If you find yourself curious about antique “flapper” dolls, you’re not alone. The current excitement over the release of an accurate reproduction of the 1469 head and body has got many of us attacking Pinterest with the fury of treasure hunters gone wild. What did they look like? What did they wear? And in my case, as a pattern maker, what did they wear underneath it all?
Well, I can tell you one thing for certain. It’s complicated.
Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the most radical changes in fashion were like long, rolling waves. You could see them coming from a distance, and no one was startled when they crested.
But new ideas began to arise toward the end of the 1800’s. More women were working and participating in sports. Motor cars made travel a reality for those who could afford them. And life, in general, had become more complex.
Petticoats were the first casualty. The standard minimum number, as late as 1855, had been six. By the turn of the century women wore just one, and it was no longer so utilitarian. Silk, with layers of flounces to support the bell shaped skirts of the time, became the norm for anyone who could pay for it. If you could not afford that, you might settle for something called “Heatherbloom” (a type of mercerized cotton) which made a sound almost as nice as the rustle of real silk without the expense.
Of course, the simplification of petticoat layers was just the beginning. Fashion was under pressure to adapt to the desires of the modern woman – for mobility, comfort, and style to equal the fast paced way of life the industrial revolution had unleashed – and what modern women wanted was not universal. Because of this, the years from 1905 to 1919 were a bit of a “free-for-all” when it came to dressing. And the underpinnings of these diverse fashion offerings were an equally mixed bag.
One of the key changes was in corsetry. The S-shape was replaced by straighter lines, laced less tightly. And as dress styles became narrower, the length of corsets dropped to cover all of the hip area. Along with this lengthening, the top edge fell to below the bust. And therein was the first challenge for Edwardian lingerie.
The tension of the chemise still helped control the bust. But many women needed, or wanted, more. Enter the evolution and permutation of the corset cover, into myriad creative forms. A young woman with a good figure might need nothing more than a camisole (the modern word for corset cover) for modesty. A smaller chested woman might opt for enhancements in the form of a “bust bodice” with ruffles and/or padding. And those with stout, womanly figures required the support of an actual brassiere. All of these things were worn just as corset covers of the past had been – on top of the chemise and corset.
Meanwhile, other pieces of underwear were also evolving. Corset covers and petticoats were combined into princess slips. Drawers were available as an individual piece, with varying leg styles, or as combinations attached to an upper chemise. And a curious new piece called the “envelope chemise” emerged, which was basically a precursor to what we now call a “teddy”. It first appeared around 1911 and continued to be seen in catalogues at least as late as 1919.
All these options were necessary, because fashion couldn’t seem to decide what it wanted to say. Changes from one year to the next were no longer gradual or predictable. In 1910 one could still buy full skirts with princess waists. By 1911 everything was made in a column. By 1912, empire waists were de rigueur. In 1913 and 1914 hobble skirts burst onto the scene, sometimes with high waists and sometimes not. Then, when fabric manufacturers lobbied against styles that used so much less fabric, pegged top skirts and long tunics over narrow skirts suddenly appeared.
And don’t even get me started on necklines, which were a bigger scandal than skirt lengths when they were first formed into a V shape.
Over the latter portion of the teens, corsets continued to be worn lower and lower until they were well on their way to being nothing more than girdles. Bones disappeared and were replaced with elastic. Somewhere along the way, as the body no longer needed to be protected from the corset, and as brassieres were made of washable fabrics, the chemise disappeared.
Meanwhile, the dictates of fashion continued to result in even more diversity and blips in the history of lingerie. When skirt lengths rose and the idea of exposing one’s ankles to public view was scandalous, long stockings were required to stay up or else, so garters were added to the bottoms of corsets (how they kept their stockings up before this is a question for some other time). And when the boyish figure of post-war styles took over, brassieres were used to flatten the chest. There was also, during the war, a brief return to fuller skirts and the consequent need for crinolines (this lasted for only a few short years and silhouettes returned fairly quickly to narrower, pre-war, lines).
The result of all this variation is what we would expect – antique dolls are found in every possible combination of the pieces women were wearing between 1911 and 1920. There were no standards, which isn’t surprising when you consider that women of this time were becoming less and less willing to acquiesce to anyone’s standards but their own. Not everything the designers threw out there, like so much spaghetti, actually stuck to the wall (Turkish trousers, I mean you). And sometimes, a dolls underpinnings might be explained by something as simple, and unfashionable, as a promotional ad.
So have a good romp on Pinterest or in your favorite antique catalogue archives. You’ll probably see things I haven’t even mentioned. Enjoy exploring it all.
Just don’t expect it to make sense.