LAYER UP

Now that it’s January, it’s officially long underwear season in much of the Northern Hemisphere – and for sure in my corner of the Northeast. For most people, long johns are a lot more underclothing than we normally wear, and it feels good to put a layer of wool, silk or high-tech fabric between our skin and the cold wind. But for a lot of women in the late 19th century, underpinnings that looked lot like our long johns would actually have been a sleek new thing.
From the Regency until the late Victorian period, women wore long drawers, plus several layers of petticoats, and at least a chemise, corset and corset-cover on top. Even though everything but the corset was made of some very thin woven fabric, there was still a lot of it, and you still had to get it all tucked in and smoothed down before you put on the next layer. And the next.
The idea of replacing the first layer or two with one piece of flexible knit was a real upgrade. The union suit began as a one-piece flannel garment, proposed as a Victorian dress-reform idea. But it quickly evolved and spread as people realized just how efficient and comfortable it was. Flannel was gone pretty fast, replaced with stretchy knit, in cotton, wool or even silk. The styling became more streamlined, too, closer-fitted, with fewer fastenings and seams, all to make it a comfortable and sleek first layer.
Not too comfy, though! Victorians were more than a little suspicious of anything that enabled people – especially female people – to get rid of layers of clothing. Which is why the ads for union suits led with a health pitch, not a comfort or style one. Style was definitely part of it, though; the union suit really took off in the 1870s when women were wearing very snug dresses and the chemise and drawers created all kinds of nasty bumps under what was supposed to be a smooth fit.
By the late 1890s the union suit had evolved to “combinations” – as in a combination of chemise and drawers – and it wasn’t really scandalous at all. It was a very practical first layer for anyone who wanted her clothes to fit smoothly. Women always topped them with the corset, sometimes corset-covers, and layers of petticoats, so it still wasn’t exactly traveling light, but the thin knit was a lot easier to manage than tucking down chemise and drawers. Those were often still part of the mix somewhere…but combinations were quickly becoming the standard start.
Soon, though, women would get bored with pulling their stockings on over an extra layer of knit…and the combinations would start creeping up the legs. By the 1910s, they’re above the knee, and the whole thing is quickly evolving out of existence. Flappers didn’t want to run around in their mothers’ underwear, and those knitted combinations went out the window with long hair, replaced by silky chemises and knickers – but only one layer, thank you!
So when you pull out the long johns, remember, you’re actually putting on a little bit of history in addition to all that extra warmth!

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