Underwear refers to clothing worn under the outer garments, especially next to the skin . For thousands of years, people have worn layers of clothing. They have often worn more than one layer underneath their outer garments. These underlayers give shape to the body and support the stylish silhouette (overall outline of a garment). The silhouette is the defining characteristic of any fashion period.
The names of undergarments vary with each fashion period in history. People in ancient Rome called their undergarment a tunica intima, meaning the tunic next to the body. A basic, T-shaped underlayer evolved throughout the history of dress for both men and women and includes today’s T-shirt. The loincloth covered the lower torso in ancient times, and it, too, changed over time to become what were known as drawers and what we now know as underpants.
For both men and women, the layer next to the skin protects the body from outer garments and is usually made of fabric that can be laundered. Undergarments also protect the outer clothing from the oils and perspiration of the body. Stockings (now commonly called socks), for example, protect the legs and the feet, but they also protect the shoes . In the history of Western dress, changes in the silhouettes of women’s garments have required multiple layers of undergarments of changing shapes and styles. Meanwhile, men’s underwear has remained essentially the same: shirt, drawers, and stockings, fitted close to the body and reflecting the shape of the outer garments.
As early as the 1500’s, the base layer of clothing for women was a loosely fitting dress called a shift or shirt. About the same time, women began to stiffen the bodice (upper visible layer) of their garments with glue or whalebone to help control and smooth their silhouette. Whalebone stays (stiffeners) were either incorporated into the bodice of a garment or were used to make a separate undergarment. By the 1600’s, the separate stiffened undergarments known as stays were more common.
In the 1700’s, the garment next to the skin for men was a long-sleeved shirt. A similar garment was often worn as a nightshirt. During the day, the long shirttail could be brought between the legs to serve as underpants under breeches. Breeches were short trousers that fastened below the knee. By the 1700’s, the shift worn by women was a little more finely made. It was usually called a chemise. Over the chemise, a woman would wear a corset. A corset is a close-fitting undergarment stiffened with whalebone or steel and laced in back to give a stylish shape to a woman’s upper torso. The corset supported the woman’s breasts and back and ensured good posture . Early corsets were made to order for a specific individual. Later, corsets could be purchased ready-made. Beginning around 1820, corsets became a very common underwear item that changed the body’s shape by slimming the waist and, later, pushing the hips back to create an S-shape. During some fashion periods, men wore corsets t o create a stylish figure or for back support.
Depending on the fashion in the 1700’s and 1800’s, women wore several petticoats or a hoop to shape and support the skirt. After the mid-1850’s, the cage crinoline replaced the multiple layers of petticoats worn to create the fashionable, bell-shaped skirt. This device was made of hoops of spring steel arranged in a series of circles of increasing size. It was supported from the waist by vertical cloth tapes or sewn into a petticoat. By the late 1860’s, the front of the crinoline had acquired a flatter shape, and the hoops extended out only toward the back. This structure was called a bustle.
In the 1800’s, women began to wear drawers underneath the chemise to add protection for the legs. Drawers were originally two separate legs attached to a waistband. By the late-1800’s, drawers might be attached to a shortened chemise known as a camisole in a garment called a combination. By the 1920’s, the combination was shorter and called cami-knickers or a teddy. Drawers for women, with the legs sewn together at the crotch, developed into underpants, or panties, in the 1900’s. A combined bodice and skirt, sometimes called a princess petticoat, became the slip.
There is evidence that brassiere-like garments were worn in ancient times and in the Middle Ages. However, the brassiere, or bra, developed in the 1900’s to support a woman’s breasts, in the absence of the corset.
Men in the early 1900’s wore a garment combining an undershirt and underpants called a union suit. The top part was often sleeveless while the bottom could have knee-length or full-length pants. Some men wore long underwear bottoms, often for warmth, known as long johns. A type of loose underpants called boxer shorts were introduced in 1925 but did not become popular until the mid-1900’s. Men’s briefs, which did not cover the legs, were first sold in 1935 and became an immediate hit.
Historically, the task of making underclothing for the family fell to the women of the household, until ready-to-wear garments became affordable for purchase. In the 1900’s, elastic products were used to give ready-to-wear undergarments a better fit. The synthetic fiber spandex has been used to shape the body since the 1980’s in both underwear and outerwear for men and women.
Stockings are often considered part of underwear, as they were not meant to be seen during some times in their history. They were made of woven cloth until the 1500’s, when wealthy people began to wear hosiery produced by professional hand-knitters. By the late 1600’s, many people wore machine-knitted hose. Stockings sometimes featured colorful and decorative embroidered designs. They could be held in place with garters, attached to drawers at the waist, or tied around the knee. Garters are bands worn around the legs to hold stockings up. Most stockings were made of cotton, silk, or wool until nylon was introduced in 1939. Nylon pantyhose became widely available in the 1960’s. In the early 1980’s, thick hose called leggings began to be worn outside the dance studios and gyms in which they originated. Today, the term leggings usually refers to tight-fitting trousers that are often worn fully exposed.
