Underneath It All

Did you know that the world's first bra dates to the fifteenth century? Or that wearing a nineteenth-century cage crinoline was like have a giant birdcage strapped around your waist? Did you know that women during WWI donated the steel stays from their corsets to build battleships?
For most of human history, the garments women wore under their clothes were hidden. The earliest underwear provided warmth and protection. But eventually, women's undergarments became complex structures designed to shape their bodies to fit the fashion ideals of the time. When wide hips were in style, they wore wicker panniers under their skirts. When narrow waists were popular, women laced into corsets that cinched their ribs and took their breath away.