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The History of Underclothes
". . . thoroughness and most impressive scholarship . . . much entertaining detail and . . . pleasant humour." — The Times Literary Supplement (London)
Underwear — practical garments with a utilitarian function or body coverings that serve an erotic purpose? As this fascinating and intelligently written study shows, the role played by underclothing over the last several centuries has been a varied one.
In a well-documented, profusely illustrated volume combining impressive scholarship with an entertaining, often humorous style, two distinguished clothing historians consider undergarments worn by the English over the past 600 years. Beginning with the Middle Ages, the authors cover centuries of clothing history, including the Tudor period, the Restoration, the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and the twentieth century up to the eve of World War II. Drawing on extensive, research, the Cunningtons illuminate the role and function of it protected the wearer against the elements, supported costume shapes, served as an erotic stimulus, symbolized class distinctions, and fulfilled other social, sanitary, and economic functions.
Enhancing the detailed, comprehensive text are more than 100 period illustrations and photographs depicting a laced-up bodice of the twelfth century, embroidered linen drawers of the sixteenth century, a hooped petticoat support in bentwood (c. 1750), footed long drawers (1795), nineteenth-century bustles, early nineteenth-century corsets for men, "Frillies for the Tiny Lady" (1939), and much more. A bibliography, appendix, and index complete a valuable reference work that will appeal to costume historians, sociologists, and other readers.
Underwear — practical garments with a utilitarian function or body coverings that serve an erotic purpose? As this fascinating and intelligently written study shows, the role played by underclothing over the last several centuries has been a varied one.
In a well-documented, profusely illustrated volume combining impressive scholarship with an entertaining, often humorous style, two distinguished clothing historians consider undergarments worn by the English over the past 600 years. Beginning with the Middle Ages, the authors cover centuries of clothing history, including the Tudor period, the Restoration, the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and the twentieth century up to the eve of World War II. Drawing on extensive, research, the Cunningtons illuminate the role and function of it protected the wearer against the elements, supported costume shapes, served as an erotic stimulus, symbolized class distinctions, and fulfilled other social, sanitary, and economic functions.
Enhancing the detailed, comprehensive text are more than 100 period illustrations and photographs depicting a laced-up bodice of the twelfth century, embroidered linen drawers of the sixteenth century, a hooped petticoat support in bentwood (c. 1750), footed long drawers (1795), nineteenth-century bustles, early nineteenth-century corsets for men, "Frillies for the Tiny Lady" (1939), and much more. A bibliography, appendix, and index complete a valuable reference work that will appeal to costume historians, sociologists, and other readers.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
January 24, 2024
10/2015
The brassiere was introduced in 1916, didn't become the "bra" until 1937. Back in the old days, like the 14 or 1500s, everyone's underclothes were multi generational hand me downs. And there was no deodorant. Imagine. So you gathered the most fragrant herbs or flowers and soaked the unmentionables in this. A great history here, combining class/economics, gender distinctions, cultural pendulums, war and technology. Everything comes out in the story of underwear!
The brassiere was introduced in 1916, didn't become the "bra" until 1937. Back in the old days, like the 14 or 1500s, everyone's underclothes were multi generational hand me downs. And there was no deodorant. Imagine. So you gathered the most fragrant herbs or flowers and soaked the unmentionables in this. A great history here, combining class/economics, gender distinctions, cultural pendulums, war and technology. Everything comes out in the story of underwear!
February 5, 2021
[…] a valuable reference work that will appeal to costume historians, sociologists and general readers.
For my academically trained peeps out there: we are talking about an extremely dated perspective on the subject, one that honestly does not stand the test of time and aged like milk out in the sun. That Times’ quote right there under the book’s title is laughable at best.
