The Creators Project: Drawers, undies, bloomers, knickers, chonies, butt-huggers, skivvies, unmentionables: Whatever you call them, undergarments have literally been the foundation of our wardrobes for about as long as we've been wearing them. Now, London's Victoria & Albert Museum showcases the history of underwear from the 18th century through today in an exhibition called Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear.
7 comments:
Who doesn't love underwear? I'm so glad I stumbled across this article, and wish I were in London now. I have always found underwear fascinating and the whole principle of dressing up to be undressed or wearing nice things without ever showing it. In our modern culture underwear is used as more of a fashion statement or seduction technique rather than a figure-shaper. It's fascinating to see how underwear reflects the idea of beauty in each time period. I am also glad they included photos of what those corsets did to people,and the negative effects of trying to achieve "perfect beauty". I'd be interested to see the evolution of men's underwear throughout the centuries and whether or not that was influenced by the idea of male beauty or masculinity. Another portion of the article I found interesting was the idea that underwear influences fashion. I had never thought of it like that, but it is certainly true. Evidence appears with the sleek 1920's slip dress,the bodice corsets of the 1800's, today's revival of the corset in many tops and dresses that resemble bra-like structures for actually tops, or even the bandeau trend which replaces shirts, or large portions of shirts, with a simple tube bra. I'd be really interested to see this exhibit and learn more about the history of undergarments throughout time.
I LOVED this article! The photographs pictured here show a wide variety of different types of undergarments and how they have varied through the years and the transition of styles throughout this time. Some earlier items looked almost cage-like to not only create a firm form but also to close off the woman's body from the outside world. In other parts of the article, the underwear seemed to be beautifully decorated with ornate lace and gems and beautiful sheep material. The time and effort placed into these garments show an amazing attention to detail and design. These pieces were meant to make the wearer feel beautiful and to steal the show (figuratively speaking.) I think that is beautiful in its own for an article of clothing meant to be hidden. Sometimes these pieces did appear to be unrealistic and painful though and thus the reason we see a transition to the modern underwear. These modern undies combine both the function and the beauty of the previous designs. This supplies the wearers with the functionality they need while also making them feel comfortable and beautiful, both of which a very important.
This is such an interesting way to document or present an anthology of social structures and norms over the past few centuries. I have actually seen quite a few news stories or documentaries on the advancements of undergarments in the past, so it is definitely something of interest to some crowd somewhere – and just as a patron, it is definitely just a cool and quirky thing to go see. Looks and styles throughout history establish a foundation of cultural norms at any given time and underwear is literally the foundation of an outfit or look. By analyzing the shapes and contours of underwear over the years, progression can be seen and maybe even social progressions of people in these times. I think this exhibit is fun and quirky, while also being dramatically fascinating. Also just the technology aspect of the garments show progress in the textile industry – which is also pretty cool.
This looks like it would be an incredibly interesting exhibit. I always have thought that the idea of lingerie is a fascinating contradiction. On one hand even the most intimate articles of clothing we wear are made to please and fulfill the fantasies of men. On the other hand, as many women who have put on lingerie know, wearing beautiful underwear that someone spent time designing so that you are gorgeous and confident is very empowering, even if you are the only one who knows you are wearing it. What I would be most interested in seeing at this exhibit is how the way underwear reflect the changing beauty ideals and standards for women in a given society. How does the clothing you wear underneath everything else, right against your skin, inform the cultural expectations for you as a woman? At one point in history a woman’s value was in her modesty and virginity, whereas nowadays her confidence and sexuality tend to be prized the most. I do like that underwear has gone from being basically a torture device that disfigures a woman’s very skeleton to something that women have take ownership of.
I would love to see this exhibit to learn more about not just the history of underwear over time, but especially about what went into the invention and design of underwear in the first place, all the way back to the beginning. I've learned that the first articles of clothing were made by (for lack of a better word) "cavemen" who saw animals' warm fur and wondered why they didn't have their own. Thus they learned to skin animals, preserve the hide and fur without them hardening (which was initially done by soaking in tree sap), and wear them on their bodies. Knowing this makes me wonder where along the line it was decided that underwear, another different layer of clothing entirely, was needed underneath. Obviously animals don't wear underwear, at least as far as we know, so who decided that we needed to? And why? I'd love to learn the mindset that initially went into underwear's development, as I think it would be rather telling of the origins of modesty and nudity standards today.
With as much diversity that exists over the centuries with outer fashion and wares, I'm actually surprised that exhibits if this nature are so few and far between. To me the evolution and creative prowess that surround undergarments is fascinating. I think what's most interesting is that the main focus from the pictures is on female form and undergarments, almost as if they are now adornments on the body. Yet the experimentation with male undergarments seems to be rather stagnant and any evolutions in fabric or design quite elementary and straight forward. Yet there is one caveat to this that has been exploding if late in regards to men's undergarment fashion- gay underwear. It's becoming a huge market with the rise in various fabrics and designs changing logarithmically over the past five to ten years. I'm curious if this coincides with the social acceptance of gay men and an outward and open sexual liberation. Much as I am sure that the same explosion of female undergarment styles coincides with feminine liberation and sexual freedom.
I get that it is relative, but the title was a little unsettling and even though we are talking about underwear, it still made me a little uncomfortable - probably not the best plan. Maybe it is just me and it did not affect others negatively. I also wish the article itself spent less time talking about the variety of names we call our underwear, and more about the types and their function. I assume the author was writing to encourage attendance to the exhibit, but for the majority that is unable to attend, this article was not to helpful. It would be nice if there were more pictures at least. All this aside, I was surprised about the reason that the underwear designers love their job. Of course, someone had to do it, but it is really cool that there are people who are super passionate about our intimate clothing.
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