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As a little bit of a background on this era of lingerie, I researched some background information and thought I would share it with you, as it will shed some light on the dress of that time period. Before a lady was done dressing she had many layers of clothing to put on, it was nearly impossible to think she had time to do anything else! First she would put on 'drawers' which were most often split at the crotch and came to knee length. If in fact she wore them un-split, it would have been nearly impossible to use the bathroom! More often than not, the 'drawers' were called bloomers, pantalets or sometimes pantaloons. In fact those were really men's pants! Over the bloomers, she would then wear a chemise, which is what you might think of as a slip, but it was similar to a long sleeveless gown. The purpose of the chemise was to protect the skin from the corset that followed. After the corset, she would put on a 'corset cover', this protected the outerwear from the busk of the corset, and also hid the corset under more sheer garments. Afterward, depending on the period of time you are discussing, she would then put on hoops cages and bustles. This gave her dress the fullness that would be currently in fashion. As if that wasn't enough fullness, she would add one or more petticoats to get an even more full effect to her outfit. Once these 5 or more layers of underwear were secured, she was ready for the skirt and bodice. I hope you found that interesting reading...please enjoy browsing the pieces that I have for sale!!