So, History of Underclothes – or, as I like to call it, The History of how sex is the only engine of anything and everything what concerns female body – is permeated by the authors’ stern conviction that female fashion changed only according to what men found attractive: “[…] the male interest – and consequently the female fashion – has oscillated […] between those […] regions [breasts and hips].” After an interesting introduction enumerating the multiple purposes of underclothes, the Cunningtons seem to kinda forget most points but the erotic one. This idea alone is… reductive at best. Over the course of 700 years, people – yes, women too – engaged in a variety of jobs and activities, each demanding a different degree of mobility and flexibility that could be facilitated or hindered by said clothes. One such example is the discourse around female skirts becoming more flowing at the beginning of the XVIIth century (p. 52): although the very first thing that comes to mind concerns mobility and freedom of movement, the authors once again read this with male gaze-y eyes. While sure, clothing pieces could have erotic connotations, one could argue that getting laid was hardly the only thing that went through people’s minds while getting dressed, not even for those upper classes this book talks about.
Moreover, as mean as this might sound, critical thinking seems to be unknown to both authors, especially considering they take every source at face value, something every decent historian will tell you not to do for several reasons. Which implies that no, anecdotes about girls and women with waists the size of my ankle should not be taken as the norm, nor as 100% certified facts® (see p.197). Nor should a single slightly out of context snarky comment made by Elizabeth Haywood – by then an elderly woman – on younger women be taken as ultimate measure of what “was the fashion” (p.68). You either exhibit more proof of that or you are jumping to conclusions, which seems probable.
Although this certainly cannot be blamed on the authors, socio-cultural elements and perspectives lack. The Cunningtons simply wrote the book 40 years before social sciences came to be, which means they missed vital theories borrowed from anthropologists, sociologists, art historians and the likes. What gets provided here is a superficial description of shapes and appearance, without addressing why, how, by whom and for whom, barely skimming the surface. There are Material Culture researchers out there who did wonders just by focussing on a single piece of clothing studying cut, clothing construction, sewing and darning techniques, dye etc..
Their badly redacted bibliography reads like a joke, and even regular BA level students would know better than to cite A number of old newspapers as primary source. The bottom line here is, most of the quotes so nicely enmeshed in the text – with citations oftentimes making up entire subchapters - are simply not verifiable, unless one felt prone to go through 500 years of poetry, drama, fiction and diaries […] portraits and prints (at which point one could write a better book). The pool of secondary sources is rather small – while maybe not ideal, it might be a necessity from time to time – and is absolutely not enough for a book covering almost 700 hundred years of human history. While I personally do not enjoy scholarly books that try to cover a large timespan, I completely understand the appeal!
It might be that the book was first published in 1939, which could explain the authors’ (very) loose scientific approach to the matter or might be that the Cunningtons’ field of choice was not that of History (and it shows) but rather that of Medicine, it might be all these aspects tied together. What I know is that only rarely can perspectives and research stay relevant for long period of times, as knowledge broadens, and older pieces might need an update or two - or to simply be discarded. This book falls under the latter category.
March 30, 2021
An informative and fun look at underwear through the ages, with lots of illustrations and obscure facts. For a historical romance writer, it's the perfect book, giving layer by layer detail of what your heroes and heroines had to strip out of! Loved this, and it's one that I will be using regularly from now on.
June 3, 2024
Even my non-professional knowledge of dress history can certainly assert this book as inaccurate and playing off of modern preconceptions. Additionally, this book is repetitive, contradictory, and oddly sexualizing, discussing for the most part only the most erotic connotations of garments without concern for things such as practical purpose. The sources cited are often vague and unreliable, and the phrasing is overly dramatic for a book that calls itself a serious work of study.
June 9, 2023
Snoozefest with some falsehoods. The writing is extremely outdated (I know it was written as late as 1951, but it's especially bad) and there seems to be an annoying penchant for the historian writer to point to "sex attraction" as a reason for everything. Some of the "sources" are dubious; you can't point to exaggerated portraiture or satirical art (he does acknowledge that one at least) as fact. For example Elizabethan era women likely weren't actually tightlacing to get that triangle torso; the skirt styles made it appear that way so of course the portraits would exaggerate it even further. There also aren't enough illustrations or photographs in my opinion. It gets two stars at least for being a meagerly useful guide when it comes to general information.
