Edwardian Dress

Note that the chemise should be laced and appliqued as the corset went to underbust level. The chemise thus had that  hang-on look, straps and overall ’lacy’ ‘drapy’ look. And this shows how the corset’s function was to ‘fit’ or ‘tighten’ the waist to hip. The corset seems to then push up the bust. Still the purpose of this note is that the chemise and drawers were main garments in a way that the corset wasn’t. The corset was an add-on ; it was put on around the body and tightened thus.   Here is a simple illustration by me ; It is not particularly illustrative but it aims to show how the corset here reached underbust level. It is difficult to generalise whether this was always the case.

Edwardian Wear

An interesting note about late Victorian dress and its effect on later dress is the way that underwear gained special importance as an item of dress. And there is the chemise part of the underwear and the drawers too! I think that lingerie began to be developed as a specific area in the late Victorian and Edwardian period and it is strange perhaps to still talk about the chemise and drawers as the main underclothes. Still they were the main underwear and most people wore them. Combos too were beginning to be popular and in widespread use.

I would like to write about men’s underclothes and the developments in their wear. For one thing, the use of the flat front in trousers was something that gradually became widespread throughout the nineteenth century and certainly was in use in the late Victorian period. Anyway tailoring as an important discipline was gradually succumbing to industrialisation. One can imagine how specific industrial methods were established to make all items of dress. These notes contain reference to various events influencing dress such as industrialisation but the main object of interest is the exact nature of clothes in the late Victorian and Edwardian period.

Specialisation seems to be important. See how the corset with its specific methods of construction and its use of a specific fabric as well as lining is obviously so different to the cotton chemise re: fabric and construction beneath. Some images of drawers too have that silky look and with the chemise and corset, you can perhaps imagine the different materials and fabrics and then one hasn’t got to the bodice itself ! It is the same with men. Remember the glamorous silk waistcoats that men wore in the mid Victorian period. Glamorous silks came from the East and Victorian men were keen to use these silks for their waistcoats. This is an interesting point.

Still the different materials and contrasts in materials seen with the corset and the chemise/drawers could lead to the development of new and sophisticated items of underwear. As said it is known that lingerie began to be developed as a specialised form of clothing in the early twentieth century. Remember too the analysis of the corset and how it affected the physical form. The corset has a natural look and one can imagine how the Victorians and Edwardians would think it natural for the body to be supported and shaped. The chemise and drawers were put on and then the body needed to be shaped and thus there was the corset! Still if the corset was used in early Edwardian times, one has to remember the developing views of the Victorians re: the corset and whether it was good for the body. What could replace it? Maybe one needed to get rid of all the layers i.e. the chemise and the drawers. Anyway you could make the chemise into a specialised item of wear e.g vest. The combo could be developed into a slip or maybe pyjamas. The corset, the aim of which was to shape the body, could be done away with. If the bust needed support, there was the brassiere and if you really wanted shape at the waist and hips, specialised items of dress could be developed e.g. the girdle.

http://pineapplesoup.deviantart.com/art/Edwardian-78990859

Victorian, Edwardian Dress

One of the interesting things about Late Victorian/Edwardian wear is a demarcation or line between bodice and skirt. Maybe one can feel the increasing industrialisation and commercialisation of garment-making and the nature of production in general. An interesting concept of fit is important. Maybe ornament and decoration were important in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century but with industrialisation rules and fit were important. Body dimensions and an exact analysis of the human body were perhaps important too.The nature of drawers is interesting and you can imagine the need for elasticity around the waist for better fit. Certainly, this wasn’t the impetus for the development of elasticity in clothing and stretch too but there was a need for comfort in the wearing of garments/clothes. Comfort is an important concept and perhaps one can see how important this concept was in late Victorian (nineteenth century) and Edwardian (early twentieth century). This was the era too when questions were being asked about the physical effects of corset-wearing. This was the time too of the development of new items of wear e.g. the brassiere but more interestingly, it is the time too when one developed clothes for one’s own comfort e.g. the development of underwear in general for men as well as women. Certainly drawers may not have been overtly ‘comfortable’ and combos were developed too at this time ( a combination of chemise and drawers). There were early forms of lingerie too at this time. Still the term ‘comfortable’ has been mentioned again. What is ‘comfort’ in clothing? The concept of comfort in clothes is important and this is a concept which may be important in the development of clothing at this time. What is comfort? Does comfort mean better fit re: clothing. Yes fit is important for comfort but there are probably other things too.

 http://pineapplesoup.deviantart.com/art/NoteonEdwardianDress-78986085