Let's Mention Unmentionables

When you think of underwear generally its the standard bra and panties, but if you were a young woman in the 1600s your reply would be more like corset, bumroll, and petticoat. Oh sure on paper that doesn't look that so bad but have you really taken a close look at what woman had to wear? They look like torture devices, my complaints about under wire bras seem all of a sudden silly compared to what was worn from women in the past.

From what I do remember from my historical costume course, it wasn't unusual for a woman to just slump over and pass out and with good reason. Its a shame that underwear from the 1600s-1900s were so uncomfortable for women to wear ( they weren't exactly thinking about lightweight, sleek technology back then the way we are now) because they are beautifully made. If you really started to think about it being hot, itchy, stinky, and uncomfortable was  probably the norm back then for a woman. Of course not every woman back then wore all these pieces of underwear. It wouldn't be logical for poor working women to wear all of that underwear but I'm sure they wore more than what we wear today.

Where exactly am I going with all of this? As I was looking through the garments available online at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, it had me thinking of how far our underwear has come. Yes, I know its a bit of an odd thought but work with me here. Woman have been doing extreme things for the love of fashion for centuries and as I marveled at some of the beautiful work that was on display, I couldn't help but think of the underwear used in order to create the perfect look of that particular time in history. Oh and P.S. it makes me giggle at the thought that having a big booty goes in an out of style. That bum roll I mentioned before? Looked sort of like those doughnut shaped pillows old people put around their necks on a flight except it goes around your waist. It was a bumroll in the 1600s but now we have booty pops. If you don't know what a booty pop is, take a look. Yep, good ol ass pads.

Even if we zipped through history to more modern times, like the 40s-60s again you see women sucking, tucking, and pulling in every part of their body in order to achieve the perfect fit for what was in style at the time. As someone who dresses in vintage on a moderately normal basis I have to say that I even I am not comfortable going full on 1950s with my undergarments. A modern version of a bullet bra and occasionally high waist-ed underwear is about as far as I can go. I might have tried on a full girdle once and felt like my soul was being squeezed out of my body so after that I decided to just up my yoga sessions and not wear one.

Undergarments always seem to look effortless and comfortable when you're watching Elizabeth Taylor sashay around in them but really putting a bra, panties, girdle, garter, and stockings every single day is a pain. I know it is something you get used to and  will eventually become so accustomed to doing it that the process  in itself goes faster.( I got that bit of advise from my 86 year old grandmother who still to this day wears  something similar to the picture to the left every single day.)  Even with that bit of advise I still don't think I could manage it. As I write this post about underwear  it really makes a girl count her blessings for being born in the era where it isn't a requirement to wear extra undergarments but a choice. After all having the option to wear what you feel is part of the reason why women burned their bras in the first place. We've come a long way baby.

[Photo Sources 1, 2, 3 ]