Page 52 - All About History - Issue 33-15

Through History

UNDERWEAR

From loincloths and corsets to codpieces and chastity belts, take a peek at the

fashions that have graced our nether regions over the centuries

Men and women’s drawers
often had an opening at the CODPIECE 14TH CENTURY
crotch to make going to the The common codpiece has celebrated
toilet easier
a long and illustrious history in the
fashions of underwear, with nobles such
as King Henry VIII himself among the
ranks of wearers. Initially invented
to cover the modesty of men in
their open drawers, the codpiece
experienced a surge in popularity
thanks to its most famous
patron. As codpieces evolved to
emphasise the shape of men’s
genitals, King Henry VIII began
the popular trend of stuffing it for a
DRAWERS 1840S more well-endowed appearance. Little did many of
Historically, the Along with Christmas trees and white weddings, his contemporaries realise that this trendsetter was
THONG UNKNOWN thong was underwear Queen Victoria is thought to have inspired her attempting to calm the sores caused by syphilis
exclusively for men
with cool, wet cloths.
nation to wear undergarments as a matter of norm.
Mentioning it may bring to mind modern Variants on drawers had existed for centuries
women’s underwear, but the thong actually before, but it was only during Victoria’s reign that
has a history steeped in masculinity. Like the they became an essential to every social class.
loincloth, it was an early form of underwear, but Drawers often reached below the knees for both
it had a few perks that its hanging counterpart male and female wearers, and most people wore
couldn’t provide. With a stretch of material open drawers that featured a large opening in the
to hold the genitals in place, it supported and crotch area, which facilitated bathroom-going and
protected active men. Sumo wrestlers wear a apparently kept the nether regions
The codpiece
variant of the thong, known as the mawashi, fresh and well ventilated. rose in popularity
and the thong’s supportive capabilities inspired Wallace during the 15th
the creation of the jockstrap. Carothers and 16th centuries
AMERICAN 1896-1937
Chemist Carothers revolutionised
underwear with the invention of LOINCLOTH
HOOP SKIRT 16TH CENTURY nylon. Cheaper and more durable than
cotton and silk counterparts, nylon
Much like corsets, the popularity of hoop skirts is 1330 BCE
stockings became a necessity. When
one that somehow endured centuries despite their the production of nylon stockings The most rudimentary
uncomfortable and restrictive nature. With different ceased during World War II, a form of underwear –
styles and sizes available, the desire for hoop skirts demand for them appeared
on the black market. and probably the most
waned towards the end of the 18th century, yet comfortable from this
they experienced something of a renaissance in list – the loincloth
the mid-19th century. The first of these skirt The crinoline was The most rudimentary of all harksbackmillenniato
cages was the voluptuous farthingale. mass produced, underwear, the loincloth was
making it accessible thetimeoftheAncient
often just a piece of material to
Later, the pannier style took to most social shade the wearer’s nether regions Egyptians. Upon
off – it exaggerated the classes, but wearers excavating his tomb, it
had to be careful
wearer’s hips, creating a
in factories and was discovered that among many other treasures,
saddlebag look. Thankfully, workplaces Tutankhamun was buried with 145 loincloths –
these cumbersome garments presumably to see him through his afterlife. King
eventually underwent a Tut wasn’t the only one to cover his modesty – the
dramatic overhaul, with the Romans were also renowned for their loincloths.
crinoline skirts of the The loincloth could be worn as outer or underwear,
mid-19th century mass mainly depending on the climate, but it’s known
produced and made of that Ancient Egyptians wore theirs underneath
hard-wearing steel. kilt-like dress.

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