Spotlight on the history of underwear
of underwear
In every age, man has sought to cover his private parts. For reasons of survival, but also out of concern for morality and hygiene, the first ancestors of underwear were born: animal skins, linen and underpants came to dress the sex. The history of underwear is full of surprises, and we had to be patient to finally see the arrival of “shortened panties”! In fact, before they existed as we know them today, underwear underwent quite a few scissors cuts…
First of all, what is underwear ?
The dictionary tells us that it’s a piece of lingerie or hosiery worn under clothing. We immediately think of panties, briefs and more feminine undergarments such as bras. In fact, as you continue reading this article, you’ll see that underwear, in some eras, didn’t look at all like you’d imagine
How did the underwear come about ?
The idea of covering intimate parts of the body has never left man, who remains the only mammal to wear clothes. But why? Let’s go back in time to find out.
1/ Climatic conditions played a key role
Early prehistoric man didn’t cover his sex and the rest of his body to hide them, but to fight the cold and survive! Man used whatever he could find to protect himself from the vagaries of the weather, and made his own clothes, including loincloths from animal skins. The presence of sewing tools such as bone-based needles in burials attests to the fact that Neanderthal man, for example, worked with leather and even plant fibers.
In Ancient Egypt, loincloths such as the “Chendjit” worn by men were not intended to conceal their sexual attributes, but simply to protect them from the sun and insect bites! These undergarments resembled a kind of scarf, held together by a cord or fabric belt.
2/ The quest of comfort and hygiene.
In Ancient Egypt, nudity was not taboo, and the emphasis was on light, comfortable undergarments and freedom of movement. Egyptian women’s tunics are reminiscent of modern-day negligees. Fabrics are transparent and fluid. The skin breathes. The body shows beneath the garment. In Ancient Greece, the body was also revealed through clothing.
bras and Subligaculum
The “Perizoma” or “Perizonium” first appeared in Ancient Greece. A kind of short skirt or loincloth, adopted by men and women alike. The Greeks draped their genitals for practicality and hygiene: these drapes were easy to remove to enjoy the thermal baths, and just as easy to put back on. The loincloths or underpants are soft and rolled over the hips. They are held in place with pins or braided cords.
In Ancient Rome, we also find the Subligaculum (meaning “to bind underneath”), which is very similar to briefs, or even a bikini! These short breeches, which pass between the legs and fasten over the hips, seem to have been reserved for the elite and for the practice of certain sports, as certain mosaics show. They even depict what looks like the ancestor of the bra, the fascia pectoralis. It is thought that these undergarments were occasionally worn under men’s togas or women’s stolas.
In Europe, traces have been found of the existence of body linen very close to the idea of today’s breeches. The image below bears witness to this. The cut and the drawstring system on the side are reminiscent of swim briefs.
Lengberg Castle in Tyrol.
3/ The need to protect the genitals
Civilizations quickly understood that sexual organs were the guarantors of their descendants and also of their pleasure. So it became imperative to protect them! In the Middle Ages, braies first made their appearance: to carry out daily tasks, people adopted these loose-fitting and sometimes thick underpants that offered support and protection to their virility. If you’d like to know all about braies, check out this site: Fief et Chevalerie. Everything is detailed and illustrated.
But the wars between peoples that were breaking out everywhere called for other solutions! The shell was invented, a kind of armature usually made of solid, rigid materials to cover the combatants’ penises. The shell’s hump became a symbol of virility. These shells were worn by troops, knights and then kings, and remained popular until the Renaissance. Some were magnificently decorated or sculpted with arabesques, like veritable jewels.
cockles under his tunic.
4/ Did restraint underwear ever exist ?
You’ve all heard the stories of lords in the Middle Ages who forced their wives to wear a chastity belt to prevent them from having sexual relations before setting off on their crusades. Many historians believe these to be legends, since there are no official sources or serious documents attesting to their existence. The rare models on display in museums are not medieval artefacts, but are thought to have been made from scratch by jokers much later. That said, there is a real chastity belt dating back to 1870 and designed in the USA. It was designed to prevent male masturbation! The idea of an undergarment created to prevent pleasure is chilling.
