Dr Kat and Historic Underwear

hello and welcome back to the channel if you're new here hi you're very welcome this is reading the past and i'm dr cat and today we're talking about underwear [Music] lingerie boxers briefs skivvies pants bras over-the-shoulder boulder holders you may know underwear by many different names today because certainly there are a number of terms that we use but what do we know about the history when we look at the famous portraits of the past and we see people dressed elaborately in all of their finery do we ever wonder what they're wearing underneath and if we do how might we go about finding out what techniques might be useful to us unfortunately sparing just a few examples items that are made of historical fabric are quite rare to survive so we don't have very many examples of the materials themselves to speak to so what can we look at well we do have some images and we also have textual resources that we can research from on top of that experimental archaeology has proved for many to be invaluable by making these clothes and then wearing them and performing tasks in them we can learn a lot about them we can take it from image and text to physicality with that being said however there are still gaps these questions and the answers that come to them are open to interpretation while we may not be able to provide definitive statements such as everyone wore so and so in such a way between such and such a date what we can do is provide evidence-based interpretation of the way that clothing was worn by some if not many people in the past and certainly that is what i intend to do today the undershirt shift chemise or smock no doubt other names are also in use this was the go-to foundational garment for many centuries worn by both men and women the length and style of the undershirt differed according to the time period particularly regarding the cut of garments that the undershirt was intended to be worn beneath the gender of the wearer also changed the length as did their social class the material used to form this garment may be very basic hemp for the least affluent in society more common is thought to be linen which could be of increasing fineness depending on wealth it could even be made of silk the undershirt range from floor length to what we might now view as a standard shirt length sleeve length appears to have been equally variable some appear to have almost spaghetti straps while others would reach wrist length necklines might be v-shaped round square or even high-necked the undershirt could be plain or it could be decorated for an example of this we need look no further than the 16th century to the ornately embroidered black work that could be found around the cuffs and necklines of the undergarments of the very wealthy some were even decorated with ruffles at collars and cuffs it is often suggested that these smaller ruffles were the inspiration for the ever-growing starched linen and lace ruffs of the late 16th and 17th centuries the smaller ruffles were a feature on undergarments before during and after the ascendancy of the rough in fashion principally the undershirt functioned to protect the outer garments from the dirt of the body these undergarments were the washable bit outer garments may be made of unwashable materials or a person may not have multiple sets of outer garments making it impractical to wash them often or in fact at all additionally in a humoral medicine context and i have made a video on the four humors which i will be leaving linked in a card linen was perceived to be a healthy choice for somebody to wear next to their skin linen could draw out and absorb any malodorous secretions in short it could deal with any bo issues you may be having without you needing to rely on frequent and as it was seen at the time medically dangerous bathing let's move a little further south to look at the brace i think the closest modern reference or comparison for these items might be boxer shorts as with the undershirt it is believed that linen was the fabric that was most commonly used to make braids they would be worn by men under their clothing presumably although not necessarily in conjunction with an undershirt it's worth also noting that not every man would have worn braise all the time or indeed at all men may have used their undershirt instead of braids particularly when male attire began to include breeches as part of outerwear it is thought that they may have tucked the excess length of their undershirt in between their legs to perform a similar function as braze would have done protecting the clothes from the sweat and stink of the body while we are in this general bodily vicinity it feels like an apt time to bring up the cod piece and when i say cod piece no doubt this is what springs to mind despite appearances the highly padded and ornamented cod piece that henry viii famously sported does not function as underwear or indeed as a holder for the genitalia without wishing to be too graphic if a gentleman were to spend all day in the state of tumescence required to fulfill the requirements of the cod piece i fear he would be rather uncomfortable and frankly possibly unconscious in truth the cod piece functioned in much the same way as a flywood on a modern pair of trousers while also possibly satisfying the desire to brag about yourself in a similar way that sports car ownership seems to today we think that the cod piece probably originated out of the flap that was a feature in some earlier medieval hose or hosen of which i will be talking more in a moment in short it's there to make going to the toilet a little bit easier however i have also heard it suggested that there have been some examples of cod pieces found which appear to have a space to store valuables much like a wallet now let's move on to hose hosen or stockings originally these are more frequently items that are thought to have been worn by men but of course they were not only worn by men they are very similar to modern tights stockings or socks some early examples may have come with soles attached so they could have been worn as shoes they may have come as a one-piece garment so two coverings the legs and feet that were joined around the lower torso at this joint there was perhaps a flap that would offer the same function as a fly which i did mention when talking about the cod piece or perhaps they came with a split opening at the crotch they may also have come as separates which would have been particularly useful if an individual wanted to wear different colors on each leg they could be held up with garters or laced and tied to a doublet with points we think the ladies version when they were worn may well have been shorter perhaps