Help for Understanding Vintage Undergarments

R

Rebekah

Registered Guest
Hi,

I am new in the Vintage clothing scene and I am trying to compile my collection since I so love the look.. But I am a bit confused as all that pertains to 1950s era undergarments. So my questions have to do with French Knickers and slips and to a lesser degree bustles.

1. So does the French Knickers go over the Panties and Garter Belt or does the French Knickers replace the Panties but still go over the Garter Belt?

2. Did they still wear French Knickers if they were wearing a Corset?

3. Did they also wear a Slip over the French Knickers as well as a Camisole over the Bra or Corset?

4. How much did Bustles play in the 1950s era fashions?

5. Am I missing anything for 1950s undergarments fashion?

6. Basically I am looking for a rundown of all the undergarments that a women would put on under her dress in the 1950s....

Thanks,

Rebekah
 
Amber,

Hmm, Many of the 1950s Vintage Retro sites sell the French Knickers and some sell the Bustles... They also sell the Garter belts, Corsets, Bullet Bras, etc...

Rebekah
 
I'm sure I'm not the most knowledgeable person on this subject, but that said, here's my thoughts.

Bustles were not worn in the 1950s. They are a late Victorian item.

I don't think you would wear both panties and french knickers (also known as tap pants) - one or the other.

Corsets were sometimes worn in the 50s, but girdles or corselettes were more usual as foundation garments in that period.
 
Have you looked at the VFG lingerie guide? Also look at lingerie adverts of the day to get an idea of what was worn. I think there was probably quite a variety of options and combinations of the various under garments.
 
Rebekah, I agree that the sites you've been looking at likely are carrying undergarment styles from a variety of areas, since, as mentioned, you wouldn't have bustles in the 50s as standard wear.

I'd say the "typical" set of undergarments for a woman in the 50s, depending on the sort of outfit she was wearing, would be: bra (or longline bra), short or longline girdle or a garter belt, stockings, and usually a full slip. A half-slip crinoline would be worn instead of a full slip with a full-skirted party dress. You would wear panties over the garter belt, as it's, ahem, very hard to use the bathroom the other way around (even though garter belts are often shown over panties, that's more for boudoir wear), and you would wear panties under an open-bottom girdle. All-in-one panty girdles weren't common, I don't believe, until the 60s--but I think they were around in the 50s. They were in their heyday in the 60s, though.

Tap pants (French Knickers?) with matching camisoles or bralettes were popular in the 20s & 30s; you would not wear panties under them. There were short "corset girdle" thingies (laced like a corset, but the size of a girdle), but I think those were falling out of fashion by the 50s, although I'm not an expert on those, by any means.
 
Interesting...

Two sites had Bustles from 1940s to 1950s such as comments :
"Velvet and net bustles in the burlesque lingerie and vintage lingerie style of the 1940s and 1950s. Classic moulin rouge style ladies bustles stunning when worn with corsets and seamed stockings."​

From *EDITED*​
And all the 1950s vintage sites had French Knickers such as comments:​

We sell classic french knickers as well as those super delicious 1950s panties worn by pin up girls". ​

and​

"Frilly knickers & frilly women's underwear in true 1950's pin up girl lingerie cut and style."​

From the same site​

And Wikipedia said on French Knickers:​

"By the 1950s French knickers were almost the standard for British women and by the sixties this style was mass-produced in the 'new' nylon and other synthetic fabrics. A more practical design of French knickers had arrived, and proved very popular."​
*EDITED*
 
Modern burlesque style is a bit of mish-mash of different eras. The Moulin Rouge style is not 1950s - the original Moulin Rouge opened in the late 1800s. I saw that wikipedia entry on french knickers entry too, but I'm not sure... I suspect they did go on past the 30s. I know they came back big time in the late 70s and 80s, so presumably they must have gone away at some point?

Really if you want authenticity, do look at original adverts of the period, which will be a much more reliable source than the repro sites. Not they don't make some authentic copies, but they mix them up with different eras. Nothing wrong with that, if that's the look you like, but it's not what women wore back in the day.
 
Do you have any links to original adverts of the day? Everything I kept pulling up was repro sites or text that did not describe undergarments...

Thanks,
Rebekah
 
I know they came back big time in the late 70s and 80s, so presumably they must have gone away at some point?
Click to expand...

Ruth is right. While nobody is claiming that tap pants/French knickers weren't worn at all from the 40s to the 70s, they weren't as widely worn during that time as earlier and later. Here in the States, tap pants and camisoles started to "come back" into fashion in probably the late 70s, and were huge in the 80s and into the 90s. Bustles may have been worn, certainly under costumes, and perhaps with debutante gowns. Also, don't forget that "knickers" to many people are just regular old women's panties. And if you look at eBay, what they call "sissy panties" or sometimes "granny panties" are far more typical of what women wore (high-waisted, low-cut-leg panties, rather than hipster or bikini panties).

If you're talking about what a woman would typically wear under her 50s fashions, tap pants, camisoles, and bustles wouldn't be among them.
 
I almost wonder whether hoops or a rigid crinoline (ie. not a puffy petticoat which are sometimes called crinolines, but the ones that have boning or metal to hold its shape) are being confused for bustles in some of those sites?

I have seen hoop skirts from the 1950s - the ones I've seen are circular hoops. Bustles were originally (in the 1800s) a particularly shaped rigid crinoline that gives fullness specifically to the back of the skirt, although now sometimes the term is used to just mean that the fabric at the back of the skirt is gathered up there to emphasize the back. Certainly some dresses from the 1950s had that sort of design (in this 1950s sewing pattern for instance: http://vintagepatterns.wikia.com/wiki/Prominent_Designer_M376) but that 'back interest' would come from the design of the dress rather than the undergarments.

Jen
 
Rebekah,

The internet isn't the best place to do historical research - you're much better off with a decent book on the history of underwear. I agree with the others regarding when lingerie styles were popular and also want to point out that burlesque styles aren't terribly representative of what women wore either; they're heavily influenced by fetish and often show styles that are out of date or theatrical.
 
As an aside, I think I'm going to add to my list of things to do, to read up on my history books and clean up Wikipedia's entries on lingerie - the entries on French knickers and Tap pants sound like they were written in part by fetishists. I just deleted a line referring to easy "sexual access". Eww!
 
burlesque styles aren't terribly representative of what women wore either; they're heavily influenced by fetish and often show styles that are out of date or theatrical
Click to expand...

Very well put, Nicole. I was trying to work out how to say that! The repro sites tend to show burlesque style rather than authentic period style. Even when particular pieces, such as bullet bras, are reasonably authentic copies, they tend to be in much 'racier' colours, (black, red, leopard print, etc) than were commonly worn.
 
French knickers were worn here in the UK into the 1950's (I have had some nylon ones) probably due to a slow move forward in fashion from rebuilding from the war and rationing. They weren't worn with underpants as they WERE your underpants. They were worn under your garter belt or your corset/girdle.

Don't believe repro sites as often their repros are questionable. Best bet is to get an old catalog or a book on historical undergarments (of which there are many, check out the book list I compiled here on the VFG).

Lei
 
I think sites that make 'vintage inspired' lingerie, such as Ophelia Fancy and Kiss Me Deadly, also have garments for stage wear/burlesque and boudoir that wouldn't have been worn by your everyday '50s gal. Like nipple tassles! ;)

Actually on that note, I have an amazing vintage 'peep-hole' bra that I believe is from the '50s, I've never seen anything like it- will post images!
 
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