was the cingulum which held back, a dress panel. Once the dress was held back a garter was displayed above the knee. It was completely useless as Roman women did not wear stockings. Nevertheless it was pretty and this garter, which was sometimes decorated with a jewel, was purely for seductive purposes. Under the dress, women wore a knee-length tunic. Under this tunic the woman’s body was enveloped in the cestus bodice from below the breasts to the groin. Her hips were bound with zona and thus obliterated. Her chest was held in with bands: taenia or facsia for young girls and for women with fuller figures the leather breast-flattening bra was used. The most common garment, however, was the strophium, a scarf which covered the breasts and supported them without crushing them. Some women wore the sublicatum, which was originally designed for acrobats and actresses and which consisted of a sarong with one panel knotted around the waist and the other between the thighs.
We know there were types of underwear which resembled our present-day briefs and bras, as they are depicted in frescoes and mosaics on Roman villas. The best-known of these is the Sicilian mosaic of the Piazza Armerina (3rd and 4th century). It seems that these pieces of fabric were destined for sports. Nevertheless, these surprising undergarments and the sublicatum marked the end of open clothing. In Rome, the growing popularity of underwear contributed to the removal of shape. At the same time women were removed from the political arena.
European women in the 15th century
In 15th century Europe, corsetry was worn outside clothing: the surcoat was a waistcoat laced over the dress, which flattened the breasts and enhanced the belly. Under the dress, mediaeval woman wore a band which pulled the waist in. Her bust was confined in the fustian, a bodice laced behind or on the side. The fustian also included another short bodice, a doublet, made of bands which squeezed the chest, and there was also sometimes an under-bodice made of stiffened linen.
In the Cluny and Galliera Museums in Paris, one can observe 15th century iron corsets, but they appear to have been designed for women suffering from deformities. All these garments were worn over the “chainse”, the “linen dress” which was the forerunner of the chemise. The chainse was voluminous and wide-sleeved and made out of linen or cotton. Chausses were the forerunner of stockings and were held up by garters which gave them an erotic quality. In the 15th century women were still naked under this underwear. The closed system of underwear began to be generalised in the 16th century.
Sophoclean woman draped in a himation. Terracotta figurines, 330–300 BC, from Tanagra, Musée du Louvre, Paris.
Renaissance women
Renaissance women wore the farthingale under their dresses which were made of heavy, precious fabrics from Italy and Spain. The farthingale was made of a system of strips, whalebone, wire and sometimes wood or wicker. It rested on the waist and held out the skirt. The alternative to the farthingale was a tube of hardened materials which was placed around the waist under the skirt.
When there was no corselet integral to the dress, a basque was worn. This was a corselet stiffened with whalebones and made of linen or wool reaching as far as the ruff and held in place by a lace. The basque was reinforced by bone, wood or iron busks so it was more rigid. It was worn over a linen or cotton chemise, the hem of which was tucked into the bloomers.
It is said that Catherine de Médicis initiated the wearing of bloomers by women. They were also called “buttock straps” and covered one’s legs from waist to knees and enclosed the female body. Garters attached it to stockings. Rabelais refers to this in his description of the outfits of the nuns of Theleme Abbey. He says that garters were regarded as jewellery: “Les jaretières estoient de la couleur de leurs bracelets, et comprenoient le genoul au dessus et au dessoubz.[15]“ (“The garters were the colour of their bracelets and were above and below the knee”).
Underwear became more confining during the Renaissance. It is possible that bloomers were adopted for reasons of prudishness and hygiene: so bloomers, which ladies chose in luxury fabrics, were designed to be displayed during horse riding or when using the stairs. They were more than a protective garment, becoming a titillating item which enhanced the thighs.
Women in the 18th century no longer wore bloomers and were thus nude once more under their multiple petticoats which they revealed, along with their chemise.
Petticoats were worn under the dress in the French fashion and over the panniers. The uppermost petticoat was always visible and had the function of a skirt. The petticoats underneath were made out of more modest fabrics and were placed under the pannier. The further one “rummages” through these layers, the more intimate the names of these layers become: “modest” is followed by “cheeky” and finally ”secret”. The pannier was the successor of the farthingale and had been used in England since 1711, appearing in France in 1718. At first it reserved for rich women, but by 1730, it reached the entire population. The pannier was composed of three circles of wood or wicker hung from the waist by vertical spills or ribbons. Around 1725 the pannier took the form of a waxed canvas petticoat reinforced with five to eight circles of cane, braided steel or whalebones which shaped it into a dome.
For young, elegant women the stays were de rigueur and were laced in the front and/or back. The lining was roughly made of linen, but the outside was covered in luxurious fabric. For town, the stays had straps which outlined a square neck-line, whereas the formal court corset had an oval neckline; stays gave a stylised bust and an upright carriage and symbolised the superiority of aristocratic women over women of the general populace. A woman of modest means had no underwear, and wore a skirt and chemise with a laced corset which pulled in the waist and supported the breasts.
Girls in Bikinis. Roman mosaics, 400–300 BC, Villa de Piazza Armerina.
In the 18th century, the chemise became a slightly flared, knee-length tunic, with mid-length sleeves sewn on with straight stitching, and a gusset. There were draw-strings to puff up the sleeves and to vary the width of the neckline, which were particularly helpful when putting it on. It was made of thick fabric to stand up to friction from the stays. Lace edging was added or sewn onto the chemise, the sleeves and the collar and these were visible under the costume. In this way the undergarments were displayed as part of the outerwear.
Once undressed, 18th century women put on a nightgown to go to bed. Nightgowns were getting more complicated: laces, ribbons and lace were added, as well as a little shawl which was thrown over the shoulders when one received visitors, this last because it was usual to receive in one’s bed chamber and the chemise was worn later and later into the morning. The only time when one slept naked was on the wedding night, as described by Molière’s character Cathos, and not without humour, in Les Précieuses ridicules: “[…] le mariage [est] une chose tout à fait choquante. Comment est-ce qu’on peut souffrir la pensée de coucher contre un homme vraiment nu”[16]. (“Marriage is a totally shocking thing. How can one endure the thought of sleeping with a completely naked man?”). As a result, there were visible flounces in petticoats and chemises which rendered them more seductive and the garters holding up stockings were sometimes decorated with ribald inscriptions.
Jean Fouquet, detail from the Melun diptych featuring The Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels, c.1450–1460. Oil on canvas, 94 × 85 cm. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Antwerp.
Anthony van Dyck, Portrait of Maria Louisa de Tassis, c.1629–1630. Oil on canvas, 129 × 93 cm. Collection of the Princes of Liechtenstein, Vaduz Castle, Liechtenstein.
Nicolas
Rabelais,
Molière,