reaching to just below or even just over the knee and tied with a garter the reason the male version was longer is mostly due we think to the fashion at certain points of history of men displaying some or all of the length of their leg hose hosing and stockings were available in a variety of colors and also materials wool and silk are believed to have been the materials that were most commonly deployed to create these garments as might be expected very fine soft wool and silk were reserved for the most privileged in society in many periods of history ladies would also be reliant on petty coats or underskirts these would be worn over their undershirt or chemise to cover the lower half of the body they will be worn for warmth and or to add layers and bulk beneath an overskirt they might be made of wool linen cotton taffeta and silk all of which have been used at one time or another to create these garments there was a particular resurgence in their use for fashion in the mid 20th century and of course they are still being worn today from the 1600s women could use an opening or openings that would be sewn into the side seams of their petticoats to reach their pockets and thus i think it's about time that we seamlessly transition into our discussion of pockets the pocket or pockets would be sewn to a band so they could be tied around a woman's waist beneath her petticoats skirts and other outer garments by being placed under clothing it was thought that this gave the pockets an added layer of security from would-be pickpockets they may have been used to hold money cosmetic items for grooming or even snacks the pocket or pocket should not be confused with a pouch or purse which was worn over clothing by both men and women by attaching it to a belt let's travel north to discuss breast bands or breast bags prior to the use of stays or bodies on which more next many women seem to have made do with wearing just their undershirt or chemise however others may have engaged in a kind of breast binding using something known as breast bands or breast bags in 2008 there was an incredible discovery of items from the 1400s some of which look amazingly like modern bras at langberg castle in austria during a period of renovation a stash of waste was found beneath the floorboards of the second floor of the castle it is believed that this stash of waste was put there during a building project of the 1400s because of this placement and the dry conditions that were found there the wood leather and textile items within this stash of waste were extremely well preserved among all these items were found four fragments of linen that appear to resemble modern bras an additional find was some linen underpants while at least as far as i'm concerned the former item must have been intended for the female form the latter is potentially more questionable so what do you think do you think that these underpants were intended to be worn by a man or a woman let me know in the comments section we're going to stay with items designed to be worn on the torso and move next to looking at an item that has been known by various names stays bodies a pair of bodies or a corset what we are looking at today is the precursor of the modern corset or shapewear the spanx of the day if you will the earlier version may have been made from linen cotton wool or silk and would have been boned using whale bone willow or even reeds to make the garment more rigid a woman may insert a busk down the front of her stays and many of these survive in fact there are a number of carved wooden examples which frequently seem to have been gifted as love tokens from a suitor or husband to his lady or wife and perhaps is unsurprising considering the intimacy of the intended placement of the object with or without a busk the stays held the torso in an upright posture but also help to support and spread the weight of heavy gowns and skirts preventing them from cutting into the skin however the deforming tight lacing that is connected in many modern mines certainly to this undergarment was only possible from the 19th century in order to stop the laces from ripping through the fabric while being tightened to this extreme degree it would be necessary to wait for the introduction of the metal eyelet we should also remember that those who engaged in waste training and tight lacing perhaps then as now numbered in the few rather than the many it was uncomfortable impractical and also caused the body to deform this is not the sort of thing that everybody is going to want or even be able to do it was a very very small number and although we talk about it a lot that doesn't mean it happened a lot long before the invention of the metal eyelet which made waste training and tight lacing possible these garments we think played a vital role in celebration some dance historians suggest that during la volta which was a scandalous dance and a favorite of elizabeth the first the stability of a woman stays may have enabled more gravity-defying lifts to take place perhaps this very special grip or hold is what we are seeing taking place in this painting something else may have drawn your attention in this painting of lovalta and indeed other portraits that we've looked at on this channel namely there seems to be something odd going on with this woman's lower half her hips seem to be unusually large and there are a number of garments that could have created this silhouette or appearance which we're going to be looking at now first up the bum roll or bum pad this was a padded cushion that may have been filled with any number of fillings wood shavings wool horse hair or straw have all been suggested the bum roll or bum pad came in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on the fashion requirements of the clothing that was intended to go over them in particular which silhouette was deemed most desirable at the particular time the bum roll of bum pad would be tied around the waist on top of the states as i mentioned previously one of the functions of the stays is to spread the weight out if you are wearing a bum roll or a bum pad without stays then that tying function that then bears the weight of the skirts could become very heavy and painful in fact could cut into the skin causing injury the purpose of these items was to increase the size of the bottom and or the hips which in turn will make the waist look smaller a farthing gale may also have been deployed this shapewear item might have been worn on its own alternatively it may have been used in conjunction with a bum roll or bomb pad the spanish farthing gale was a hooped underskirt that gave shape to the overskirts we think that these hoops may have been formed or stiffened