When it comes to constraint, it’s impossible not to mention women’s lingerie that has lasted for centuries: the corset! First conceived in the Middle Ages, with strips of leather and no real structure, it then became rigid and very constricting, squeezing the breasts so tightly and slimming the waist so much that women came close to suffocating. In the 17th and 18th centuries, corsets were de rigueur and the body was tortured to enhance the silhouette. Needless to say, this had a disastrous impact on body shape and health. It wasn’t until the early 19th century that the corset became more flexible, before disappearing. If you’d like to find out more, don’t hesitate to visit the Palais Galliera in Paris to discover the 5,000 items on display relating to body linen, corsetry and lingerie!
Panties revolutionize the underwear world
But let’s talk about the essential underwear: panties. The appearance of panties changed our lives! Long reserved for men, they took various forms and became “shorter” before becoming the unisex “panties” we know today.
1/ Long underwear for men first
The French word “culotte” has the same root as the word “cul”. The word gave rise to colloquial expressions such as “porter la culotte” because it was the man who wore the breeches or breeches and who had the authority. In wealthy and aristocratic circles, men’s breeches were very common. They were not so in the poorer classes of the population. The peasants who demonstrated during the revolution were called the “sans culottes” for this reason: they wore nothing under their trousers.
Before the 1900s, sports practices (mainly male) will modify the aesthetics of underwear, to make it safe and comfortable. With the craze for cycling, the JockStrap will be born, a brief designed especially for cyclists that protects the genitals and acts as a jockstrap. This underwear invented by Charles Bennett, in 1874 in the United States, is still relevant for many athletes such as rugby players, hockey players, even if it is also considered as a men’s lingerie in its own right, with a sexy and rather sultry shape.
2/ From Panty to split panties for women
The “pantalettes”, true ancestors of women’s panties, really came into being in the middle of the 19th century for convenience and hygiene. Under their petticoats, women wore long, loose-fitting lace or cotton panties resembling short pants, slit at the back and front. This innovation would greatly facilitate the daily lives of these ladies and bring real notions of hygiene : women could go to the toilet easily, freshen up during the day whenever they wanted, without having to take off their ton of petticoats… and the opening of the panties allowed for sexual intercourse! The panties prevented the outer clothing from being in direct contact with bare skin, therefore with sweat and secretions, and protected against friction. A revolution!
3/ A question of length
In 1918, it was with a single snip of the scissors, it is said, that Etienne Valton, creator of the famous brand “Petit Bateau” invented the famous legless panties, initially intended only for very young children (and which already resembled the little white panties that we know). Soft and made of cotton, this underwear appeared perfect for the comfort of babies. The idea of declining it for women was not long in coming, but it would take a little more time!
4/ The panties imposed by society and religions too
Hygienism, a movement that appeared at the end of the 18th century, continued for many years to impose standards of all kinds but sometimes good ideas about health and hygiene. It must be said that there were wars, famines and epidemics… and cleanliness and health were essential! Many hygienists educated men and women and required the latter to wear intimate underwear, therefore future panties!
Religions have declared war on nudity since the beginning of time. If the naked body is unacceptable, then sex is even less so. It is a source of temptation and sin and its vision is impure. Gustave Courbet’s painting “The Origin of the World”, which triggered storms of indignation, is a striking testimony to this. Right-thinking society can no longer accept that women are naked under their dresses. Yet they have been naked for centuries!
5/ Female body remodeling at work!
We have talked about the corset before, but let’s not forget to mention feminine girdles. The girdle, much less oppressive than the corset, continues to sculpt the female body to meet the dictates of beauty : In 1920 it is the flapper fashion, so the hips must be erased.
The wasp waist came back into fashion in the 50s and shaping underwear was all the rage: you had to wear high shaping panties to maintain your figure and flatten your stomach. Girdles, wasp-waisted corsets and waist cinchers flooded the catalogs and department stores!
Briefs and short panties, a renaissance !