July 7, 2008
A must have for the historical fiction reader so that you actually picture what it is the people are wearing from the braies to the jabots to the pantaloons and pantalettes!
September 2, 2024
“Poor Winifred broke two laces and almost lost a finger in endeavoring to draw my new French stays close. You know I am naturally small at bottom, but now you might literally span me. You never saw such a doll. Then they are so intolerably wide across the breast that my arms are absolutely sore with them; and my sides so pinched! But it is the ton, and pride feels no pain.” (1711)
“There had been a young gentlewoman overturned and terribly bruised by her Vulcanian stays. They now wear a steel busk down their middle, and a rail of the same metal across their breasts. If a hero attempts to storm such strong lines, and comes to a close engagement, he must lie as ill at ease as St. Lawrence on his gridiron.” (1730)
“‘The fashion of false bosoms had at least this utility, that it compels our fashionable fair to wear something.’” (1791)
“‘When going to a dance, the size of my cup-shaped wire structure would depend on who my partner was to be’” (1883)
“Man’s clothing was profoundly affected but the growing taste for sports, the influence of which was two-fold. For one thing, it materially broke through the barriers of class. The other influence of sport was to spread a taste for more comfortable clothes in daily life, and ‘the top hat and frock coat’ were gradually becoming a specialized uniform for particular occasions.” (1897)
“Pyjamas had become generally accepted to replace the nightshirt, though the pure-minded clung to the belief that any garment worn in bed must of necessity have improper implications, and ‘the advent of a leading actor on the state clothed in the convenient pyjamas seemed to have shocked the superlatively sensitive ladies in the audience.” (1906)
Closing remark:
“Women have long considered men’s underwear as plain prose, but think of their own as poetical.”
“There had been a young gentlewoman overturned and terribly bruised by her Vulcanian stays. They now wear a steel busk down their middle, and a rail of the same metal across their breasts. If a hero attempts to storm such strong lines, and comes to a close engagement, he must lie as ill at ease as St. Lawrence on his gridiron.” (1730)
“‘The fashion of false bosoms had at least this utility, that it compels our fashionable fair to wear something.’” (1791)
“‘When going to a dance, the size of my cup-shaped wire structure would depend on who my partner was to be’” (1883)
“Man’s clothing was profoundly affected but the growing taste for sports, the influence of which was two-fold. For one thing, it materially broke through the barriers of class. The other influence of sport was to spread a taste for more comfortable clothes in daily life, and ‘the top hat and frock coat’ were gradually becoming a specialized uniform for particular occasions.” (1897)
“Pyjamas had become generally accepted to replace the nightshirt, though the pure-minded clung to the belief that any garment worn in bed must of necessity have improper implications, and ‘the advent of a leading actor on the state clothed in the convenient pyjamas seemed to have shocked the superlatively sensitive ladies in the audience.” (1906)
Closing remark:
“Women have long considered men’s underwear as plain prose, but think of their own as poetical.”
June 16, 2021
The History of Underclothes
By C. Willett and Phillis Cunnington
Reviewed June 15, 2021
I couldn't decide whether to give this book 2 stars or 3. I ended up giving it 3 because of the wealth of information it contains, but for readability? Frankly, it was boring. And since I was most interested in the early chapters, covering the Middle Ages and Renaissance, I often skipped large portions of later chapters.
Also, this book was published in the 1950s and very strongly reflects the ideas regarding gender prevalent then. The main thrust is that men's underwear changed little because it didn't have to, men did not have to exude that whole sex attraction thing. It's the female's underwear that constantly went through changes because of this. Now, I agree that many of the various forms of undergarments worn by women over the centuries -- farthingales, corsets, bum roles, bustles, and the like -- have a lot to do with sexual attraction, but to suggest that sexual attraction was primarily a female thing? Sorry, that's just wrong.
And how can you make a book about underwear boring? *sigh*
By C. Willett and Phillis Cunnington
Reviewed June 15, 2021
I couldn't decide whether to give this book 2 stars or 3. I ended up giving it 3 because of the wealth of information it contains, but for readability? Frankly, it was boring. And since I was most interested in the early chapters, covering the Middle Ages and Renaissance, I often skipped large portions of later chapters.
