Corselettes, combinations and camiknicks
I’m learning a lot of new words in my research on 1940s fashion. Most of them seem to end in “-ette”. There’s brownette, which the always-entertaining Peculiar Beauty informs me is a woman with medium-brown hair; blousette, which I’m assuming is light, fluttery and sleeveless; and corselette, which Corsetiere.net says is a full-length foundation garment combining a bra and girdle, like so:
Do not click unless you have hours to spare
But the real fun began when I plunged into the labyrinthine world of the tables of clothing coupon values reprinted in Make Do & Mend, my reference for the Fashion on the Ration challenge. In the attempt to classify every type of garment commonly available to the British public, the Board of Trade sheds intriguing light on the world of 1940s underwear. What, for instance, is a body belt? This pattern at the Retro Knitting Company leaves me none the wiser.
Bestway 629
What, do you suppose, is a bust bodice? A modesty vest? How common were combinations? And how did it actually feel to wear that venerable talisman against the British climate, wool next the skin?
Seems pretty cheerful
Crying on the inside
The 1940s was a time of transition for women’s underwear. Older generations of British women wore corsets — rigid boned and laced garments worn lower than the corsets of the previous century, some of them sporting enough straps and buckles for a Poe story.
Spencer corset, from Corsetiere.net
There was also the corselette mentioned above, and the girdle or roll-on, worn with a brassiere (which was much more flimsy than today’s architectural bras) for those whose figures only needed lighter support. American women’s underpinnings were another story altogether: according to Corsetiere.net, American women were quicker to adopt more streamlined, free-and-easy foundation garments like panty girdles than the conservative and (literally) straitlaced British.
On top of the foundation garment went a bewildering variety of undergarments — step-ins (panties), Directoire drawers (otherwise known as passion-killers — long, loose and elasticated at waist and knee), French knickers (tap pants, loose at the bottom and buttoned at the side), camisoles, vests, chemises, slips, petticoats, camiknicks and combinations. Trying to figure out what was worn with what, and in which order, makes my head spin.
My feeling, though, is that British women probably wore more underwear at one time, at least in winter, than it occurs to most re-enactors and enthusiasts working from American sources to put on. These were women who wore skirts in all weathers — I’ve seen photos of codebreakers ice-skating at Bletchley Park during the bitter winter of 1939-1940, and they are wearing skirts and nylons (or no nylons). Forget the fashions out of Hollywood in sunny California — if you have to go bare-legged in a damp, cold country with no central heating you want layers, lots of layers, and wool. On a day like today, I wouldn’t mind a set of merino combinations myself.
Hygiene standards for underwear seem to have differed from today’s to an extent that may shock modern sensibilities. Mike Brown’s The 1940s Look relates:
Interestingly, a national survey by Mass Observation at this time found that men possessed, on average, one pair of underpants — which suggests that many did not wear [under]pants at all.
And women don’t seem to have changed their underwear as frequently, if this women’s magazine article on the novelty of American laundry habits is anything to go by:
[N]o American girl would ever dream of wearing the same pair of stockings two days running. Few of them wear the same undies two days running either. They run them through with water every night before going to bed, and I can’t help wondering whether the lovely clean feeling that this is bound to give them underneath may not be responsible for their amazing band-box looks.
Indeed. In defense of the Brits, a miserable climate and poorly heated houses do make stripping off your skivvies an uninviting prospect for 10 months out of the year. Plus, underwear was more involved to clean and care for than today’s cotton panties — as the same article goes on to mention, many women’s underpants needed hand washing and ironing after each use. But still…
If you’re wincing at the thought of strapping yourself into a corset like the one above, pity the poor victims of the utility corset (otherwise known as the “futility corset”), like Hannah Wright of Macclesfield:
[T]he boning at the front consisted of three pieces of compressed cardboard. I defy even the most pugnacious cardboard to do anything but follow the shape of the figure it encloses. . . .
A band of infuriated housewives should force Mr. Dalton [Hugh Dalton, Board of Trade president, clothing rationing boss and hence Minister in charge of corsets] into a utility corset and a pair of the best-fitting utility stockings he can buy. I would add a saucy black felt hat for which he had to pay four guineas…and a pair of those ghastly wooden-soled shoes.
He should be made to walk one mile, then stand in a fish queue for an hour. By the end of this time his utility stockings would [droop] from knee to instep in snakelike coils and twists. His corset would have wilted into an uncomfortable, revolting mass of cotton and cardboard. He would find himself supporting the corset, instead of the corset supporting him.
