Undergarment question!

[LadySeasan]

So in the chaos of sewing and chatting while on a sugar high, my best friend and I started discussing undergarments.  From what I have read, ladies did not wear the same type of underwear that we wear today, they wore bloomers. Please correct me if I am wrong by the way?

So our debate is are we going to wear regular undies or bloomer type pants thingies to the fair?
What do you ladies wear under your garb???

[Trillium]

I wear both - regular undies for normal comfort and bloomers since I like to run and twirl around and tend to flop on the ground when I'm tired.

and yes, underwear as we know it is a fairly modern invention.

[Merlin]

Regimental

Oh wait...you probably weren't talking to me

[Celtic_Fae]

I'd suggest bloomers to cut down on any irritation/chafing if your thighs rub together, or at least shorts since for your undergarments aren't going to be see by the general public anyway. 

[Welsh Wench]

Victoria's Secret.

Less fabric.
I mean, it's hot down here.

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

The mere thought of living in the 16th Century and not wearing any undies gives me the willies!!! Drawers were worn, along with hand made stockings. Personal Hygiene as we know it today was not as common back in those days.

Glad for this century, we get to play act and still feel "dressed" underneath garb.

[operafantomet]

So in the chaos of sewing and chatting while on a sugar high, my best friend and I started discussing undergarments.  From what I have read, ladies did not wear the same type of underwear that we wear today, they wore bloomers. Please correct me if I am wrong by the way?

So our debate is are we going to wear regular undies or bloomer type pants thingies to the fair?
What do you ladies wear under your garb???

The question of SCA period underwear is a difficult one, as it's hardly depicted in the art, and it's not often mentioned in official papers of past eras. There's also been very different regional traditions based on climate, economy and fashion.

But when that is said... There was at least one common feature. Both men and women wore a white linen (almost always linen, anyway) garb under their regular clothes. This garb was frequently washed and protected the finer outer garbs from sweat etc. Women tend to wear longer versions of this white linen garbs than men, and we call it by many names: smock, chemise, underdress, shirt... The way men wear a shirt under their suits today is a direct development of this ancient tradition, and it's no coincidence that the italian word for the undergarb - camicia - basically means "a shirt".

Drawers was also worn, but not by everybody and not in every region. Surviving examples all seems to come from the southern Europe, but that goes for the long "drawers" versions - I've seen shorter versions reminding of the modern "briefs" in German art (but then worn by men, workers and saints alike). Examples or surviving drawers:
http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/workbox/extdraw.htm

In Italian art:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/courtesan1.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/vencourtesanca1600.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/vencourtesan2.jpg

In the late 1500s or early 1600s corsets also came into use, and it stuck with female fashion until the early 1900's. The most famous (and most intact) early corsets are the Effigy corset and the one worn by Pfalzgrafin Dorothea. There is also a velvet bodice worn by Eleonora di Toledo, but the exact purpose of this construction is unsure (it wasn't boned). 

Other stuff, like socks, scarfs (partlets), underskirts, farthingales etc, is also dependent on fashion, economy and climate.

I work with periods that doesn't require a corset. I use a linen or cotton chemise under my Renaissance dresses, and I've also become fond of using an underskirt to fluff up the silhouette. Another cool period detail is to wear a "saccoccia", a loose decorated pocket, so I have a place to put my stuff when I'm at faires and similar. Two undergarb pics:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/venetian/italiancamicia.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/venetian/underskirt2.jpg

But admittedly, under this I wear regular hipsters and not period drawers... 

[Margaret]

I love making bloomers!  I usually wear ones I made out of pj pants patterns that I cut off somewhere between knee length and just below the knee - I don't wear any modern underwear under those.

I am just finishing up a pair made of a nice cotton that has a bright hunter orange background covered with high light yellow poka dots.  Now just to get some lime green or hot pink lace to go 'round the legs and I will be done.   

[LaurenLee]

I have to say that when you are dressed in multi-layers of cloth and have a hoop skirt on as well, I enjoy my Civil-War era bloomers - they have no crotch!  They make those trips to the porta-loo soooooo  much easier.  I've made several pairs, and if you happen to encounter gale force winds that lift your skirt over your head, they do cover the naughty bits pretty well.

LaurenLee

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

"Naughty Bits"

MAkes me think of a Monty Python sketch of the same name!!!     

[LadySeasan]

Wow ladies, that was interesting to read! lol.  I think I am going to go with bloomers. i have this pair of leopard print pj's that are too short for me. so i am going to make those into bloomers to wear under everything

[Margaret]

As LaurenLee said, the split drawers are wonderful.  They really do make privy stops a breeze without being to *er* breezy.   

[bellevivre]

I make linen bloomers- knee length helps avoid bunching, with a simple button closure

I also have been known to wear fleecy pants underneath if its a cold day!

and, yeah... I'll admit- no undies under bloomers... lol! Somehow, the absence of 'modern' underthings makes it more real for me! I also wear cotton stockings.

[LadyElizabeth]

Well as The Queen, I wear bloomers and cotton stockings, plus some of the modern undies too...  As a courtesan, hose and stockings and undies.  As a fairy, bloomers and undies.  As a barbarian, no bloomers.

In our household we have many pairs of bloomers of ranging length from just below the knee to just below the undies... for varying temps.  In super cold temps, we also wear fleece type sleeping pants over everything...

[Cilean]

What do you ladies wear under your garb???

H/A did not wear anything they might have a pair of drawers that are from the effigy from Queen Elizabeth I but it was remade in the 17th Century clothes on her effigy so we are not sure if they were part of the original clothing or something added later.

I wear bloomers because I don't like going regimental in the heat and dirt.  I don't even like crotchless because that is kind of what I need the crotch! LOL

Cilean