This shirt is referred to here as a “day” shirt to distinguish it from a “night” shirt. Whereas in the 18th century the same shirt would be worn during the day and for sleeping, by the early 19th century, men had separate shirts for sleepwear. Regardless of the purpose, shirt lengths were long to serve as underwear. By the early 19th century, most fabric in America was being produced in water-powered mills. The price of fabric thus became more affordable and people’s wardrobes expanded.