The underwear situation in the Natural Form Era was.... complicated! Ladies had an outfit for every situation and time of day, and underwear to go with it. To further add confusion, the "Dress Reform" movement was at its height: its main focus was on changing corsets and what was worn underneath them, all in the name of health.
So what did women wear under their dresses? It all depends on a variety of factors. I'll walk you through all the different layer options starting from the skin out, with variations in necklines and politics. Next month I'll complete the layers and show you how to combine them.
This article originally appeared in Your Wardrobe Unlock'd, but has been repeated here, as promised, as a bonus seventh article for those wishing to take part in the Double Period Project.
A Wardrobe of Underwear
"We would advise those of our readers who are meditating a trousseau, and who desire to model their clothing on patterns that will be popular for a term, not by any means to invest in a large stock of underlinen."
"The never-ending caprice of the fickle goddess has found its way into the smallest details of underclothing, and there is quite a revolution going on in the cut of chemises, petticoats, etc."
The ladies of the Natural Form Era needed to have an assortment of underwear at their disposal, either purchased as part of their trousseau or later as an outfit (package) of underwear at a later date. This wardrobe could be purchased as an "outfit" of underwear, the quality, number and variety of pieces depending on the lady's budget. The 1879 B. Altman & Co (New York City) catalog had four standard packages of Ladies' Outfits or Trousseaux available. "Package A" was the least expensive, "package D" the most, with more extensive (and expensive!) packages available by request.
| Package A - Total cost $41.78 - 41 pieces | Package D - Total Cost $108 - 49 pieces | |||
| 6 | Muslin Chemises, four with and two without Hamburg embroidery | 6 | Muslin Chemises with Hamburg embroidery | |
| 6 | Muslin Drawers, three with and three without Hamburg embroidery | 6 | Linen Chemises, three with and three without Hamburg embroidery | |
| 6 | Walking skirts (petticoats 38-41" long) | 6 | Muslin Drawers, all with Hamburg embroidery | |
| 6 | Underskirts, two with and four without Hamburg embroidery | 6 | Linen Drawers, three with and three without Hamburg embroidery | |
| 6 | Muslin Night Dresses, all with Hamburg embroidery | 6 | Walking skirts (petticoats 38-41" long), all with Hamburg embroidery | |
| 1 | Three piece Bridal Set with Hamburg embroidery (Night dress, chemise and drawers) | 4 | Underskirts, two Cambric, two Muslin, all with Hamburg embroidery | |
| 4 | Corset Covers, three regular and one extra fancy | 6 | Night Dresses, two Cambric, four Muslin, all with Hamburg embroidery | |
| 1 | Toilet Sacque | 1 | Three piece Bridal Set with Hamburg embroidery (Night dress, chemise and drawers) | |
| 1 | Lawn Basque, half fitting | 3 | Corset Covers, all with Hamburg embroidery | |
| 2 | Flannel skirts, one plain and one with hand embroidery | 3 | Toilet Sacques, with Hamburg embroidery | |
| 1 | Corset | 2 | Flannel skirts, one plain and one with hand embroidery | |
| 1 | Train Skirt | 1 | Corset | |
| 1 | Train Skirt with Hamburg embroidery |
An author in 1882 advised women who were moving to India to lay in this supply of underwear (below), which "should last them a year or two". (In contrast, the same author advised women to take just twelve dresses with them to India!)
- One dozen cotton chemises, thin; one dozen cotton chemises, thicker.
- One dozen cotton nightdresses, thin; one dozen cotton nightdresses, usual thickness.
- One dozen pairs of cotton drawers, thin; one dozen pairs of cotton drawers, thicker.
- Six vests of flannel, or of silk if preferred; the kind known as Indian gauze.
- Six white petticoats, long, for evening wear, flounced, with bodices;
- Six shorter petticoats, and tucked, with bodices also.
- Four muslin petticoats, with trains to fasten on; these may have lace edgings for best evening wear, and lace trimmed bodices.
- Six white flannel petticoats; two red flannel petticoats; two crochet, either red, or red and white.
- One flannel wrapper (coloured).
- Two short dressing jackets of some white washing material, cambric or longcloth, frilled.
- Two pairs of corsets, with extra cases to wash; one pair of evening corsets, with case.
- Twelve pairs of fine white thread stockings, not open work, but either embroidered in colour or plain white silk.
- Twelve pairs of stockings (coloured), to match the dresses you are taking out; six pairs spun silk, black; six pairs warm (coloured), for cold weather use.
- Three dozen handkerchiefs, plain, hemstitched, initialled; one dozen trimmed with lace (you can buy these and trim them yourself); six best, either worked or lace, for evening use.
- Four pairs of long black mittens; four pairs of long white mittens.
- One dozen pairs of kid gloves; six pairs of dogskin for riding.
- One dozen pairs of thread or silk gloves for matching dresses.
- Of collars, cuffs, frills, and the like, you must take a good stock.
Indian outfits & establishments: a practical guide, by an Anglo-Indian (1882), p 9
Making Sense of the Layers
How, then, are we to make sense of this vast and confusing world of underwear?
Let's start with basic layers that a woman wore and then look at the options. The basic layers are:
- Next to the skin: Chemise, undervest or combinations. In winter she'd wear wool flannel underwear next to the skin and then the chemise or combinations over that.
- Corset
- Drawers (unless she was wearing combinations)
- Corset cover or bodiced petticoat
- Underskirt
- Flannel skirt (in winter)
- Walking skirt or trained skirt (petticoats)
- Dress
A bride in 1880 chose to combine the layers in this fashion, you can see the entire outfit at the Met Museum, (links below are to the individual garments). Over this she would have worn a trained petticoat, and probably an underskirt as well.
