A Brief History of Women’s Underwear

The University of Wyoming is home to an archive of undergarments. And its collection of unmentionables—from the simple chemises of the Civil War era to the neon nylon stockings of the go-go years—is definitely worth talking about. In every stitch, there is a story.

The trove of women’s bloomers, drawers, knickers, brassieres, corsets, and girdles is just a small part of the school’s historic clothing collection, with images shared by the University of Wyoming Libraries via JSTOR. Taken together, the intimates trace a timeline of scientific innovation, societal progress, and sometimes surprising aesthetic choices.

White Chemise, ca. 1860. Click on the image to take a closer look.

Yellow Nylon Stockings from the 1960s. Click on the image to take a closer look.

Off-white Stockings, ca. 1900. Click on the image to take a closer look.

Black Stockings from the 1910s. Click on the image to take a closer look.

White Mesh Stockings from the 1920s. Click on the image to take a closer look.

Here you can step through history in stockings. While the Victorian woman who wore that white cotton chemise would have hidden her often-colorful stockings beneath enormous crinolines, offering the barest hint of ankle, the turn-of-the-century woman, in her narrower skirts, knew her shins would be on display when she lifted her hem slightly to climb stairs. Hers might be embroidered with delicate flowers. In the 1910s, hems rose a few inches higher—in a practical and patriotic response to the Great War—and opaque fine mesh styles in geometric patterns became popular. Less than a decade later, wide mesh stockings were a signature look for the flapper, with her skirts hemmed just below the knee.

The flapper style was as functional as it was scandalous; the holes that allowed skin to show through also gave the fabric the stretch necessary for dancing. In 1940 came the invention of nylon undergarments, which meant women of the midcentury could be more comfortable and less revealing in stockings that mimicked some skin tones. That they were followed by their younger sisters in bright, glittering stockings under miniskirts in the 1960s makes a lot more sense when you know what came before.

Peach Cami-Knickers from the 1920s. Click on the image to take a closer look.

Black Bloomers from the 1900s. Click on the image to take a closer look.

Undergarment Envelope Combination from the 1910s. Click on the image to take a closer look.

White Under-split Drawers from the 1890s. Click on the image to take a closer look.

In the collection, you can also see the literal foundations of women’s everyday lives through the decades. A pair of billowy, pleated black bloomers that would have looked a lot like drawers to earlier generations meant freedom to New Women of the 1900s, who bicycled and played sports in the once-scandalous attire. The 1910s envelope combination, a one-piece garment that combined the chemise and drawers, reshaped women’s lives, slimming down the stereotypical silhouette. In the 1920s, the envelope combination evolved into cami-knickers, the undergarment that would define the postwar Jazz Age. Loose, tube-shaped cami-knickers created the boyish shape favored by flappers, and silky, slinky fabrics like crepe de chine added modern allure to once-utilitarian pieces.

Expectations of women—and their underwear—changed yet again after the Second World War. In 1947, French fashion designer Christian Dior debuted a curvy, hourglass style that emphasized a full bust, cinched waist, and sloping hips. The designs were a backlash against the boxy, tailored uniforms of the war era and soon became known as the “New Look”—though any student of fashion history would have recognized the silhouette as a throwback to the previous century. With this new trend came a demand for all-in-one girdles, which shaped the body from bust to hips with elasticized panels and boning, and half slips, which continued the smooth illusion through the upper legs.

Weekly Newsletter

"*" indicates required fields

Browsing the virtual closets of the University of Wyoming, you can assemble an outfit piece by piece. Start with a green ruffled cocktail dress and a veiled black hat, then add a small black clutch and black stilettos designed by Palter DeLiso, until the full picture of a real woman and her story emerges from countless yards and yards of fabric.

The post appeared first on JSTOR Daily.