Women's underwear underwent unprecedented changes at the beginning of the 20th century. After centuries of whalebone corsets, modern intimate apparel emerged with the advent of the girdle and the brassiere. The 19th century has long been considered the era of the corset's demise, a first step toward the progressive liberation of the female body, in conjunction with the emergence of a new model: the active woman. But although women began to occupy a new place in society, they did not stop molding their bodies according to the demands of fashion. Far from disappearing, restrictive undergarments evolved and took on new forms.
FROM CORSET TO GIRDLE
During the 1890s, the corset became longer and narrower, creating what became known as the "S" silhouette. At the beginning of the 20th century, female silhouettes transformed: the Belle Époque favored the “empire” line: the sinuous lines of the first decade of the century gave way to a straighter and more “natural” shape. Corsets continued to mutate in the early 20th century, becoming progressively longer to envelop the abdomen and hips. Instead of focusing on the waist or bust, the new type of corset worked from the waist to the upper thighs. This mutation gave rise to the girdle. This new name, which emerged around the time of the First World War, originally described a short corset that extended from the waist to the hips and abdomen. For some time, the distinction between corset and girdle remained vague. The large number of names used in newspapers and fashion magazines clearly illustrates the lack of a clear distinction between them. Until 1930, terms such as "girdle," "corset," "corset-belt," "hip-corset," and "girdle-belt" were used interchangeably in department store catalogs. Later, the girdle was differentiated from the corset essentially by the materials used: more flexible than the corset, it was manufactured with new and innovative materials that allowed greater flexibility and adaptability, such as rubber, used in the form of elastic. The end of the corset had long been announced, but in reality, the girdle was simply its most recent evolution. It did, however, reduce rigidity: the upper part of the body and the hips began to move independently of each other. Even so, the woman's body continued to be restricted by well-established practices.
The genesis of the brassiere:
The emergence of the brassiere is linked to the transformation of the corset during the Belle Époque. The oldest form of brassiere dates back to Antiquity, when a strip of fabric known as an apodesma was used to support the breasts by compressing them. The modern brassiere appeared in the late 19th century but was only adopted by women in the 1920s. In the early years of the 20th century, the corset still supported the breasts from below, compressing the bust. When, early in the century, the corset evolved and left the bust uncovered, the breasts needed to be supported by other means.
Patent applications filed in the United States during the 1860s attest to the research carried out with the goal of creating an undergarment whose exclusive function was to support women's breasts. Between 1880 and 1890, the number of inventions multiplied, culminating in the creation of the brassiere. Early models were often presented in conjunction with the use of a corset, being rigid, wide-cut, and reinforced. This was the case with the famous "corselet-gorge," invented by Herminie Cadolle, a French corset maker living in Buenos Aires. Presented for the first time at the 1889 Universal Exhibition, it was a reinforced garment with cups for the breasts and lacing at the front and back. The true innovation of this model lay in the way it supported the breasts: while the corset supported them from below, the brassiere used straps to support them from above. The idea of supporting the breasts by the shoulders may have emerged from the "cache-corset," a type of vest made of lightweight cotton that closed with buttons in the front. This evolved into the characteristic brassiere of the 1920s. The shape of the brassiere, therefore, remained indeterminate for a long time, oscillating between corset and lingerie.
FLAPPER UNDERWEAR
After 1920, body lines continued to lengthen; thinness gradually became the desired shape, while, at the same time, the fashion for outdoor activities, such as swimming, revealed the body in new ways. Between 1915 and 1925, the flapper archetype dominated as women sought an androgynous look. The silhouette no longer emphasized traditional feminine attributes and the new undergarments, the brassiere and the girdle, allowed women to construct this new silhouette. The brassiere, therefore, was not intended to emphasize the breasts. For a time, it kept its minimalist shape, a simple strip of fabric to which straps were added. Its decoration, however, could be ostentatious, as seen in the model presented at the 1925 International Exhibition of Decorative Arts and which is now in the Galliera Museum. This example illustrates the absence of structure: the piece is flat, without reinforcements or bones. Here, it is the decoration that schematizes the separation of the breasts.
For women with larger breasts, there were more radical solutions. The minimizing brassiere used compression to reduce the volume of the breasts. Like the corset, it included bones and was laced at the back; the principle of lacing remained the most effective means of slimming the body. The brassiere was worn with a girdle, which aimed to slim the hips rather than the waist. The flapper silhouette was, therefore, a vertical and columnar line, uninterrupted by a cinched waist. The waistline, indicated by clothing, was displaced and lowered, now situated at hip height. Over time, the girdle and the brassiere were joined, forming a single piece of lingerie, the camisole-knickers which had the happy advantage of preventing the accumulation of fat at the waist, sometimes caused by wearing a girdle. Emerging in the 1920s, it was still simply called a "girdle" or "corset-girdle" in commercial catalogs, and its use became more widespread during the 1930s. Women found emancipation by rejecting traditional images of femininity. But this emancipation did not necessarily include the liberation of the body. The flapper danced, exposing her legs and acquiring new levels of activity, but her silhouette still remained the result of the artificial construction provided by her undergarments.
UPCOMING CHAPTERS: Between wars: toward a conquest of movement.
0 comments