Lingerie Resource

Ladies of the 1890s bought stockings of cotton, wool, silk, ballbriggin, Merino and cashmere. Some were fleece lined.

In the early 1900s, they wore fancier stockings. Stockings were lace, had stripes, polka dots, embroidery, ribbed lisle thread (used until the 1940’s) and were made of wool and cotton. They came in “Opera Length” which were extra long.

The 1920s brought stockings with patterns. Embroidery snaked around the ankles and up to the knees. Flesh and soft pastel colors were popular and they were made in either silk or artificial silk known as art silk, later called rayon.
These stockings were so shiny that girls would powder them on their legs. Lastex, a rubber based thread was used in knee highs in bright colors.

Nylons were made of necessity. Ladies needed something inexpensive for their legs when silk was too expensive to use. Dupont invented nylon and displayed it at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. The “NY” in nylon was taken from the words “New York”. In 1940, the first nylon stockings were sold. Four million in the first four days. This was the new miracle fiber. During WWII, nylon production came to a halt and ladies resorted to penciling in seams on the backs of their legs with eyebrow pencil. When the war ended, nylons were brought back into the stores. In New York, Macy’s sold out of it’s entire stock of 50,000 pairs of nylons in six hours. In Pittsburgh, a mob of 40,000 women stood all night in a heavy rainstorm to buy nylons from a tiny hosiery shop.

In the 1950’s, Seamless Stockings were what the well dressed woman wore, although seamed stockings were still being sold. In 1959 Spandex was developed which conforms to the body, stretching and then snapping back in place, making saggy, baggy hose a thing of the past.

Pajamas originated in India. Consisting of a jacket and trousers in soft cotton, silk or rayon worn for men’s sleepwear from the 1900s.

Beach and lounging pajamas for women , often distinguished by very wide pant legs , came into vogue in the 1920s and 1930s. They were the precursor to modern slacks.

They begin being worn as women’s sleepwear in the 1920s.

In Italy in the 1960s, very full legged pajamas were worn in the evening at home and gained popularity as palazzo pants.

Written by Hollis Jenkins-Evans/pastperfect2

During the 19th C, drawers developed from the long full length undergarment that could be seen at the hem of the dress into a knee length loose knicker like undergarment, closed at the center back or at both the front and back of the waist. They came in both open girth and closed girth variety, with the open considered more convenient and sanitary. These were usually cotton or linen with trimmings found at the hems in lace, tucks and white work. They went out of fashion as skirts slimmed down in the 1900s and the voluminous underwear of the Victorian age metamorphosed into the slim bra, panties and slips of the 1920s.

Amelia Jenks Bloomer championed the wear of Turkish inspired blouson pants. She designed the larger loose fitting drawers named bloomers. Bloomer was a famed women’s suffragist and a social trendsetter, and some sources attribute the invention of the bloomer to her, but most mention that she popularized and /or inspired them and her invention is mere social lore. In any case, the style caught on, and Gibson girls liked the bloomers for their free style when bicycling and playing tennis. These bloomers were intended as outerwear, not as undergarments.

By the 1920’s, the drawers developed into step-ins and tap pants, becoming much lighter and shorter. Tap pants has a short, but wide leg. Both were made in silk, rayon, chiffons as well as cotton and linen. This style lasted into the 1940s.

By the 1950’s, panties became more of a fashion statement.

A slipper is a shoe that is worn indoors.
Typically soft, made for comfort and lounging.

Written by The Vintage Fashion Guild

Slips, the successor to the Edwardian princess line petticoat and the chemise.

From the late teens to early 1920s, the slip is a lightweight undergarment worn over the foundation garment or bra and panties and seen in silk, cotton, rayon, nylon, and tricot.
The slip is usually made with narrow straps and covering the body from the bust to the fashionable hem length and was often made in taffeta or satin and in matching colors for sheer dresses. Basic tones of white, beige and black with lace trim were most common. Red was seen as a ‘racy’. choice.
In the 1920s the fit is tubular and loose, and the slip is rarely trimmed.

In the 1930s, slips were often bias cut and usually plain in appearance.

By the 1940s and 1950s the bust is defined and more likely to be trimmed with a variety of lace and fabric techniques.

In the 1960s the length is shorter as needed and the fit smoother, although often in bright prints.

The smoking jacket is a garment which was designed to be worn over one’s garments while one was smoking tobacco in pipes or smoking cigars. It was meant to protect your inner garment from the smell of smoke and ash.

The mention of these garments goes as far back as the 17th century…this was a time when silks were being brought over from India and Asia.

The Gentlemen’s Magazine of London in the 1850s defined the smoking jacket as a “kind of short robe de chambre, of velvet, cashmere, plush, merino or printed flannel, lined with bright colours, ornamented with brandenbourgs, olives or large buttons.” At that time an embroidered velvet or silk smoking cap was also being used to protect from the smell of the tobacco.

The smoking jacket remained popular through the Victorian era right up until the 1950s. It was customary for a gentleman to retreat to the den or the smoking room after dinner wearing his smoking jacket.

Fred Astaire was actually buried wearing one of his. Other famous people were known to wear these as well, Cary Grant and of course Hugh Hefner still wears his.