In the mass fashion market of the 20th century, a successful spread of machine-knitted clothing can be observed. T-shirts and sweatshirts were transformed from youth anti-fashion to upper clothing in the post-war period and established themselves as well-designed and widely accepted all-round garments. In the second half of the 19th century, the knitting and hosiery industry emerged as a flexible new player in the developing ready-to-wear market. In the ideal form of factory-organized operations, knitwear factories and mechanical knitting mills combined fabric production and garment manufacturing within a single company. Underwear and outerwear made from soft knitted fabric were initially in demand primarily as sportswear and reform clothing. Through symptomatic garment types and production regimes, the narrative unfolds.