History of Lingerie

Lingerie as we know it is a relatively recent concept. Your grandmother would probably never combine the word sexy and lingerie in the same sentence. In the early part of the 20th century, women’s underwear was designed for functionality rather than sensuality. No one, with the possible exception of a Moulin Rouge Can Can Dancer, bought underwear to be seen in it. Until 1960s, women’s underwear served three main purposes:

* shape
* hygiene
* modesty



Shape was provided by binding the body to compress it at the center and move flesh from the waist to the breasts and hips. From the 16th to the 19th century this was accomplished by the corset, a device that would squeeze a woman’s waist to as little as 16 or 17 inches (40 - 43 cm). Some women as well as men would practice “tight lacing”, a practice of training the body to accept progressively narrower binding and achieve an extremely exaggerated, hourglass shape as shown in th cartoon commentary from 1893 shown below. For many, however, the corset was painful and limited movement. During the 1920s, the corset was gradually replaced by the girdle. The girdle also shaped the body, but used elastic material rather than bindings, which was much more comfortable and less extreme. The girdle was designed to smooth a woman’s body, and give it a more appealing line. The girdle either started at the shoulders as seen in the photo, or at the waist. It was closed by either hook and eye type closures (such as in modern day brassiers) or zippers as shown in the photo. At the bottom of the girdle were usually fasteners that clipped to stockings to hold them in place. By the 1960s the girdle gradually disappeared and was replaced by the panty girdle. The panty girdle was replaced by (control top) pantyhose which will be discussed in more detail below.

There is much controversy about who first invented the brassiere. Henry Lesher is credited by some with patenting the first brassiere, in 1859. While his design looks more or less like a bra, (though the figure of the person wearing it hardly looks like a woman), he designed it primarily as a “breast pad and perspiration shield”. While it was also designed to “give a symmetrical rotundity” it was not intended for breast support. (click to see Henry Lesher's patent ) Many attribute the invention of the modern brassiere to Mary Phelps Jacob mostly because her patent was the first to use the french word "brassiere". Her invention was backless and was held in place by straps which wrapped around the woman and tied in front. But, as she writes in her patent description, on February 12, 1914 her invention was meant to be worn with evening gowns that were cut low in the back and was intended to “cover the top of the corset and hold the wearer in proper form”. Again, she did not mention breast support. Still others believe that the brassiere was invented by Herminie Cadolle in 1889. Interestingly the company she founded, Cadolle Paris, is still in existance today, but no mention of Herminie’s invention is made on the company website. When contacted for comment or information, the company did not respond. Marie Tucek patented a breast supporter in 1893. While the design appears very similar in design to the modern day brassiere, there are some design flaws. Marie Tucek's garment was never marketed and would probably not have been very successful if it had been.

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