Fashion is ever changing, but the chemise is forever

When we want to learn about historic clothing, we immediately think of wide dresses of the rococo period, or the round crinoline dresses from the 1840’s. But what was underneath all those layers. Bra’s are a relatively new invention, and most people immediately go to corsets when they talk about historic undergarments. But almost no one pays attention to the layer that was underneath the corset. The first thing that people put on when they got dressed in the morning. It has been worn with pretty much every style of garment in every age and in every period. Since it is always a good idea to start at the beginning, I want to pay a bit of attention to the chemise.

Chemises are essentially very simple garments. They are made up of mostly rectangles. A weft of fabric was taken, and folded in half to form the main part of the chemise. Triangles, numbered 4 in the image above, were cut from the top sides, flipped, and sewn to the bottom sides. This gave the chemise an a-line shape. The sleeves consist of two parts; a rectangular part, numbered 2, and a gusset, numbered 3. The gusset was set in the armpit to ensure free movement of the arms. This basic shape of dress has been the undergarment from the the medieval times (probably even earlier, but I haven’t found any resources to verify this) until we started to wear modern bra’s and panties only a decades ago. The neckline of the chemise is the part that varies the most through the centuries. This is to cater to the changing styles of necklines in the gowns.

Chemises were usually made of linnen fabric, until cheaper cotton was imported from India. Unfortunately, these natural fabrics only survive about a few hundred years. This composes a bit of a problem when trying to research clothes from more than 500 years ago. When looking at the underwear in medieval times we therefore have to rely on drawings and paintings.

In the first picture, we see a woman with her dress tucked into the waistband to keep it out of the way while she is working. This gives us a view of the white dress she is wearing underneath. her chemise. In the picture on the right, we see the two women in the middle getting dressed. Both of these ladies are already wearing a white chemise. These images give us a rare insight in the underwear of medieval times. Chemises in this period appear to be calf-length and long-sleeved.

From the fifteen and sixteenth century, there are a few very rare examples of chemises (or camicia, as they were referred to in Italian). These appear to be richly decorated with embroidery. This is not to say that all underwear in this period suddenly got way more fancy. The underclothes off all but the very richest of society would probably not have survived for this long. The underclothes of common people were worn daily and were rigorously washed, most likely in boiling water. The fabrics simply wouldn’t have been able to survive this long. Besides that, another reason for the delicately embroidered chemises is the fashion of the time. Through some sleeveless kirtles or the slashed outer sleeves, the sleeves of the chemise would have been visible in this period.

In the seventeenth century, the chemises still retain the simple shape. Since the sleeves were no longer visible through the outer layers of clothing, they are very simple and without decorations again. The length is approximately to the knee, and the sleeves reach to the elbow. The most notable difference is the neckline. While in the sixteenth century the chemises were cut with a high neck and a slit down the center front, we now see a deeper neckline to match the fashions of this period.

From the 18th century, more examples of chemises have been saved. The chemises above are shown in chronological order. The earliest being empress Josephine’s dress from around 1800, and the latest being a chemise from around 1870. If you think about the changes in the silhouette of fashion in this time, from sleek empire dresses through enormous hoops to bustle dresses, it is amazing all these fashions have the same foundation.

During the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, we see a change in the shape of the chemise for the first time. While during the whole period of history before this time, the sleeved had been cut in a quite roomy rectangular shape, we now slowly see these sleeves disappear. This was probably due to the tight fitted sleeves that were popular (with the exception of the leg ‘o mutton sleeve of course) during the late Victorian and Edwardian period. Having excess bulk under a tight sleeve is neither comfortable nor visually pleasing. So we can see two different kinds of new chemises. First we can see shorter sleeves on a chemise with a yolk. Later, mostly after the turn of the century, the sleeves disappear all together. Another remarkable thing is that the invention of industrially made lace means we see a lot more of that on ladies underwear.

All in all, the chemise was quite an important garment throughout history. It was the garment a woman wore closest to the skin, probably owned most of, and could be washed most frequently. So if you are a fan of historic costuming, and want authenticity, you now know the first thing you need to wear: a chemise.