Before he 19th century, most women just wore nothing beneath their chemises. The no knickers thing was not as scandalous as you might think, dresses were long and worn with many layers of petticoats and underskirts that varied with fashions but also provided modesty.
19th Century Crinolines
By the time the huge, mid-19th century crinolines showed up on the fashion scene, something had to be done about what they were wearing (or not) underneath. These crinolines were racy. They were meant not to cover up the leg, but to show it off. They swung like bells when a woman walked, and could reveal shocking amounts of woollen-stocking. There were even reports of crinolines flipping inside out in stiff winds.
In the pre-Victorian era women began to wear open-crotch drawers. While they might seem like the sexiest lingerie a woman can wear, based on today’s standards, back then the style was actually seen as old fashioned. They were usually open from the thigh up. This was for a variety of reasons.
Think about the challenges a lady faced entering a stagecoach while retaining her modesty
It was also considered healthy and hygenic; a lady’s bits needed proper ventilation.
Trying to pee was a challenge.
The lady is in a public space – a theater or tavern – but there is no public toilet. So, to relieve herself she must stand up, taking care not to soil her skirt and petticoats.
Using the bordaloue
One of the problems of that time was trying to bunch up all the yardage ineven the humblest dress of centuries past to try and get a comfortable position over the chamber pot. It left no hands to pull down underwear.
Bourdaloue
The solution to this was the open-crotch drawers and the bourdaloue, which was slipped under the skirts while standing, used and then was carried away – genius!
These crotchless undies are just a small part of our display of Underwear Through the Ages. Come along and see the rest.
Industries of Mortlake-Cabarita (continued) Dulux Australia Limited The other major industrial complex in Mortlake – Cabarita was Dulux Australia Limited which began operating in Concord in 1921 as British Australian Lead Manufacturers Pty Ltd (BALM). The company was formed in 1918 as a result of the wartime prohibition of the export of white lead –…
Make it idiot proof, and someone will make a better idiot.He who laughs last thinks slowest!Consciousness: that annoying time between naps.When there’s a will, I want to be in it.Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.Every morning is the dawn of a new error…There cannot be a crisis today; my schedule is already full.Car…
General Law Nothing is as easy as it looks. Everything takes longer than you think. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something. It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so…
On 11 December 1920, the town clerk of the Municipality of Concord wrote to the Board of Fire Commissioners of New South Wales requesting assistance to form a local voluntary fire brigade. Town Clerk, H. A. Furness, stated that: “At last meeting of the Council of this Municipality I was directed to ask you that…
From royalty to poets and preachers – here are the stories behind the familiar faces that grace our banknotes. It’s a question that stumbles teams at trivia nights across the nation – we see most of them daily, but for many, the names and stories behind the faces on Australia’s banknotes remain a mystery. The…
Cabarita Point was first named in the 1856 Survey Map. At the time there was a property known as “Cabarita House” near Kendall Bay. It is not clear whether the location took its name from the house or if the house was named for its location. Cabarita is presumed to have derived from a local…