target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="#_58.jpg"/>Embroidered stockings. Galliera Museum, Paris.
Silk stockings 1900 embroidered with a lace pattern.
Pair of embroidered stockings.
Galliera Museum, Paris.
Nicolas Lafresen, also called Lavreince, Le Lever. Charcoal, 28 × 23 cm. Don Georges Heine 1929, Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris. Inv 26833.
Animal materials are used less for underwear these days because they are fragile and difficult to maintain. Since the 16th century solid materials such as horn, ivory or whalebone have been called upon for use in corsetry. They were used for the busks inside basques and for stays. Whalebone was the only material that was flexible enough and which predated steel and elastic. Whales were hunted from the 12th century in the Bay of Biscay (on the Spanish coast), and then, in the 17th century, the whale industry moved to Greenland. In the 18th and 19th centuries leather and suede began to be used for certain corsets for rigidity and decoration. These animal materials made way in the 20th century for steel. The Warner Company launched their “Waterproof Corsets”, which were stainless steel corsets that overcame the shortfalls of this metal.
Silk culture came to France relatively late. It was already common in China and India when it arrived in France in the 14th century, at the time when the Papal court moved to Avignon. Silk weavers set up in Avignon to meet the demands of the popes. When the popes returned to Rome, some silk mills stayed in the Uzès region, then opened in Lyon. François Ist primarily encouraged the silk mills in Lyon, then Henri IV continued his work with Olivier de Serre and Laffemas who planted their grounds with mulberry trees, as the mulberry bombyx, more commonly known as the “silkworm” feeds on mulberry leaves. It also secretes a very fine and remarkably supple thread.
Yva Richard, postcard with unwritten back c. 1925, 14 × 9 cm. Private collection, Paris.
Stockings Jacques Fath, 1954 with Roger Scemana’s Pince-bas for Jacques Fath, c.1955. Elastic and strass. Galliera Museum, Paris. Inv.1933.382.6 et 1993.195.2.
Stockings (detail) Jacques Fath, 1954. Galliera Museum, Paris. Inv.1993.382.6.
Silk insulates very well, is extremely soft to the touch, and is perfect for lingerie. The principal silk fabrics are made in cloth, muslin, taffeta, pongee or crêpe weave. Others are satin, jersey and twill for girdles and corsets. Silk is difficult to wash, however. It is fragile and expensive which means it is not of interest to clients of modest means. Nevertheless, its softness and shine give an immense power of seduction. The French silk mills expanded rapidly in the 17th and 18th centuries and provided France a monopoly in terms of fashion. The silk mills in Lyon manufactured all types of undergarments, petticoats, luxurious stockings for ceremonial wear in European courts and brocade exterior of stays.
In the 19th century, the silk mills of Lyon were still appreciated in the same way. It was only when synthetic fibres, which could imitate the shine of silk, were invented that silk was used less for underwear and was limited to luxury lingerie. Until the Second World War, petticoats were made out of silk; corsets were covered in silk satin, and nightclothes were made out of satin, velvet, cretonne, or silk crêpe. Today, silk is still important for designers when they create luxury underwear, and for sexy nightwear such as baby-doll nightdresses.
Dior Négligé, c. 1960. White lace, pink satin bows (Detail). Don Martini. Galliera Museum, Paris. Inv. 20003.77.1A/B.
Wool has always been used, in the countryside especially, for stockings, corsets and petticoats because it is warm. It became popular for underwear again in the 19th century, and was appreciated because it was hard-wearing, supple and especially because of its thermal qualities. For underwear, the main wool fabrics are cloth, serge, jersey and flannel. This last was said to protect against cholera. Bloomers and petticoats were made out of flannel and corsets which were particularly recommended for cycling. As people’s interest in health grew, wool became the hygienists’ favourite material. One of them, Doctor Gustave Jaeger, professor of zoology and physiology at the University of Stuttgart, wrote an essay on health and wool “cures”. It was published in 1878, and he began to manufacture 100% wool clothes in 1884.
The “Sanitary woollen corset” was made entirely of wool and was supposed to cure digestive problems and help if one were overweight. One of the merits of wool for Doctor Jaeger was the fact that it was porous. Of course, this idea was refuted by the creators of Aertex and Viyella. A large woollen underwear industry was developing over the whole of Europe. Doctor Jaeger’s innovations were promoted in England by Mr Tomalin, the manager of a London department store, while in France, in 1877, Doctor Rasurel introduced a wool and cotton mix which claimed to be more effective. This type of underwear was very successful at first although later wool was passed over in favour of more aerated fabrics. Nevertheless, in 1953, Damart introduced “Thermolactyl” and designed woollen underwear which allowed the skin to breathe. 20th century woman could justifiably claim: “Cold? Me? Never!”
Ensemble, 1906. Cotton cloth, lace and satin ribbons. (detail). Galliera Museum, Paris. Inv. 1972.12.1A/B/C.
Combinaison, 1955–60 (detail). Galliera Museum, Paris.
At the beginning of the 20th century chemical fibres began to eclipse natural fibres.
Viscose is the name given to cellulose threads and textile fibres which are produced by the viscose process (the material, in a viscous state, is poured onto a drawplate which is then immersed in a tank which coagulates the fibres as soon as they emerge). For continuous thread the name given is rayon-viscose, and for broken thread, bonded fibre viscose. The first rayon thread was invented in 1884 by the Frenchman Hilaire Bernigaud, the Count of Chardonnet[23] who presented his first rayon articles at the Universal Exhibition in 1889. Other chemists were doing the same type of research, particularly in England where Cross, Bevan and Beadle patented their discoveries in 1892. Rayon was manufactured in England from 1905 and in the United States of America in 1911 due to the support of Courtauld. Rayon was actually only used for clothing after the 1920s, and the most popular rayon fabrics were crêpe, organdie, twill and jersey. Petticoats, slips, bloomers and nightclothes were made out of it. The shine of rayon was appreciated and earned it the name of “artificial silk”. Now all women could afford luxurious-looking underwear at a lower price.
Nylon also brought about great changes. Dupont de Nemours Inc began research into the first synthetic thread in 1927. This research was lead by Doctor Wallace H. Carroters and his team. The first nylon stockings were presented at the New York World Fair in 1937 and they went on sale in 1939 in the United States of America. Nylon arrived in Great Britain in 1940, distributed by British Nylon Spinners Ltd, and became widespread in Europe by 1947 for all types of women’s underwear.
During the Second World War, nylon was strictly reserved for parachutes, and clothing in Europe was rationed. So underwear had to be made out of household linen (this was already the case for modest pre-war families) and women dyed their legs to give the illusion of stockings. After 1949, nylon became very popular and allowed lingerie to be accessible to everyone. It shone like silk, was easy to maintain and was affordable.
Hilaire Bernigaud, the Count of Chardonnet (1839–1924), chemist and industrialist.
