A Small History of Undergarments: part 1

The Year Dot to 1867

Surprisingly, corsets have been worn since the Minoans and fashionable women of Tiryns and Thebes. These corsets accentuated both a slim waist and the bare breasts. They also served to hold the skirt flat around the hips.

Not much is heard about corsets from then, until the thirteenth century when they appear as outer garments. Men and women wore full-skirted surcoats. Corsets could be worn over these or be used to replace the surcoats during the summer.

As undergarments in the fifteenth century, women wore chemises of fine linen or silk. These garments had sleeves and low-cut necklines, a new fashion frowned upon by the clergy. Over the chemise women often wore a tight-fitting corset or bodice laced in front and cut low to reveal the neckline of the chemise.

In England in the 1700's, hoop petticoats were popular with actresses. These were calf-length underskirts made in starched cloth. Actresses wore them to fill out their skirts and make their waists appear smaller. Later the hooped petticoats were made from tiers of whalebone. In some parts of the world, these petticoats were known as paniers. Paniers came in all shapes and sizes, from functional to bizarre. The more functional paniers called 'cosiderations' were merely short-quilted petticoats lined with horse hair. One of the more bizarre designs was the elbow panier on which a lady could rest her elbows. Despite the ungainliness of these garments, paniers were popular until the reign of Louis XVI. After 1730, the underskirt was modified to be worn flattened in front by a system of cords inside. After 1750, it was split in two and made from strong canvas held over semi-circles of bone.

Corsets went into a short decline from the end of the 1700's owing to the looser fashions and higher waistbands. The corset reappeared in the early 1800's, in the Restoration period. This new corset was not as restricting as previous corsets, but was designed to follow the natural curves of the body. As the waist-line was lowered to its natural place, the corset became a necessity. Softer designs were made to wear at home; other designs were made with metal, equipped so that if no help was available, a lady could lace or unlace her corset by way of a pulley system.

In the 1840's, the crinoline appeared. Crinolines were originally made from a horse-hair cloth called crinoline, hence the name. Crinolines began to replace the woollen or cotton petticoats that were being worn. Men and women increasingly wore corsets and padding to achieve an hour-glass figure. Ladies' underskirts consisted of a series of very stiff petticoats. The outermost was of wool or horsehair. Then a second petticoat was worn, padded from the knees down and boned above. Then a third, white with lots of flounces, and last but not least, a muslin underskirt. All these were worn over a pair of pantaloons. The stiff horsehair crinoline underskirt was worn to support the huge volume of material that was in the crinoline gowns. The crinoline was more or less circular in shape, and was soon replaced by hooped cages of whalebone or metal,these under-garments still took the name crinoline. Although these hooped petticoats did not lift the weight of all those other garments, they were fashionable from 1856 on. The crinoline did not become popular in England until Queen Victoria began to wear it, setting the fashion for the rest of England.

Women wore corsets to shape their bodies. These corsets were made of strong white cotton with a busk board down the front. Women's corsets at this time were not heavily boned garments. They did not tightly lace them -- moderately tight lacing provided enough shape.

The crinoline won favour with all women, despite how difficult it made walking and getting through doorways and generally getting around, they continued to wear them even thouhgh men didn't like them, because they couldn't get anywhere near their women.

Corsets were not considered purely feminine garments, both men and women wore stiff corsets.

A man's corset was a garment used to shape the body, and consisted of rows of fine metal springs. This undergarment pulled in the male waist through the action of the springs. Men had other choices for slimming a waistline. Drawers were available with multiple drawstrings in the waist. These could be adjusted to pull in the waist. They were also designed with extra fullness around the bottom of the waistband which created a broad-hipped look.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the new shape emphasised the waist with wide hips, corsets and many petticoats were worn to achieve this look. Many people believed that wearing tight corsets and long sweeping skirts was detrimental to women's health. A group of reformers tried to persuade women to stop the practice of tight lacing and to shorten their skirts because the long skirts swept up the mud and rubbish that was on the streets. Some of the reformers also thought that the bulk of the petticoats at the waist made it necessary for a women to lace her corsets even tighter to achieve a fashionable figure. They also thought that the weight of all these petticoats and the tightness of the corsets put a strain on a woman's internal organs.

The wearing of crinolines and huge skirts influenced other undergarments. The corset was not so stiff as before and lost its gussets, normally being made of silk and ribbon and had fewer bones.

After 1860 the crinoline lost some of its stiffness and moved with the body and was flattened in front. By 1867, the crinoline was a petticoat with a hooped lower part supporting the comparatively moderate fullness of the newly fashionable princess gowns.

continues in part 2...