Bras, shapewear, corsets and tank top panties since 1900.

Women's underwear underwent unprecedented changes in the early 20th century. After centuries of whalebone corsets, modern underwear emerged with the advent of the girdle and the bra. The 19th century has long been considered the era of the disappearance of the corset, a first step towards the progressive liberation of the female body, along with the emergence of a new model: the active woman. But, although women began to occupy a new place in society, they did not stop shaping their bodies according to the demands of fashion. Far from disappearing, restrictive underwear evolved and took on new forms.

FROM CORSET TO WAISTBAND

During the 1890s, the corset became longer and narrower, creating what became known as the "S" silhouette. At the beginning of the 20th century, feminine silhouettes transformed: the Belle Époque favored the "empire" line; the sinuous lines of the first decade of the century gave way to a straighter, more "natural" shape. Corsets continued to mutate in the early 20th century, becoming progressively longer to encompass the abdomen and hips. Instead of focusing on the waist or bust, the new type of corset acted from the waist to the upper thighs. This mutation gave rise to the girdle. This new name, which emerged around the time of the First World War, originally described a short corset that extended from the waist to the hips and abdomen. For a time, the distinction between corset and girdle remained vague. The large number of names used in newspapers and fashion magazines clearly illustrates the lack of a clear distinction between them. Until 1930, terms like "shaping girdle," "corset," "corset belt," "hip corset," and "girdle belt" were used interchangeably in department store catalogs. Later, the shaping girdle differed from the corset essentially in the materials used: more flexible than the corset, it was manufactured with new and innovative materials that allowed for greater flexibility and adaptability, such as rubber, used in elastic form. The end of the corset had been announced long ago, but in reality, the shaping girdle was simply its most recent evolution. It did, however, reduce rigidity: the upper body and hips began to move independently of each other. Even so, the woman's body continued to be restricted by well-established practices.

The genesis of the bra:

The emergence of the bra is linked to the transformation of the corset during the Belle Époque. The oldest form of bra dates back to antiquity, when a strip of fabric known as an apodesma was used to support the breasts by compressing them. The modern bra emerged in the late 19th century, but was only adopted by women in the 1920s. In the early years of the 20th century, the corset still supported the breasts from below, compressing the bust. When, at the beginning of the century, the corset evolved and left the bust uncovered, the breasts needed to be supported by other means.

Patent applications filed in the United States during the 1860s attest to research conducted with the goal of creating an undergarment whose sole function was to support women's breasts. Between 1880 and 1890, the number of inventions multiplied, culminating in the creation of the bra. The first models were often presented in conjunction with the use of a corset, being rigid, wide-cut, and reinforced. This was the case of the famous "corset-gorge," invented by Herminie Cadolle, a French corset maker living in Buenos Aires. First presented at the 1889 Universal Exposition, it was a reinforced garment with cups for the breasts and lacing at the front and back. The true innovation of this model lay in how it supported the breasts: while the corset supported them from below, the bra used straps to support them from above. The idea of ​​supporting the breasts with the shoulders may have come from the "cache-corset," a type of vest made of lightweight cotton that closed with buttons in the front. This evolved into the bra characteristic of the 1920s. The shape of the bra, therefore, remained undetermined for a long time, oscillating between a corset and lingerie.

Melinha's underwear

After 1920, body lines continued to elongate; thinness gradually became the desired form, while, at the same time, the fashion for outdoor activities, such as swimming, revealed the body in new ways. Between 1915 and 1925, the flapper archetype dominated as women sought an androgynous look. The silhouette no longer emphasized traditional feminine attributes, and new undergarments, the bra and girdle, allowed women to construct this new silhouette. The bra, therefore, was not intended to emphasize the breasts. For a time, it maintained its minimalist form, a simple strip of fabric to which straps were added. Its decoration, however, could be ostentatious, as seen in the model presented at the 1925 International Exhibition of Decorative Arts, now in the Galliera Museum. This example illustrates the absence of structure: the piece is flat, without reinforcements or boning. Here, it is the decoration that outlines the separation of the breasts.

For women with larger breasts, there were more radical solutions. The minimizing bra used compression to reduce breast volume. Like the corset, it included boning and was laced at the back; the lacing principle remained the most effective means of slimming the body. The bra was worn with a girdle, which aimed to slim the hips rather than the waist. The flapper silhouette was therefore a vertical, columnar line, uninterrupted by a defined waist. The waistline, indicated by clothing, was shifted and lowered, now situated at hip level. Over time, the girdle and bra were combined, forming a single piece of lingerie, the camisole-panty, which had the fortunate advantage of preventing the accumulation of fat at the waist, sometimes caused by wearing a girdle. Emerging in the 1920s, it was still simply called a "girdle" or "corset" in commercial catalogs, and its use became more widespread during the 1930s. Women found emancipation by rejecting traditional images of femininity. But this emancipation did not necessarily include the liberation of the body. The flapper danced, exposing her legs and acquiring new levels of activity, but her silhouette still remained the result of the artificial construction provided by her underwear.

NEXT CHAPTERS: Between wars: towards a conquest of the movement.