CHANGING UNDERGARMENTS FOR WOMEN’S CHANGING ROLE

Chemise that would have been worn underneath a Victorian style dress in the late 1800s (1).

Camisole of pink silk, ecru lace, pink ribbon, with encased elastic at the bottom from the World War I era (2).

Handsewn camisole of natural linen, handmade lace, and ribbon with buttons and a metal eye for closing, as well as a band at the bottom, from the World War I era (3). 

Women’s undergarments did eventually change to fit their more active role in society. The previous style of undergarment, the chemise, can be seen above. It was a loose-fitting dress that would have been worn underneath the additional garments that would have shaped a woman’s silhouette, including a corset, corset cover, bustle, and dress skirt and bodice (4). The purpose of the chemise was to stop sweat and body oils from getting on the harder to clean and more elaborate outer garments of the dress skirt and bodice, not to provide any type of support or added mobility (5). However, as women’s roles in society changed and they started entering the workforce in greater numbers, their undergarments would shift to more adequately fit these new positions. This took the form of what would become the modern bra in 1913 when Mary Phelps Jacob and her maid sewed together handkerchiefs and ribbon to make an undergarment to replace her corset cover (6). She began sewing them for friends and eventually strangers, and patented the design in 1914, the first bra design patented in the U.S. (7). Companies that made bras in the 1920s, the time from which the two camisoles seen above were created, produced bandeau style bras that were meant to push the breasts down to achieve a boyish frame (8).  The camisoles pictured above are both garments that would have served this purpose, as there is not as much support provided as would be seen in later versions of the bra. Instead, they are both bandage-style pieces of fabric with straps made of ribbon and a bottom band of elastic that would have held the camisole in place.

​The late 1910s and early 1920s marked a significant shift in woman’s level of activity in society due to World War I. Because most men were fighting the war, women entered the workforce in significant numbers that had never been seen before (9). As such, their clothes had to change as well to fit the new wartime activities they were participating in (10). Clothing had to be comfortable and functional to allow for greater mobility during work, but also safe to be worn in factories (11). Dresses and the undergarments that went along with them, like the chemise, were simply incapable of providing the functionality that women needed for their clothes once they gained a greater role working in the wartime economy, therefore, their increased participation in society could directly be observed in their changing undergarments.