The social status of women in the United States was one of submission in the years from 1800 to at least 1920, when women finally obtained the right to vote in the United States. After that, they discovered that the cloak of patriarchal discrimination would require another four decades of struggle to rise. Throughout the transformation of the role of women in American society, women’s underwear changed with the times.
Starting with the women’s fashion of the 1800s, there are several things to highlight. First, women look really beautiful in elegant dresses made famous thanks to the magic of Hollywood. What is generally left out of the movies is the severity of the uncomfortable underwear that ties women up in the way that dresses accentuate.You can also purchase the best leakproof underwear via https://ultiundies.com/do-leakproof-underwear-really-work/.
Women wore dresses almost exclusively in that time period, and the style was floor-length and layered, giving a full and charming effect, but in practice,, it was just heavy and unwieldy. To help prevent the dress from falling off, the crinoline was used. This underwear was also a functional device that was made of steel to keep the skirt portion of the dress in the proper bell shape that was expected at the time. This was later modified so that the rear was exaggerated in an attempt to reflect the female form.
The real change in women’s underwear began in the 1900s. Health risks for women wearing garments as tight as the corset were recognized, but there was nothing to replace it with until 1930 when the ability to produce elongated elastic fibers.
The invention of the bra was the undoing of the corset, but it didn’t really mean greater comfort for the ladies. In its original design, the bra did not enhance or emphasize the bust but was a device intended to flatten it in a decidedly tomboyish way. Still, it was an improvement over the draconian style imposed by the corset. Ironically, this era saw the re-emergence of the incredibly small waist as a fashion style.