Also, this book was published in the 1950s and very strongly reflects the ideas regarding gender prevalent then. The main thrust is that men's underwear changed little because it didn't have to, men did not have to exude that whole sex attraction thing. It's the female's underwear that constantly went through changes because of this. Now, I agree that many of the various forms of undergarments worn by women over the centuries -- farthingales, corsets, bum roles, bustles, and the like -- have a lot to do with sexual attraction, but to suggest that sexual attraction was primarily a female thing? Sorry, that's just wrong.
And how can you make a book about underwear boring? *sigh*
March 17, 2013
This was too much of a text book to be an enjoyable read. Interesting in parts, but I ended up skimming a lot of it. Is it perhaps meant to be a text book? I would have found it interesting to have more social history aligned with the information. Lots of references to specific elements of garments, which as a none specialist meant I often had know idea what was read. Has the makings of a really good book, just not executed that well for the casual reader. Had thought it would be more like a Consider the Fork, but about underwear!
February 4, 2016
Not as helpful as I would have liked. The descriptions are dry; photos need updating for clearer resolution. Articles of clothing are listed, but it's not explained how they go together. How do you layer these pieces? How did you hold up your stockings? What the heck did you do when you had to go to the bathroom--or worse--had your period?
This edition is several decades old now and needs a modern re-editing.
This edition is several decades old now and needs a modern re-editing.
June 9, 2020
I was very intrigued by the topic when I picked this book up. However, I ended up being disappointed. This book is an excellent resource for writers who want to describe clothing according to a historical time period. It is also really good for people who work in this particular field.
However, for a person like me, this book seemed very dry and academic. There was way too much time and space devoted to descriptions of clothes in texts found over certain periods of time. In places, it seemed dull and repetitive. The illustrations were not very clear, so some of the descriptions just sounded odd.
I learnt a great deal about how underclothes have served an erotic function, and how they have been used for class distinction. However, I wish the sociological aspects had been elaborated further. As it stand now, I would have learnt the same amount of things if this book had been a hundred pages shorter.
Also, this book was written in the 1950s and clothing has come a long way since then.
However, for a person like me, this book seemed very dry and academic. There was way too much time and space devoted to descriptions of clothes in texts found over certain periods of time. In places, it seemed dull and repetitive. The illustrations were not very clear, so some of the descriptions just sounded odd.
I learnt a great deal about how underclothes have served an erotic function, and how they have been used for class distinction. However, I wish the sociological aspects had been elaborated further. As it stand now, I would have learnt the same amount of things if this book had been a hundred pages shorter.
Also, this book was written in the 1950s and clothing has come a long way since then.
September 9, 2020
This was written in 1951 and covers the periods from medieval times through 1939. So there are no secrets of Victoria divulged here. The book covers both men's and women's garments. It also includes items that I would not think of as "underclothes", such as pajamas and dress shirts. The book includes a number of illustrations and black and white photographs. However, these are, in my opinion, rather poor. This is a reference book, not one that you sit down and read cover-to-cover. Due to the lack of precise images, I'm not sure how beneficial this book would be to costume designers. I suspect there are better sources. It would be useful, however, to historic authors. And it includes a short bibliography of other references.
September 4, 2018
Bought this new revised ed used before Dover reprinted it at a much lower price (grrrr). Illus mainly with line drawings and some B&W photos of actual garments or period illus.. Both men's and women's garments are covered. Much coverage seems to be given to the lack of drawers in women's underwear thru much of history and the possibility /probability of 'wardrobe malfunctions'. The tone is fairly light but there is still considerable information presented. One interesting bit appended is a listing of the number of rationing coupons required in Britain to purchase various pieces of underwear in 1942.