Once shortened and adjusted at the pelvis, briefs and panties are a liberation. They offer men and women extraordinary freedom of movement, especially since more and more women are entering the world of work, becoming active women in search of a comfortable life.
In 1930, we discovered the men’s briefs invented by André Gillier, founder of the first brand of men’s underwear: Gil. With its belly pocket inspired by a famous animal, it was quickly named “Le Slip Kangourou” . The 40s saw the emergence of other designers of men’s lingerie. Briefs became a fashion, a reference and their design continued to evolve.
The boom in women’s panties occurred in the 60s with the appearance of new materials such as lace, silk, and lycra. Panties also became colorful and covered in patterns. The thong, 10 years later, would become one of the symbols of the sexual revolution!
Lingerie becomes expression of freedom
The 70s saw the emergence of feminists who considered that the lingerie industry and its dogmas transformed women into “objects”. In London in 1971, hundreds of women burned their bras. Women worked, “portent la culotte” just as much as men and provided for their families. The woman of the 20th century no longer wanted degrading constraints and wanted her body to be free.
Lingerie designers woke up in the early 2000s and offered a multitude of underwear in varied shapes, new materials, and unexpected designs. The 20th century woman was spoiled for choice when it came to deciding for herself which underwear suited her: tanga, thong, low-rise or high-rise panties… She was the one who decided what she wore, what she liked, not what society and the obligation of seduction recommended! We were all about non-wired bras, simple and practical panties, even if it meant not wearing panties at all…
In the 21st century it is the underwear industry
With the digital age, the underwear industry is aimed at an unlimited audience. On the internet, you can find men’s and women’s underwear from all four corners of the world, for all tastes and budgets, sometimes to the detriment of creativity and know-how. The world is changing, factories are manufacturing faster and faster and products disappear over the seasons to be immediately replaced by others, more in fashion.
But French lingerie remains the symbol of excellence. Know-how, seduction and luxury remain the pillars of many brands, with in addition, the mastery of new, more modern manufacturing techniques. And with only one goal: comfort. Designers are putting back forward wasp-waists, corsets, bodysuits but in soft and innovative materials. The underwear must be one with the body, be a second skin.
The thong forgets the fabric and becomes a jewel
In the mid-90s, Sylvie Monthulé created her first intimate jewels and quickly moved towards jeweled lingerie: Jeweled thongs give pleasure to the wearer! A bold and revolutionary concept. The jewel becomes underwear, a voluptuous undergarment that plays with nudity, that dresses and undresses it, caresses it, to mix pleasure and beauty. Some of her creations arouse the senses as a sex toy would.
Some information
Garters, silk stockings… These little pieces of textile reveal some secrets to us!
Body linen ; From the 12th century onwards, it was the linen workers who cut the fabrics in order to make the body linen and the trousseaux of the young ladies. In the 19th century, they worked in workshops and received customers for fittings.
The invention of silk stockings : Surprisingly, it was a clergyman, in 1589, who, thanks to the invention of the knitting machine, introduced Queen Elizabeth I of England to the first pair of silk stockings! From the Second World War onwards, synthetic silk stockings flooded the United States and Europe, then gave way to nylon stockings.
Garters : This lingerie accessory that slips around the bride’s thigh, was originally used to hold up stockings. Garters were made of ribbons that women simply tied. Later, custom dictated that the Garter be auctioned to complete the bride’s dowry.
Lingerie and its color codes : White has always remained the symbol of purity, innocence and fidelity. The young girl’s trousseau is white. The bride’s underwear is also white. Until the 19th century, red corsets were sometimes seen as symbols of debauchery and it was said that black panties were intended for prostitutes!
1900, the first bra : It was a woman, Herminie Cadolle, a professional corset maker, who unveiled her invention, the corselet-gorge, at the Universal Exhibition in Paris!
Stars in corsets! It was for the famous American actress, Mae West, that Marcel Rochas supposedly imagined the very first corset, just after the 2nd World War. The pin-ups of the sixties displayed their wasp waists in these underwear, on the front pages of magazines and calendars.