Pierre Valton founded Petit Bateau in 1893 in Troyes. From 1912 he started a series of revolutionary innovations, beginning with the white t-shirt: in 1918 Valton cut the legs off long johns and invented the culotte, and in 1980 came front-buttoned onesies to make diaper changing easier. In 1950, inspired by solders who could change their underclothes without even taking off their helmets, came the American neckline, a special seam that allowed easy insertion of the head and arms of the baby into the onesie.