoons underwear (and no longer sold in most retail stores) included The Smurfs, Jonny Quest, and TaleSpin. The word "showtoons" was considered to be a pun on the phrase ''

show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. ...

s'' (which happened to be music played at Broadway

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

s) and a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsshow business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

" and "cartoons." The Showtoons name by itself does not determine whether the product was suitable for boys or girls. Girls' underwear were always packaged as

panties Panties (in American English; also called pants, undies, or knickers in British English) are a form of women's underwear. Panties can be form-fitting or loose. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the ge ...

; the equivalent for juvenile males were always packaged as

briefs Briefs (or a brief) are a type of short, form-fitting underwear and swimwear, as opposed to styles where material extends down the thighs. Briefs have various different styles, usually with a waistband attached to fabric that runs along the ...

. Unlike Funpals which had a large cartoon graphic at the center of the undergarment, Showtoons uses a small but plentiful amount of cartoon graphics throughout the undergarment. In the Americas, Showtoons were made in either

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by ...

or Honduras in manufacturing plants similar to adult underwear.

References

Products introduced in 1989 Products and services discontinued in 2009 Children's underwear Underwear brands {{fashion-stub

Summary

See also

References