WHAT'S UNDER THERE?
It’s one of my favorite bits in THE STUFF OF MURDER: historian Christian Shaw explaining pre-industrial men’s underpinnings to movie star Brett Studebaker, and later Joe Poli, the state’s attorney investigating Studebaker’s death. Both fellas – who otherwise have nothing in common – are horrified by the thought that many men didn’t wear underpants until the 19th century.
Christian’s embarrassed to be the one to tell them, but she’s the expert – and she’s right.
Underwear history is inevitably a little speculative. The few pieces of clothing that have survived from the earliest periods are special-occasion items like wedding gowns or coronation robes – and art, like tomb paintings or portraits, didn’t usually depict people in their skivvies.
Historians have been able to gather enough scraps to get a sense, though, and it’s fair to say that neither boxers nor briefs are part of the picture. Loincloths were probably around from the time Adam and Eve realized they needed something a bit sturdier than fig leaves – they’re seen in Ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman paintings on both men and women. A second strip of cloth that looks like a modern bandeau bra is often added to the ladies’ kit.
By the medieval era, some men were wearing pants, and they might wear something called “braies” underneath – essentially, yes, light linen underpants. These were especially popular for working men, who could take off their outer pants and still be decent on hot days.
But anyone wearing tights couldn’t fit pants under them. Tights were usually sewn, not knitted, and they didn’t fit like our modern ones. An extra bit of fabric in the middle covered the essentials and made bathroom breaks easier. At first, it was just a plain piece of fabric, secured by buttons, or clips, or sometimes straight pins (ow!). As fashion evolved, though, the simple codpiece became decorative, with beading, embroidery, and other embellishments – and just about the most noticeable part of a man’s outfit.
Paging Dr. Freud.
When tights and codpieces went out, breeches came in. Most of the time, they were a bit looser than tights. (Though Regency bucks wore skin-tight ones that were put on wet and dried to reveal everything. Everything.)
All this time, men were still wearing one basic item of underwear: the shirt. A man’s shirt, like a woman’s chemise, was usually the first layer next to the skin. Poorer people might well sleep in them, too – if they didn’t sleep naked to save their clothes. Men’s shirts were often quite long, so they could serve as a single undergarment, with the wearer tucking the ends in around everything.
Historically accurate, sure. Kind of icky? You bet.
In THE STUFF OF MURDER, Brett Studebaker has a hard time wrapping his brain (sorry!) around the idea…and Christian eventually draws him a diagram. That shuts him up!
The 19th century Victorian obsession with cleanliness and propriety was more than enough to kill the shirt-as-underwear option. Underpants – sometimes ankle-length! – became a required part of a man’s outfit. By the end of the century, knitting mills were producing thin wool union suits, which started out as a covering from ankle to neck to wrist…and eventually evolved into short singlets, and – in the 20th century – the briefs we recognize today.
Boxers? Well, those initially started with, yes, boxers…but that’s a post for another day!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the Comments!
Christian’s embarrassed to be the one to tell them, but she’s the expert – and she’s right.
Underwear history is inevitably a little speculative. The few pieces of clothing that have survived from the earliest periods are special-occasion items like wedding gowns or coronation robes – and art, like tomb paintings or portraits, didn’t usually depict people in their skivvies.
Historians have been able to gather enough scraps to get a sense, though, and it’s fair to say that neither boxers nor briefs are part of the picture. Loincloths were probably around from the time Adam and Eve realized they needed something a bit sturdier than fig leaves – they’re seen in Ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman paintings on both men and women. A second strip of cloth that looks like a modern bandeau bra is often added to the ladies’ kit.
By the medieval era, some men were wearing pants, and they might wear something called “braies” underneath – essentially, yes, light linen underpants. These were especially popular for working men, who could take off their outer pants and still be decent on hot days.
But anyone wearing tights couldn’t fit pants under them. Tights were usually sewn, not knitted, and they didn’t fit like our modern ones. An extra bit of fabric in the middle covered the essentials and made bathroom breaks easier. At first, it was just a plain piece of fabric, secured by buttons, or clips, or sometimes straight pins (ow!). As fashion evolved, though, the simple codpiece became decorative, with beading, embroidery, and other embellishments – and just about the most noticeable part of a man’s outfit.
Paging Dr. Freud.
When tights and codpieces went out, breeches came in. Most of the time, they were a bit looser than tights. (Though Regency bucks wore skin-tight ones that were put on wet and dried to reveal everything. Everything.)
All this time, men were still wearing one basic item of underwear: the shirt. A man’s shirt, like a woman’s chemise, was usually the first layer next to the skin. Poorer people might well sleep in them, too – if they didn’t sleep naked to save their clothes. Men’s shirts were often quite long, so they could serve as a single undergarment, with the wearer tucking the ends in around everything.
Historically accurate, sure. Kind of icky? You bet.
In THE STUFF OF MURDER, Brett Studebaker has a hard time wrapping his brain (sorry!) around the idea…and Christian eventually draws him a diagram. That shuts him up!
The 19th century Victorian obsession with cleanliness and propriety was more than enough to kill the shirt-as-underwear option. Underpants – sometimes ankle-length! – became a required part of a man’s outfit. By the end of the century, knitting mills were producing thin wool union suits, which started out as a covering from ankle to neck to wrist…and eventually evolved into short singlets, and – in the 20th century – the briefs we recognize today.
Boxers? Well, those initially started with, yes, boxers…but that’s a post for another day!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the Comments!
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