Any insight on how to navigate the confusing world of 1940s undergarments would be appreciated. Meanwhile, I leave you with a fashion show strangely reminiscent of the party scenes in Tipping the Velvet:
My mum grew up in the 40s and 50s and remembered having to wear a “Liberty bodice” under her clothes in winter. It was made of very itchy wool and had rubber buttons on it.
Even worse was the sanitary protection…pads had a loop at the front and back and were attached to a belt. Imagine wearing all that lot nowadays!
Hi, I got lonely since you haven’t been posting as much so I went back into your previous posts and found this.
I found your reference to a modesty vest and request for enlightenment so I’ll post what I know. A modesty vest is still in use today by women in certain fundamental religious groups but probably doesn’t mean the same thing as it might have in Britain.
In Fundamental circles a modesty vest is worn over your dress or blouse to blur the lines of the bust to de-emphasize it.
What I think of more commonly though is a vest or camisole with a higher cut neckline or with lace added to the neckline to add modesty to a lower cut blouse or to be worn to fill the neckline of a suit when a blouse isn’t worn. See? lots of people still wear them, but they don’t emphasize the “modesty” part even though that’s why they wear them, they’re now called camisoles.
FWIW, Kitty
You have done your homework!! I have been studying and collecting vintage lingerie for years now, and am doing post-grad study in fashion design using make do and mend ideas to make beautiful lingerie. I have researched the US, UK and the Commonwealth (I am Australian) and I think England suffered the most with rationing…although we had it in Australia as well (but it’s not as cold!!) I have so many beautiful pictures, knitting patterns, dress patterns, fabrics, and garments from years of research and collecting. Did you know that they made knickers out of blackout fabric because it wasn’t rationed? They actually called them blackouts. I think they may have been a bit saucy!! I loved your 40s hairdo – don’t be afraid of height!! You will get used to it, I freak out if my hair is flat. It is getting more and more important for people to think about “rationing”, and the way they spend money -we are stockpiling clothing that is basically rubbish, and just keep buying more and more. Being thrifty and using second hand economies of exchange (vintage and antique clothes and textiles, re-making and re-modelling second hand clothes from flea markets and car boot sales, or yard sales etc) is really exciting and creative and puts people more in touch with what they wear and how they live in a world running out of resources. I love what you are doing!!
So good to hear from you! I haven’t seen your collection of vintage goodies, but I’m already jealous. I had heard of the blackout knickers, but can’t imagine wearing them — I have modern-day blackout curtain lining and it’s almost as stiff as denim. I wonder if the wartime blackout fabric was the same.
Would love to see some examples of your “make do & mend” lingerie!
Speaking as someone who lives and rides a bicycle in the rainy Portland, Oregon; I wear wool next to my skin all the time.
The trick is to buy very fine-gauge wool. Companies like Ibex make stuff that feels just fine next to my skin.
Wool is fabulous stuff–warm but not too hot, and you can usually wear it multiple times before washing it! Well, I dunno about wool panties though. I’d probably at least rinse those before wearing them again. Bleh!
Agreed! I can’t give enough love to the merino base layers. I wear Icebreakers and they make a noticeable difference, especially at combating the damp. Plus it generally takes 2-3 wears before they need a wash.
Now if only they made combinations.
Hello.
It’s me, from Peculiar Beauty. So glad I found you. Your blog is fantastic. I am actually quite surprised to learn so many things that I didn’t know about underwear from this one post!
So glad you stopped by!
the body belt thing seems similar to a Japanese tummy warmer, a haramaki!
Excellent, interesting and funny post. I sympathise, I really do, it’ll be great to see how you make it work.
If you haven’t seen ‘Millions Like Us’ you really should, there’s an incident involving shock at sleeping in your undies, and despair at getting a basic trousseau together with the coupons. Also, it’s a great 1940s film : )
Thanks! I will definitely check it out.
Fascinating stuff! I’ve always had an interest in the war years (my man and I are getting married at Bletchley Park this fall), but don’t really extend it to my wardrobe. I’ll be closely following your Fashion Rationing and cheering you on from across London!
Oh wow! Bletchley is a fantastic place — excellent choice. Nice to encounter another crafty Londoner!
Hello! I recently found your blog (about two weeks ago
and have been really enjoying all your posts about fashion during the war from a British perspective. I have lately become much more interested in what rationing meant, outside of the American restrictions that I’m familiar with, as well as how the Allies across the pond were dressing at the time! Kudos on your year of “ration fashion” and I can’t wait to read more!!! 
♥ Casey
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