Next to the Skin
For simplicity's sake, I'll just assume that it's summer, and no flannel underwear is needed. A lady could wear three different things next to her skin, under her corset: a chemise; a knit silk, wool or cotton undervest; or a combination suit. What she chose depended on what the neckline of the dress was, her personal preference and how slim she wanted her waist to appear.
For the ultimate in slimness, she would have chosen a combination suit so there would not be the bulk of the drawers waistband around her waist. However, this meant that if she wanted to change her drawers, she would have to undress completely.
Chemise
There were a wide variety of chemise necklines to match every sort of dress or bodice neckline that was in style. It is important to match the type of chemise with the style of dress. For instance, you would not want to mix a high-necked chemise with a low-cut dress, or an off-the-shoulder chemise with a high-necked dress (it would make moving in the dress awkward).
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Scoop-necked Chemise The scoop neck style of chemise was the standard style. The one in the painting below and lower right has buttons at the shoulder, but they could also be pulled on over the head as depicted here (upper right). The depth and width of the neckline could vary, as seen in the examples. Cutting out and dressmaking By Mademoiselle. E.Grand'Homme, 1875 [(Google Books link) | YWU Download Link ] contains instructions for patterning and cutting out a chemise of this style.
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Peterson's 1877
Sylvia's Home Journal, 1879, p133 |
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Pompadour Shape, or the French Style Referred to as a "Pompadour style" or the French Style, Lett's Household magazine in 1884 gave this diagram as the basic shape of the chemise before trimming. This style would work under a high necked dress, or a square necked dress
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Ball gown chemise - off-the-shoulder style This style of chemise is perfect for wearing under a ball gown with small sleeves. For a ball gown with very narrow straps, an undervest would be ideal. The embroidered chemise that I wrote about in the April issue of Foundations Revealed (and that will be shared with YWU readers next month) is this style. |
Domestic Fashion Co, Fashion Review, Spring 1879, p.34 |
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Princess Chemise "Princess Chemise, trimmed around the bottom with tucks and embroidered ruffle. Narrower ruffle around the neck aud sleeves. These chemises are very nice for stout persons, as they do away with much superfluous material, but should not be made too tight." Peterson's, February 1881
This petticoat in the Met Museum is in the Princess Chemise style with a high neck and would be perfect for wearing under a high necked day dress or promenade dress. |
Princess chemise, Peterson's February 1881 |
DrawersDrawers were in two styles, with either open or closed crotch, and were gathered into a band that either tied or buttoned at the waist. Cutting out and dressmaking By Mademoiselle. E.Grand'Homme, ,1875 [(Google Books link) | YWU Download Link ] on p.77 contains instructions for patterning and cutting out drawers. Open Drawers, 1878, Boston MFA Silk Drawers, 1870s, Met Museum |
Peterson's, Oct 1880 |
UndervestsUndervests were made from rib knit merino wool, silk or cotton blends. They could be shaped like the vest to the right, with a high neck and breast pockets so that the figure isn't crushed. Or they could be like this silk knit undervest c. 1880 from the Met Museum, which looks like a modern knit tank top with lacy trim and narrow string straps.
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CombinationsThe combination suit, or as it was known then, a chemilette or chemiloon, was a combination of the chemise and pantalette or pantaloon. It was the Dress Reformers' favorite garment to replace the chemise, and would by necessity be made with open drawers.
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Godeys, November 1877 |
CorsetsCorsets of this era are distinguished by bust gussets, shaped busks and lots of flossing! Peruse the available corsets available in the B. Altman 1879 Catalog, or Strawbridge & Clothiers Spring 1883 catalog or look at some beautiful corset examples from the Metropolitan Museum (NYC). 1877 Pearl grey wedding corset, Met Museum Blue silk corset, 1878, Met Museum Yellow and Black corset, 1880, Met Museum Cream silk wedding corset, 1880 Met Museum Cream silk corset, 1880s, Met Museum Red embroidered corset, 1880s, Met Museum
Corset Patents |
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Since this is just a brief overview of the styles, I highly recommend looking through the two online catalogs from the period for more details, or or the fashion magazines from in the Natural Form Era Bookshelf for ideas on what the chemise neckline would have looked like for your chosen year and gown.
Strawbridge & Clothier's quarterly 1883
Commercial Patterns
If you're not feeling up to drafting your own chemise pattern, don't despair! There are plenty of options available to purchase, here are a few that I've selected:
Chemise and Drawers
Truly Victorian TV102 Chemise and Drawers
(The Silverado corset in this package looks very similar to many of the corsets in the 1879 catalog)
Mantua Maker: #1880-1 1870's - 1880's Chemise Pattern
#1800-3 1850 - 1890 Ball Gown Chemise Pattern
#1880-2 1880's - 1890's Open Drawers Pattern
Commercial Combination Patterns
Truly Victorian TV105 Combination Underwear
Mantua Maker #1880-8 1880's - 1890's Combinations Pattern
Corsets
In comparing the commercial corset patterns available with the styles of corsets offered by B.Altman and Strawbridge & Clothier, the only pattern that I can recommend at this time would be Laughing Moon's Silverado Bust Gore corset.
However,Foundations Revealed will have step-by-step instructions for patterning and making two different Natural Form Era corsets starting in the August issue.
Next Month, we'll finish the layers of undergarments and discuss decorative elements, embroidery patterns, and just what "Hamburg embroidery" is and where you can find it today.
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thanks
jane