Originally, crinoline described a stiff fabric made of horsehair ("crin") and cotton or linen which was used to make underskirts and as a dress lining. The term crin or crinoline continues to be applied to a nylon stiffening tape used for interfacing and lining hemlines in the 21st century.
A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing, a type of undergarment worn under a skirt or a dress.
Corsets & Crinolines in Victorian Fashion
From cage crinolines to bustles and body-huggins corsets, it was often the structure worn under clothes which gave Victorian fashion its form.
Originally published on Foundations Revealed: The Corset Maker's Companion (May 2011). Throughout the 18th century, fashionable women wore supports under their petticoats in order to create the desired silhouette.
Undertunics. Over their hose and any underpants they might wear, both men and women usually wore a schert, chemise, or undertunic. These were lightweight linen garments, usually T-shaped, that fell well past the waist for men and at least as far as the ankles for women.
While some early cultures didn't wear bras at all, others took cloth in the shape of a bandeau and wore it around their breasts. Over time, women began to wear corsets and girdles designed more to shape their bodies (uncomfortably at that) than to support breasts, although they did provide lift.
Medieval underwear: bras, pants and lingerie in the Middle Ages. Men wore shirts and braies (medieval underpants resembling modern-day shorts), and women a smock or chemise and no pants.
Camisole/Corset Cover: a white, short, shirt-like garment worn over the corset to protect expensive outer garments from perspiration and oils. Petticoat: The petticoat protected the outer skirt from the steel or boning in the hoops. It also helped the skirt to lay flat over the crinoline.
A chemise or shift is a classic smock, or a modern type of women's undergarment or dress. Historically, a chemise was a simple garment worn next to the skin to protect clothing from sweat and body oils, the precursor to the modern shirts commonly worn in Western nations.
A bustle is a padded undergarment used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging.
The tight lacing of corsets worn in the 19th and early 20th centuries emphasized both cleavage and the size of the bust and hips. Evening gowns and ball gowns were especially designed to display and emphasize the décolletage. Elaborate necklaces decorated the décolletage at parties and balls by 1849.
Rich women wore corsets under their dresses. At the beginning of Victoria's reign it was fashionable to wear a crinoline under a skirt. These hoops and petticoats made skirts very wide. Later in the period skirts were narrower with a shape at the back called a bustle.
Poor Victorian women wore thin dirty dresses which were dark colours and made from cotton or wool because silk and linen would be far too expensive and wouldn't last as long as they needed them to last for ages.
Women's undergarments collectively are also called lingerie. They also are called intimate clothing and intimates. An undershirt (vest in the United Kingdom) is a piece of underwear covering the torso, while underpants (pants in the United Kingdom), drawers, and undershorts cover the genitals and buttocks.
"Many wedding gowns can have built-in bras, which is a great option for women who need extra support in the bust area," Brickman says. If your cup size is small enough, you may be able to get away without a bra, while brides with larger busts might feel more comfortable wearing one.
A petticoat was a simple underskirt, whereas a crinoline was stiffened and more structured. Simple day or work dresses were worn with just petticoats underneath, regardless of social class, because it allowed a woman to move about much more easily.
They help a dress or skirt hang properly, especially when static cling might otherwise cause the dress to wrap around the wearer's legs. They protect the skin from chafing against coarse fabrics such as wool; conversely, if the outer garment is made of fine fabric, a slip protects it from perspiration.
When wearing a Kimono, you are expected to wear a “hadajuban” and “koshimaki” directly on your naked skin (the “juban” comes over those). Traditionally, you don't wear panties, but nowadays most women do.
In the early 20th century, a young woman would typically have started wearing a corset at about 15 years old, and live at home until she married around age 18. After the war, more young women sought an education, and in the Western world, marriage was delayed until they reached their middle to late 20s.
A corset is a great alternative to a bra, not just for aesthetic reasons, but for practical reasons too. Stylish, flattering and comfortable, corsets solve a number of the issues that many of us find with wearing bras on a daily basis.
According to Life magazine, in 1889 Herminie Cadolle of France invented the first modern bra. It appeared in a corset catalogue as a two-piece undergarment, which she originally called the corselet gorge, and later le bien-être (or "the well-being").
The intention behind the invention of the bra was to provide support for the breasts, but nowadays, it is debated whether all women need to have their breasts supported at all times.
“As soon as the breasts start growing breast buds, small (sometimes very tender) bumps below the nipples, is typically when girls start wearing training bras,” said Dr. Kronborg. “Normally, by the time a girl can fill a B cup is when she'll eventually require a standard bra.”