The evolution of female underwear

The evolution of female underwear

QDC1103:Essay
 

The Evolution of female underwear essay and tasks
 

Aneesah Loonat
 

Step 1

Identify possible sources of information

 

Step 2

Read through information and highlight areas concerned

 

Step 3

Write out information in your own words and reference accordingly

 

Step 4

Write out your first draft and proof read it

 

Step 5

Write out essay

 

Underwear is one of the main necessities in our daily lives. Underwear was seen as an under garment in the days of queen Elizabeth but now days in the 21st century underwear is seen as a form of status, wealth and taste. The fancier the taste the more expensive and elaborate the lingerie. The more expensive the lingerie the less fabric or coverage-(how ironic)

Lingerie throughout history has brought woman to want to flatten, conform, mould, plump, squeeze and push out. The purpose of lingerie is to alter the woman’s shape to meet hygiene and modesty needs- although modesty is not so popular in our day and age.

The earliest form of underwear, specific to woman, came from ancient Egypt around 3000 BC women wore narrow tunics as undergarments while slaves and servants wore only simple loin cloths or went naked. This reiterates the wealth and status part of lingerie. Europe adopted and transformed the Egyptian fashion thus bringing us to ancient Greece. Women in classical Greece would wear a band of cloth to support their breasts this did not contain any hemming or sewing and eventually became two separate pieces of clothing which were called the peplos and the chiton. Both garments were ankle long but the peplos was open on one side while the chiton was open on both, this gave the public a good view of the woman she walked, she was exposed. Apodesmos was the name of what we call the modern day bra; these pieces of clothing were not meant for fashion but were meant for function and practicality.

In the Roman era woman generally had larger breasts which was looked down upon because men found it unattractive. This then introduced what is called “cotte” this was used to minimize the size of their busts. In the roman era woman wore a chemise to protect the top layer of clothing from body oils and to provide warmth. They wore these under their petticoats. Europe preferred fitted clothing that went with the shape of the body. Women did not wear underwear during this era, only men wore trousers. Trousers were considered a symbol of male power and women who wore them were wives who wanted to overthrow authority with their husbands. My guess this is where the saying “wears the pants in the relationship” is born.

The first fashionable and functional lingerie was brought about during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The Du Dou is similar to the shape of a bib with straps that tie around the neck and the back; similar to the undergarments in the Roman era it was also to minimize the size of the bust. This garment is still worn in today’s time but not as an undergarment but rather as an outer garment.

In the renaissance, the time where they were reforming fashion, is where the farthingale was born, this consisted of hoops that are worn under the skirt to support them into desired shapes. The Spanish farthingale was the original and the French followed in the late 1570s. This is when the Elizabethans came up with the idea of the “bum roll”, the used to wear something around their waist and under their skirt to accentuate the waist and the hips appear smaller. We now reach the “Basquine”, this is part of the farthingale, and it is a tightly fitted lace under the bodice of heavy material that is attached to the farthingale.

This soon changed in the middle ages in the late 16thcentury as the corset that minimized the waistline was introduced. The times of having big breasts were now embraced. Arriving in the earliest form 4000 years back, the corset, this was designed for more aesthetic purposes rather than practical use. The corset did not fit the user it rather reshaped the user to the fetish of the time. The corset is the most controversial garment in history because of the discussions on whether it is a symbol of status or is it for erotic appeal and whether it successfully oppressed and victimized women to conform. Over the course of time the materials used to make corsets would vary from animal bones, wood to metal rods, hooks, clips, straps and even pulleys. Woman even began to insert whalebone into the Busk (a slot down the centre front of the corset) of the cloth bodies. The Busk was also a love token which was sometimes presented to a suitor when he was interested in a woman.

The corset reached the height of popularity during the Victorian era where both men and woman would wear the corset but soon diminished in the 20th century as new support garments were introduced. This proves that fashions shifts between masculine and feminine no matter what.

During the French revolution there was a revolt against underwear. The 1700s was where women began to shun petticoats, corsets and camisoles, all symbols of French aristocracy were shunned upon as well. Women refused to wear conforming underwear, breasts became the main focus and women started to push their breasts up and out and this is where panties were introduced and were designed by Catherine de Medici.

The Victorian era (1800) introduced the pioneers of lingerie. This era marked the end of the Napoleonic wars and corseted fashion became popular again. Victoria’s Secret adopted their name from this era.

During 1829 – 1876, the first steel Busk fastening was created which allowed woman to put on and take off the corset without a hassle. The corset became elasticised which allowed more comfort. Victorian England introduced silk underwear, laced and trimmed embroideries as well as frilled pantaloons. Hoop skirts were supported by crinolines (steel structure with a corset and petticoats). Garters were now introduced to anchor the corset so it could not ride up.

