Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear
Fascinating exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum looking at the most personal garments we own, underwear. The show was themed to look at cleanliness, comfort and shape. It was interesting to see how demand pushed changes in technology and vice versa. It also looked at the social changes brought about by underwear such as the fall in the need for servants as synthetic fabrics which were easier to wash came in plus the growing freedoms for women as corsets became softer or disappeared. However the best thing about the exhibition was some of the fabulous items. The first object I looked at was a man’s shirt from the early 19th with pleated sleeves so they would fit down the fashionable narrow sleeves of the jackets of the time. Mr Darcy eat your heart out! It was a nice touch to include the fig leaf with was made for the museum’s statue of David. Most horrific were the various designs which had been used to change people shape. We always think of the corsets whic...