Why Lucy Christiana Invented Better Underpants
If you think pajamas with a trap door look ridiculous, you should see what Victorian women wore under their skirts.
When Lucy Christiana woke up in the morning, there was a pot of cold pee under her bed and her room was always either too hot or too cold.
She couldn’t jump into a hot shower because they hadn’t been invented yet. And a bath was out. Bathing was once a week and she shared the bathwater with her family. They’d heat water on the fire to fill the tub and then they would all take turns bathing. In the same water.
So when she woke up, she just got up and got dressed. Which sounds a lot easier than it actually was, because she was born in the Victorian Era.
Here’s how the process of getting dressed went. Every. Day.
At least until Lucy decided to do something about it.
Bloomers were first…
After pulling off her cotton nightgown, the first garment Lucy put on was bloomers. Some women slept in their bloomers, but laundry was a two day event as it was. Heating water on the fire. Easier not to sleep in them.
Also? Notice the button? Elastic hadn’t been invented yet.
Bloomers came in different styles…
Shorter or longer, wider or narrower. With frills or without. Some people called them bloomers, others called them drawers. Same thing.
The Chemise
Next, she pulled on her chemise. No one went without a chemise because trust me, you did not want sweat and skin oils on your corset. Washing a chemise was easier than cleaning a whale-boned corset.
The chemise looked like a nightgown, but prettier and shorter. Usually around the knees or just above. Some were plain, others had lace peeking out the top of the corset.
Stockings were next.
Once her bloomers and chemise were on, stockings were next. They weren’t sexy thigh-high stockings. Nope. Just above the knee.
Stocking were knitted, but there was no elastic to keep them up so they had to use garters. There was two kinds of garters to choose from. One that tied around the leg, like a bride’s garter, but no elastic. Or the kind of garter that attached to the corset.
Shoes…
Shoes were next. And when I say shoes, I mean boots. Usually to the ankle or mid-calf. No one thought about wearing the kind of shoes we have today because horse and wagons meant all sorts of ick in the streets, if you hear what I’m saying.
What you call shoes, they called bedroom slippers.
What a visual…
If you were a fly on the wall watching a woman get dressed in the Victorian era, she’d be standing there in her slip and bloomers, wearing socks and shoes. Sounds crazy? Trust me, it made sense…
The crinoline or cage was next…
With her boots firmly laced up, next came the crinoline or cage, depending which she preferred. Cages tended to be for social functions, crinolines for everyday wear.
The crinoline or cage kept you from tripping over the yards and yards of fabric your skirt was made of. That crinoline is why women didn’t get tangled up in their skirts and land in horse poo. It kept their skirt away from their feet.
Some women had to work. Usually as a maid, cook, nanny or housekeeper because that’s the only jobs they were allowed to do. Working women usually wore the narrower crinolines that allowed them to move and do their job.
Now you see why she put her shoes on first? Good luck lacing up boots once the crinoline is tied on! Unless you had a maid, of course.
Petticoats
After the crinoline or cage came the petticoats. Working ladies tended to only wear one. Petticoats were a status symbol. Wealthy women that didn’t need to lift a finger often wore two or three petticoats. And a big elite social function might call for up to six petticoats with different trims.
They were all tied around the waist. Because, no elastic.
Finally…. the corset!
Doesn’t a corset just scream Victoriana?!
Contrary to what many people think, a corset didn’t have to be pulled and tugged until it made a woman wasp thin at the cost of rearranging her internal organs.
They just had to be snug enough to hold the tatas in place.
Because there were no bras.
Corsets could be laced at front or back, depending whether you had someone to assist you getting dressed or not. A status symbol, really. If you were wealthy enough to have a maid, your corsets laced in the back. That’s why having sisters rocked!
Optional Bust Enhancers
In King Henry VIII’s era, people commented on women who didn’t have much above the corset. Like Anne Boleyn, for example.
Enter, bust enhancers. Optional, of course. They were the predecessor of the bra, and you could order them by mail order. Some went under the corset, while others went over. Some even had ruffles that showed above the corset.
Which led to the optional corset cover…
If you were wearing a bust enhancer, especially one that went over the corset, you didn’t want it to show. A corset cover tidied it all up, and often had lace or ruffles that would peek out the top to frame the girls.
Don’t forget the garters…
If you chose the garters that attack to the corset instead, you have to attach the garters and hook them to your socks.
Imagine that for a minute. Non-stretchy garters running vertically from hip to knee. No worries, they won’t chafe. Your bloomers protect your legs.
Finally… a dress or blouse and skirt
Finally — the real clothing. A dress or blouse and skirt. Made with yards and yards of fabric. If you’re a maid or a mom, maybe an apron over that, too.
And if yesterday wasn’t laundry day, the hem was gross.
Good thing you have your shoes on.
The obvious question…
When you’re finally dressed, you’re wearing as many layers of clothing as a small child on a snow day. You know what happens right after you dress a small child in all those layers, right? They need to use the bathroom.
They ALWAYS need to use the bathroom.
Which leads to an obvious question.
What the heck did women do when nature calls?
They were strapped in like an escape risk. No way to pull their bloomers down because the corset went to their hip. And it was laced up. Tight.
Design to the rescue - crotchless bloomers!
Not even kidding. All those Victorian ladies in their fancy dresses and crinolines and petticoats were walking around with their lady bits hanging out uncovered.
So when nature called, all they had to do was squat over the pot.
It wasn’t their ankles that were scandalous!
We love to talk about how scandalous it was to show their ankles. No, no. The real scandal was the can-can dancers at Moulin Rouge, which launched in 1889.
One day Lucy had enough…
Lucy Christiana grew up wearing crotchless bloomers and all the clothing of her era. She grew up, courted, and married.
A year after her wedding, she had a daughter but it was not a happy marriage. Her husband was an alcoholic and serial cheater, so she left him after 6 years.
To support herself and her daughter, she started a little dressmaking company in her home. She made clothing and lingerie that was more comfortable and more practical.
No more corsets. No more cages or crinolines. Just soft fabrics that were both comfortable and feminine.
Her simpler fashions became popular with a wealthy clientele that included aristocracy, royalty, and even theatre stars.
Soon her little home business became Lucille, Ltd, and grew to have stores in London, Paris, New York and Chicago. Over time, her fashion designs influenced women’s fashion in the entire western world.
Over 100 years later, they’re still in business.