A Short History of Underwear: Part 2 – Medieval Undies

A Short History of Underwear: Part 2 – Medieval Undies

By the 1400’s, men’s underwear was beginning to change – a lot. It was still uncommon for women to wear undies, per se – unless they were prostitutes, in which case their undergarments were most likely worn as outer-garments.  Men, however, did wear undies of a kind: Underpants had become a symbol of power and only the head of the household had the privilege of wearing them. The head of the household was, of course, a man.

A pair of men’s underpants was found under the floor of Longberg Castle in Tyrol, western Austria, in 2008. These have since been carbon- dated to the mid 1400s – and were of a style similar to today’s woman’s “string’bikini” – cotton with thin strings to tie the clothing at the sides.

15th Century Men's Undies found in Austrian Castle

The tunic as clothing for men disappeared by this time and was replaced by a snug fitting jacket called a doublet – worn with short breeches and hose. These male stockings were decorated with embroidery and even jewels if the man was wealthy. Hose either went to mid thigh, or were tied with ribbons below the knee and attached to the breeches. Early hose were made of linen or wool. By the time of Elizabeth I, hose were knitted which made for a much better, snug and comfortable  fit.

Men's Hose

The codpiece was very fashionable in the 1500’s  - even armour had impressively large codpieces included. The codpiece began as a simple gusset in trunk-hose, which were short breeches reaching to mid-thigh. Over time the codpiece evolved into large, stiff stuffed phallic-shaped protuberances which were likely intended as “showpieces” to illustrate the man’s virility and masculinity. In reality, these were a handy place to store coins, sweets or snuff. Men of this era also padded their calves as a finely shaped muscular leg was considered most attractive.

Even armour came complete with an impressive codpiece

Codpiece

The French Revolution marked the end of the trend for men to wear stockings with knee-breeches – and the fashion became to wear long trousers with socks underneath. Thus was born the “dandy” – well dressed men who took an extreme interest in looking their best at all times. Part of such a look was the men’s girdle.

These girdles were basically a male corset – to hold in the mid-section and facilitate a straight and upright posture. Comfort was of no accord where vanity was concerned!

 

Male Girdle

Underwear was still an item improvised by its wearer – there was no commercially available product to buy. Wool or linen  was the material used and up to this time, personal hygiene was not much of a concern. With the coming of the Industrial Revolution, however, big changes were afoot…

Next Week: Part 3: 1830’s to 1930s

All images gratefully borrowed from google.