Underwear in the Natural Form Era, pt. 2

Psyche by Berthe Morisot We complete our series on making sense of the many layers of underpinnings in the Natural Form Era (1876-1882).

This month we look at what to wear over the corset and under the dress, as well as appropriate fabrics and embroidery.

Bonus DPP article from YWU

Corset Covers

A layer was needed over the corset to prevent the outline of the busk and top edge from showing through the dress, hence the name "corset cover". It was also used to protect the neck edge of the gown from body oils. As you can see in this detail picture from the "Bar in den Folies-Bergère" by Edouard Manet, 1881-82, the ruffle around the neck edge of her gown is the edge of her corset cover.


Peterson's, June 1877	Sylvia's, January 1879, p61	Detail from Bar in den Folies-Bergère, Edouard Manet, 1881-82

Corset covers came in a wide variety of neck styles. Here are six different styles of corset cover from the Strawbridge & Clothier's quarterly Spring 1883 catalog:

Museum Examples

Corset Cover, c. 1880, C.I.44.48.19

Wedding Corset Cover, 1880, 1979.331a–g

Bodiced Petticoats

A bodiced petticoat (or high petticoat bodice) could be worn instead of a corset cover and petticoat. If a lady was going for minimal layers around the waist and the smoothest possible line down the hips, combining the two garments would certainly be ideal!

High petticoat bodices are very generally worn, especially under dresses of thick materials, as they preserve the linings, which are usually of thin silk. They have short sleeves, are cut low at the throat, and are trimmed with narrow embroidery.

Godey's, November 1877, p269

Bodice petticoat, Sylvias, November 1879

No. 14. New Tournure Jupon.— This combined bodice and petticoat is a most desirable article for wear at the present time when dresses are worn full at the back, and require something to set them out in order to look well. A series of box-pleated flounces is carried up the back, the lowest being carried quite round the skirt, beneath which is a frill of Torchon lace. The bodice is cut square in front and pointed at back,rendering it useful for evening wear. Flat pattern, 9d.; untrimmed, 1s. 4d.; trimmed, 2s. Household words v.2 1882 Charles Dickens, November 12, 1881
	No. 14 Front	No. 14 Back

Underskirt (or Short Skirt) & Flannel Skirts

A Flannel skirt from Sylvias, January 1879, p61

A Flannel skirt from Sylvia's, Jan 1879, p61

Confusingly, the underskirt was also a layer of the outer dress, as well as a layer of underwear. The underwear underskirt was the layer between the drawers and the outer petticoat when a chemise wasn't being worn (think of it as an under petticoat). It would have prevented the skirt from collapsing about the legs and displaying the form.

In the summer time, the underskirt was made of muslin or cambric. The B. Altman catalog (1879-1800) lists muslin underskirts in lengths of 28 to 30 inches. In winter time, wool flannel skirts were worn instead of the muslin underskirts for extra warmth underneath the outer petticoat. They were the same length as the muslin ones, 28-30 inches long, but instead of lace and tucks they had embroidered edgings.

B. Altmans' 1879-1880 catalog displays some very pretty embroidered designs for their flannel skirts which come in white, scarlet and light blue. Although their embroideries were done in silk, Shetland wool was recommended instead by Godey's.

Embroidered flannels are now sold by the yard ; but for ordinary wear it is better to work the flannel with Shetland wool, as it wears better than floss silk or linen thread, and, after once washing, presents a soft appearance, amalgamating with the flannel. Only the simplest patterns are suitable for the decoration of flannel petticoats.

Godey's, November 1877, p269

Walking Skirts

A walking skirt was a walking length petticoat, ranging from 38 to 42 inches in the catalogs. (B. Altman carried 38 and 41 inch and Strawbridge & Clothier listed them in 38, 40 and 42 inch lengths.)

Depending on what one could afford, the hem could be decorated with tucks, or tucks and flounces of lace of varying qualities. These three examples from the Spring 1883 Strawbridge & Clothier's quarterly catalog display some of the variety of decoration possibilities.


