74 × 93 cm. Musée de l’Hôtel Sandelin.
Anonymous drawings showing a woman wearing striped taffeta dress, trimmed with gauze, putting her garter on, letting her leg show. Print, French fashion and costume magazine, 1778–1787, 7th book. Musée Galliera, Paris.
Pair of garters, 18th century. Blue embroided satin. Inscription: “The sparkle which shines in your eyes / Is a danger to every heart.” Musée Galliera, Paris. Inv.1998.215.X.
Garter, c 1760. Pink satin, inscription “J’envie tonsor”. Musée Galliera, Paris. Inv. 2003.20.2.
Corset-consealer and large underskirt. Commercial catalogue, Au Printemps, 1906. Musée Galliera, Paris.
Romantic women had many undergarments. Under their costumes, they wore a high corset with cups to hold the breasts that was long enough to flare over the hips. At shoulder level the corset had large shoulder pads and there was a rigid busk at the waist. For the first time, the waist was pulled in using metallic eyelets through which it was laced[17], and this new lacing system meant that a woman could take off her corset unaided.
Under her corset, the woman of 1815–1840 wore a knee-length chemise which had long sleeves in England, but in France, the sleeves were short and puffed. Around 1835 these sleeves became reduced until they were small and flat. The neckline was wide and gathered and followed the shape of the dress.
After 1825 skirts became bigger and bigger and needed to be supported by an ever-increasing number of petticoats, sometimes up to six or seven petticoats in increasing sizes. The one underneath was flannel whereas the ones on top were cotton and gathered or embroidered. Moreover, the more petticoats a woman wore, the higher her social status. Fewer petticoats became necessary as a result of the introduction of a petticoat made out of a stiff fabric and edged with horse hair, a precursor of the crinoline.
Bloomers had made their reappearance around 1810 and were worn under the skirt. They were very long, split between the legs, gathered at each leg and decorated with lace frills. They were knotted around the waist and the long chemise could be tucked in which puffed out and gave more volume to the skirt. Bloomers became common for the working classes and shocked prudish Victorian England even more. In France, under Louis-Philippe, they were heavily embroidered and were longer than the dress, so they could be seen when the woman moved. They were sometimes held by stirrups decorated with golden buttons. They became more and more popular in the towns, worn by the working class, and only country-dwellers remained unaware of this new trend. Underneath, stockings were held up with garters or, for the first time, with garters attached to the corset, if it was long enough.
Romantic women’s costumes were completely closed, and they were hidden under layers of lingerie.
Women in “1900”
At the dawn of the 20th century women were known as “femmes-sirènes” (“mermaids”), and under their dresses they wore a surcoat first, which became popular at the end of the 19th century. This surcoat was modified in 1900 to shape the waist. Around 1908, the over-corset could be worn with bloomers or a petticoat to make either a bloomer set or full-length petticoat.
Underneath there was a long corset with reinforcements to accentuate the curve of the body. It was so tight that it was difficult for women to bend over. Besides the corset’s suspenders, there were extra garters worn below the knee. Under the corset there was a long, full chemise which was pulled tight to support the bust. Although bras were exhibited at the Universal exhibition of 1900, they were only effective when worn with a corset, and they were not yet widely-used.
The excess material of the chemise floated around in the bloomers, which in turn were knee-length: they were laced at the waist and split at the crotch. This split was smaller in the ruling classes but remained completely open when worn in the provinces, by the working class or by prostitutes, as mentioned by Emile Zola in L’Assommoir, when describing the fight between Gervaise and Virginie: “With renewed vigour, she grabbed Virginie by the waist, bent her over and pushed her face into the cobbles with her rear in the air; and despite their continual movement, managed to lift up her skirts substantially. Underneath she wore bloomers. She reached in through the gap, tore them apart and displayed everything – naked thighs and naked buttocks[18]“.
In the 1880s, the system worn on the lower back to give volume behind the dress was, at first, a demi-crinoline known as a “fish tail”. It later became a long canvas bag held out by hoops. Eventually this was reduced to a small pouch of horse-hair at the small of the back and still later a mere pile of stiffened folds of fabric. After 1890 the bell-shaped skirt only required a small padded cushion at the small of the back which was sewn into the dress lining to enhance the curve of the body.
After 1890 the skirt was supported by petticoats, but there were more and more of them: highly flounced petticoats puffed out the back, and the woman’s form was tightly encased by narrow skirts.
By the Art Nouveau period, women were tightly bound by their costume and by their numerous undergarments.
Weber, Dressing. Print, “mœurs”. Musée Carnavalet, Paris.
Corset concealer in mesh and lace. Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Troyes.
Sport or summer corset, blue with red border. Musée Galliera, Paris. Inv. 1920.1.968, and underskirt with bustle (also called “crayfish tail”), 1875–80, stitched white cotton. Musée Galliera, Paris. Inv. 2003.73.X.
Yva Richard, Bouclette and her corset, c. 1925. Silver print, 17.6 × 13 cm. Private collection, Paris.
It has often been said that women of the 1920s benefited from a new freedom, but this was only in appearance. It is true that under the “flapper’s” short dress there was no corset-cover, but there was still a short corset to pull in the waist. It was worn low on the hips, and it held in the top of the thighs. Some women wore a “garter-belt”, even next to the skin. In addition, the bust was diminished with correctors or flatteners which usually came from the United States. The so-called “stylish” dresses were tubular, flared over the hips and needed to be supported by circular boning inspired by that of 18th century panniers.
Under their corsets women wore a new type of combination underwear composed of a bra joined to a narrow petticoat or to short bloomers, which could be split or not.
Eventually, as dresses grew shorter, black, white and flesh-coloured silk stockings became popular, sometimes embroidered with patterns. If a woman felt the cold, she could wear woollen flesh-coloured stockings under the silk ones, but this widened the leg and so was quickly abandoned.
Now let us have a look at the “flapper’s” night attire. In the evening their outfit became more masculine with pajamas becoming popular after the First World War. In fact, pajamas were actually first worn as at-home outfits, as described in Vogue in 1924: “Pajamas are now by far the smartest form of negligee.[19]“ The new use fitted in with the current taste for Eastern-influenced fashion. Nevertheless, the nightdress was not abandoned, it just became narrower.
If we look
In 1823, the firm Rogers London made the first metal hooks and eyes in London, but the modern version of this innovation was produced in Paris by Daudé and was put into common use in 1828.
Emile Zola,
Today pyjamas are far from being elegant at home wear.
