Foundations Revealed

The underwear situation in the Natural Form Era was.... complicated!  Ladies had an outfit for every situation and time of day, and underwear to go with it. To further add confusion, the "Dress Reform" movement was at its height: its main focus was on changing corsets and what was worn underneath them, all in the name of health. 

So what did women wear under their dresses?  It all depends on a variety of factors.  I'll walk you through all the different layer options starting from the skin out, with variations in necklines and politics. Next month I'll complete the layers and show you how to combine them. Bonus DPP article from YWU

Some underwear is easy to date by the cut or the decoration, other items are almost timeless. 

This month I share with you a knitted silk undervest with a crocheted yoke that could date anywhere from 1880 to 1910. The eBay seller I purchased it from described it as a "vintage tank top", but ladies in the Victorian and Edwardian age would have recognized it as a vest or an undervest.