Nick Sharatt Pants book - illustrations.
Early Underwear
The ancient Egyptians sometimes wore loincloths. The Romans also wore
underwear. Both Roman men and women wore a loincloth or shorts called
subligaculum. Women also wore a band of cloth or leather around their chest
called a strophium.
During the Middle Ages men word linen shorts called braies but women did
not wear knickers until the 19th century. Their only underwear was a long linen
garment called a shift, which they wore under their dress. From the 16th
century women wore corsets made with whalebone.
19th Century Underwear
In the 19th century underwear became much more
elaborate.
Where does the word does the word pants come from?
It is derived from a character in Italian comedy called Pantalone. He wore
garments that came down to his ankles (when most men wore ones that came to the
knee). In 18th century England they were called pantaloons. In the 19th century
the word became shortened to pants. In Britain pants came to mean long drawers
that covered the whole leg. The garments worn over them came became known as
trousers.
The word drawers was invented because underwear was
drawn on. Where does the word knickers come from? It comes from a novel called
History of New York by Diedrich Knickerbocker, supposedly a Dutchman living in
New York (it was actually written by Washington Irving). In Britain the
illustrations for the book showed a Dutchman wearing long, loose fitting
garments on his lower body. When men wore loose trousers for sport they were
sometimes called knickerbockers. However women's underwear were soon called
knickerbockers too. In the late 19th century the word was shortened to
knickers. In the USA women's underwear are called panties, which is obviously a
diminutive of pants.
At the beginning of the 1800s women still wore a
long nightie-like garment under their dress but it was now called a chemise not
a shift. However after about 1800 they also wore drawers. Sometimes they came
to below the knee or sometimes they were longer garments with frills at the
bottom called pantalettes. However by the 1830s only girls not women wore
pantalettes.
Today we still say a pair of knickers or panties.
That is because in the early 19th century women's underwear consisted to two
separate legs joined at the waist. They really were a 'pair'.
At first women's drawers were usually very plain
but in the late 19th century they were decorated with lace and bands. In the
Winter women often wore woollen knickers and woollen vests.
Victorian women's underwear were sometimes called
bloomers. Elizabeth Miller invented loose trousers to be worn by women. The
idea was promoted by Amelia Bloomer from 1849 and they became known as
bloomers. In time long underwear became known as bloomers.
By the late 19th century in Britain men's underwear
were called pants. Men also wore vests. Some men wore combinations, pants and
vest in one garment.
Life in the 19th Century
20th Century Underwear
In the 19th century women's underwear was usually
open between the legs but in the 20th century closed knickers replaced them.
Meanwhile in 1913 Mary Phelps Jacob invented the
modern bra. She used two handkerchiefs joined by ribbon.
In the 19th century knickers came down to well
below the knee. In the 1920s they became shorter. They ended above the knee. By
the 1940s and 1950s many women wore briefs. In the 1970s knickers became
briefer still. In the 1990s thongs became popular. Men's underwear also became
shorter. The word drawers went out of use and they became known as underpants
or pants. Y-fronts went on sale in the USA in 1935. They went on sale in
Britain in 1938. Boxer shorts were introduced in the 1940s.
Panties in American English (typically called knickers in British
English) are a form of underwear worn by women. Panties are most often form-fitting, but may also be loose.
Typical components include an elastic waistband,
a crotch panel to cover the genital area (usually lined with absorbent
material such as cotton), and a
pair of leg openings that, like the waistband, are often made of elastic. Various materials are used,
but are usually chosen to be breathable.
Panties were originally designed to cover the entire lower half
of the female torso,[1] since the 1970s panties have had either no
legs or, in some cases, very short ones, and have become increasingly briefer
over time.
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