1890 was when corsets were gradually been done away with and then introduced the brassiere. It was not till 1914 that the brassiere was introduced which was designed by Mary Phelps Jacobs she invented this by tying two handkerchiefs together with ribbons. Instead of pushing the breasts together the “bra” separated each breast and it was backless unlike the corset. In the 1920s the individual cup sizes followed. The brassier was pronounced more comfortable to the woman of the world than the corset. Woman in the early 1900s became involved in sports and vigorous dancing which lead them to abandon the corset and embrace the brassiere as it was more practical. At this point in history women were going towards a more streamline and almost boyish figure. World War I and the women activists at the time demanded the demise of the corset. Women started to turn to the girdle and restrictive garments that had suspender clips attached to hold up stockings this lead to the flapper look of the 1920s.

During 1923-1945, maternity wear was outsold by plus size lingerie designed by Lane Bryant for the first time by bringing in $5 million in revenue. The “bra” started to now accentuate the breasts instead of flattening them. Warner Brothers became the labellers of the cup sizes; A, B, C and D these are the sizes we use today. During the World War II there was a short supply of the materials that were used to make undergarments so this is when they started using synthetic materials such as Lycra, Rayon and Lastex. In this time period Marilyn Monroe became famous for a voluptuous and modelled for lingerie advertisements which were painted by hand in this era.

In 1947 the hourglass silhouette was revolutionized and also known as the “wasp waist” which brought the corset and girdles back into fashion to achieve this look. The push up bra was invented and designed by Frederick Mellinger. The push up bra had brought back what the corset had which was aesthetic edge and sex appeal.

The golden age for lingerie was during the 1950-1970, the 1950s had now fully embraced the hourglass figure and the bra had taken new shapes and solidified itself for every woman due to the film industry. “Sweater girls” which were made famous through stars such as Lana Turner because of the cone shaped bras, small waits and full hips. Bettie Page, ofcourse, got her name through wearing risqué lingerie in the 1940s. Joan Collins was one of the first to model the seamed stockings and curve hugging “Basques”. The freedom of not wanting to conform and have the freedom to wear what you like was during the 1960s, women’s liberation was rife at this time.

With the women’s liberation being rife a new style emerged where woman became more girly and youthful which intern introduced the baby doll night dresses and frilly knickers. In 1966 the modern bra shapes became recognizable and underwear became more playful and patterns developed. Women now had the freedom of choice.

The 1970s held more sophistication and class. Underwear materials changed, fabrics became more luxurious which introduced lace and silk.

In the 1980s technology met the brassiere. Cleavage hit the decade with a bang which introduced the creation of Wonderbra which allowed women who were not as blessed as others to have a cleavage could now afford to have one. The Wonderbra introduced the push and plunge effect which became a desirable effect for men. Padded and underwire bras became popular top selling items along with Victoria’s Secret and Fredrick’s of Hollywood all big lingerie lines. Padded, gel-filled and air-filled, staples and backless lingerie became the contemporary lingerie of the time. This decade also introduced the infamous body suit worn by Cher. Then panties took a new form and the thong as well as the G-String was introduced. Women at this stage of history have more choices available to them than ever before.

1990 introduced the newest supermodel who modelled for Calvin Klein, Kate Moss. Madonna was also one of the statement stars of this time when she wore her pointy bras from Jean Paul Gautier as outer wear on her tours. 1994 held the birth of the most iconic outdoor advert that caused several motorists to crash their cars. The billboard advert ‘Hello Boys’ who starred supermodel Eva Herizgova, she posed for Wonderbra.

From 2000 onwards underwear was the main attraction and proved that sex always sells. 2001 brought sexy back when Agent Provocateur was voted the sexiest of all time which featured Kylie Minogue and soon after Kate Moss became the face of Agent Provocateur. Dita Von Teese she is the face of 2008 by bringing vintage lingerie back into the fashion limelight. Dita brought back corsets, stockings and suspenders. Dita became the face of modern vintage pin-up.

Victoria’s Secret a name we are all aware of today is the biggest selling American brand and is internationally recognized. Their yearly catwalk shows are highly waited upon and are legendary.

Now that we have an understanding as to where our not so private essentials come from and know that they were once just a piece of cloth or had animal bone pushed into it at one stage and that it was a really painful affair to conform to society, we can be grateful for our fitting sexy underwear. Lingerie has made many statements over the years and each time it reflected the social status to a symbol of sex appeal. Woman were taught to conform and then fought to steer away from conformity so I think it is safe to say that underwear matters.