Walking skirt, with tucks, 75 cents	Walking skirt, with embroidered ruffle and two clusters of tucks, $1.25	Walking skirt, with fine lace ruffle, made of Cambric, $3.75

Pouffed Petticoats

Miss Geriy B.—Mrs. Addley Bourne, of Piccadilly, supplies trousseaux of every description; you cannot do better than place yourself under her guidance. The following is a description, in part, of a trousseau for a grand dame. ....

There was a total absence of white petticoats. All these were of silk of every colour and material, from creme moire to black satin, the bottom of each richly trimmed, and the top arranged at the back in pouffs to support the dress.

The Ladies Treasury for 1882, A Household Magazine By Mrs. Warren, p. 169

Museum Examples

This Petticoat, 1880s, American, C.I.X.53.15.2 from the Metropolitan Museum in New York City has a back very similar to the bodiced petticoat seen above from "Household Words" in 1881, but that isn't the only style of pouffing or flouncing. This Petticoat, 1870–1889, American, C.I.47.54a, b is convertible from a plain petticoat to one with a flounced back by tying on the flounces ( be sure to click the "Additional views" link to see the flounces). The shape of the pouffs changed with the fashionable line, from fuller to slim to full again.


Godey's May 1877, p399	Godey's, June 1878	Peterson's, February 1881

James McCall, in his book Instruction book for the French and English systems of cutting, fitting and basting (1881) describes the walking length petticoat skirt like this:

Walking skirt length pouffed petticoat, p61 nstruction book for the French and English systems of cutting, fitting and basting

Trained Skirts

The ultimate in petticoats was the trained skirt.

The Metropolitan Museum in New York City has two examples of varying length:

Petticoat, 1878–1879, American, 1979.339.3 is a slightly trained skirt, probably for a house gown or a afternoon gown.

This one, Petticoat, 1875–1880, British, 1986.106.10 is more elaborate with pouffings and a train.

McCall describes a Court Train petticoat skirt, (pictured right, lower figure):

Fabrics

While I have one finely woven linen chemise, judging by the catalogs it's somewhat of a rare item. Cotton appears to be the main fiber of the day. Using the several petticoats, drawers, corset covers and chemises from this era in my private collection as a guide, here are my cotton fabric recommendations:

Colors: Cream, ivory, white

Fabrics:

Cotton broadcloth

Cotton Voile (The pouffed petticoat I own is made out of a fabric very similar to this)

Cotton Sheeting

Cotton Shirting fabric

Swiss Batiste

(I've tried to stick with the words that are commonly used today for the fabrics, and the links will take you to the Dharma Trading company page for the fabric)

Embroidered Edgings and Insertions

Hamburg Embroidery is a type of edging mentioned again and again in descriptions of underwear during this era, but what was it exactly? The answer is machine made "Broderie Anglaise", or as we know it today "Eyelet Embroidery".

Strawbridge and Clothier had a selection of machine made Swiss and Hamburg embroidered edgings that are very similar to the embroidered edgings still available today.

Broderie Anglaise was quite the fad in the 1850's and came back into fashion with the Natural Form Era. It is a kind of whitework embroidery, white thread worked on a white ground using a combination of satin stitches, eyelets and buttonhole stitches.

There are no shortage of hand embroidered edging patterns available in magazines from the time, but the ladies' hand book of fancy and ornamental work by Florence Hartley, (1859) has the most designs in one place, and they look almost identical to ones from the 1870's. Sylvia's Home Journal (1879) also has some good designs for embroidered edgings.

Here are two hand embroidered edgings from two bloomers in my collection. Not all hand embroidery was done by the ladies who wore the clothes, it was available for purchase by the yard, imported from India, Africa and Europe.

Conclusion: Making Sense Of It All

With so many underwear options to choose from, the lady of the time took a "mix and match" approach to her under layers.

Here's a summary:

Next to the skin (choose one of the following):

High, square necked or low necked chemise
Undervest
Combinations

Then...

Corset
Drawers (unless wearing combinations)

Over the Corset (choose one of the following):

Corset Cover
Bodiced Petticoat

Next to the Dress

If a corset cover was chosen then a Petticoat (length and cut depending on the cut of the dress) would be required.
If a bodiced petticoat was chosen, no petticoat was required.
Depending on the cut of the dress, an underskirt or flannel skirt may have been required to fill out the skirt and keep it from collapsing about the legs.