using willow rope or whale bone centuries later the victorian crinoline would operate in a similar fashion however as time went on with the crinoline it would expand to sizes that were never attempted and perhaps weren't even possible in the case of the father gale another form of the father gale was known as the french wheel great or drum farthing gale this father gale does much the same thing as the hooped underskirt we were just discussing in that it creates a foundation for outer garments albeit in this case clearly the intention is to create a significantly different silhouette later inventions that were intended to reshape the female form are located in the pannier hoops these were used to create projection coming out of the hips alone eventually these items would become the vital scaffolding for the highly inconvenient but terribly fashionable court uniform of the georgian mantua gown unsurprisingly if you look at this item skill and practice were required to stand walk dance and get through doorways well dressed like this being able to wear it elegantly was a mark of your social status your class your breeding and your education they were a courtly affectation last but by no means least let's look at a later addition to this form known as the bustle the bustle was intended to create projection from the rear and the form it took depended very much on the desired size of that projection if a small projection was all that was needed then the bustle could have taken the form of little more than a bum pad if however the wearer wish to make more of a statement to have a larger projection then that bustle would most likely need to take the form of a hooped frame i'm aware that i cannot close out this video without discussing knickers bloomers and drawers but it's a tricksy topic because the point at which women started to wear coverings on their lower halves specifically intended to cover their genitalia is hotly debated some will state absolutely assuredly and fervently that before the 18th century every woman went commando at all times others however will counter this using examples of eleanor of toledo who is said to have owned a pair of draws in 1561. later maria de medici who apparently had many pairs of underwear made for her some 50 years later a big issue for me in the argument that women went commando at all times is i wonder what happened when they were menstruating we believe that many women would have used rags as a feminine hygiene product and if this is the case how on earth would they have been held in place without some form of underwear if we think back to the lengberg castle underpants might this in your mind challenge those claims about there being no ladies underwear until the 18th century when i look at this example and i think about that question of menstruation and how you might hold menstrual rags in place i certainly think that these would have been suitable for that purpose equally they might well have been worn by a woman at any other time nevertheless examples of women in knickers shown in medieval and early modern text and images do not have a positive connotation rather in certain instances the woman in knickers appears to be allegorical for a disruption to the natural order while on other occasions the garment itself seems to hint at the perceived promiscuity of the wearer as beatrix nuts explains quote in his costumes of different nations of 1594 pietro bertelli only shows the venetian courtesan wearing drawers end quote i would argue that a connection between the notion of a medieval woman wearing knickers and promiscuity and chastity is equally bound up in the modern mindset and that is because i think that when many of us think about medieval ladies knickers it's entirely possible that our mind might instantly jump to the chastity belt this terrifying metal contraption we are told was fitted with a lock and the key would be taken away in order to ensure the continued virtue of an unattended woman perhaps she had been left behind when her husband went off to war however it is highly unlikely and i would say virtually impossible that these items were ever worn and certainly not in the way described in fact i would argue that if and it's a very big if this item were ever deployed in this way the first time would have been the last time the thought of a woman being locked into this object by her husband who then takes away the key and goes off to war leaving her trapped in it for days weeks and months just doesn't make any sense how on earth would she have been able to conform to even the most basic hygiene practices while locked into this thing if she could then it definitely wouldn't have been easy and presumably she would have missed spots also wearing an unforgiving metal object for days weeks and months with no chance of escape would have caused damage and it definitely would have caused damage to the skin of her most delicate areas it is my belief that any woman who was convinced coerced or forced into wearing an item like this for any prolonged period of time would have risked injury infection disfigurement and in the worst case death i don't believe the chastity belts were ever actually used but if on the off chance they were then i think it would have been incredibly rare and for far shorter periods of time than has been previously suggested i believe the chastity belt has more in common with the torture implements that i discussed in my video on the history of torture which i'll leave link in the card namely they were for show perhaps for comedy value perhaps to offer a sense of threat and foreboding but i don't believe they were ever actually used but what do you think as always i'm looking forward to reading your conversation in the comments section underneath the video or you can come and find me over on my social media i'll leave links to my instagram and twitter in the description box you can follow me there and we can continue this conversation i do hope you've enjoyed this video and found it useful if you did then please let me know by hitting the thumbs up please also subscribe to the channel and while you're there hit the notification bell beside the subscribe button so that youtube tells you when i've next uploaded i hope you're going to have a great day whatever you're doing and i look forward to speaking to all in my next video take care of yourselves bye for now you

Channel: undefined

Views: 50,155

Rating: 4.9763713 out of 5

Keywords: Education, Literature, Culture, History, Early Modern, Renaissance, Georgian, Corsetry, Underwear, Medieval, Experimental Archeology, Knickers, Codpiece

Id: hzetKdZsyQA

Length: 23min 24sec (1404 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 07 2020