February 17, 2021
I was excited to read this book, but ended up really disappointed. Firstly, as a Canadian reading this 70 years after publication, I had no idea how to read or gauge the prices. Secondly, as someone with limited knowledge of fabric terminology, a glossary would have been appreciated. Thirdly, the men’s portions were boring. And finally, there definitely was not enough photos and examples for my liking. Knowing that this is an old publication, I’m sure other books probably have these aspects covered, but for this book - disappointing.
January 28, 2020
Not Helpful
I bought this because I hoped to get some better information about masking period clothes/costumes. The image quality and descriptions are really poor. I wasn’t able to learn more than I already knew and some images were so dark and low contrast it was pointless to even have them. For $10, I’m really unhappy with it.
I bought this because I hoped to get some better information about masking period clothes/costumes. The image quality and descriptions are really poor. I wasn’t able to learn more than I already knew and some images were so dark and low contrast it was pointless to even have them. For $10, I’m really unhappy with it.
December 26, 2020
Originally researched and written in 1951, so you get hilariously doubled anthropology.
Also, the authors are too delicate to explain exactly how one pees whilst wearing cami-knickers.
Nevertheless, a nice lens on history and clothing that made me laugh several times.
Also, the authors are too delicate to explain exactly how one pees whilst wearing cami-knickers.
Nevertheless, a nice lens on history and clothing that made me laugh several times.
March 6, 2019
This fits so neatly into my obsession with fashion history, there's no way I couldn't love it!!
June 25, 2020
A very informative book!
July 27, 2023
A somewhat useful reference for writers
December 1, 2023
someone needs to tell these men that not everything is about sex
Read
May 20, 2025DNF
February 19, 2019
This is an excellent sourcebook for research: What did people wear under their clothes throughout history?
Note: 'Underclothes' in this book means the garments that lay beneath, say, a doublet or a coat (we call them 'jackets' now). Photos of the actual items, or contemporary depictions are in the text.
My only criticism, and it is not enough to make me remove a star, is that this is a facsimile reissue of an older book, and the text and some of the photos are dark or difficult to read/see.
I would recommend this for anyone researching historical costumes.
Note: 'Underclothes' in this book means the garments that lay beneath, say, a doublet or a coat (we call them 'jackets' now). Photos of the actual items, or contemporary depictions are in the text.
My only criticism, and it is not enough to make me remove a star, is that this is a facsimile reissue of an older book, and the text and some of the photos are dark or difficult to read/see.
I would recommend this for anyone researching historical costumes.
Read
June 14, 2015I'll need to come back to this.
It's interesting, it really is, but its more information than one could ever dream is out there, with regards to England's underclothes!
The book covers the medieval period, through 1939. I made it through to 1790!
I learned quite a bit. My only complaint to this point is that the illustrations are a bit haphazardly placed, leaving the reader to flip back and forth through the pages to view examples.
It's interesting, it really is, but its more information than one could ever dream is out there, with regards to England's underclothes!
The book covers the medieval period, through 1939. I made it through to 1790!
I learned quite a bit. My only complaint to this point is that the illustrations are a bit haphazardly placed, leaving the reader to flip back and forth through the pages to view examples.
January 24, 2015
An excellent tertiary source for the history of undergarments. Secondary do primary sources are also listed. This book only addresses English undergarments though there is the occasional reference to continental or American garments if they influenced the English garments. Very readable with lots of good photos and drawings.
April 23, 2008
A meticulously researched, well-illustrated and...very boring book. I think this would be good for people who enjoy costume histories, but it wasn't my cup of tea. Note: this book covers only British underwear.
February 22, 2008
good if you want to read the whole thing, some interesting pictures. i was hoping it would help more than it does with costume design but interesting nonetheless.
January 13, 2009
This is another good research book. Very interesting seeing what we've put ourselves through...and not just women! Men in corsets...yuck.
February 5, 2012
A very good book, and not something you see often. For someone who studies in scenography and costume, this book is something to read at least once.
Want to read
May 10, 2013super
March 21, 2015
Yes, I am reading this, but I am asking myself the question: How can a book about ladies' unmentionables be so boring??!! Here's hoping it gets better!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews