The Story of Lingerie. Muriel Barbier

because of its thermal qualities. For underwear, the main wool fabrics are cloth, serge, jersey and flannel. This last was said to protect against cholera. Bloomers and petticoats were made out of flannel and corsets which were particularly recommended for cycling. As people’s interest in health grew, wool became the hygienists’ favourite material. One of them, Doctor Gustave Jaeger, professor of zoology and physiology at the University of Stuttgart, wrote an essay on health and wool “cures”. It was published in 1878, and he began to manufacture 100% wool clothes in 1884.

      The “Sanitary woollen corset” was made entirely of wool and was supposed to cure digestive problems and help if one were overweight. One of the merits of wool for Doctor Jaeger was the fact that it was porous. Of course, this idea was refuted by the creators of Aertex and Viyella. A large woollen underwear industry was developing over the whole of Europe. Doctor Jaeger’s innovations were promoted in England by Mr Tomalin, the manager of a London department store, while in France, in 1877, Doctor Rasurel introduced a wool and cotton mix which claimed to be more effective. This type of underwear was very successful at first although later wool was passed over in favour of more aerated fabrics. Nevertheless, in 1953, Damart introduced “Thermolactyl” and designed woollen underwear which allowed the skin to breathe. 20th century woman could justifiably claim: “Cold? Me? Never!”

      Ensemble, 1906. Cotton cloth, lace and satin ribbons. (detail). Galliera Museum, Paris. Inv. 1972.12.1A/B/C.

      Combinaison, 1955–60 (detail). Galliera Museum, Paris.

      At the beginning of the 20th century chemical fibres began to eclipse natural fibres.

      Viscose is the name given to cellulose threads and textile fibres which are produced by the viscose process (the material, in a viscous state, is poured onto a drawplate which is then immersed in a tank which coagulates the fibres as soon as they emerge). For continuous thread the name given is rayon-viscose, and for broken thread, bonded fibre viscose. The first rayon thread was invented in 1884 by the Frenchman Hilaire Bernigaud, the Count of Chardonnet[23] who presented his first rayon articles at the Universal Exhibition in 1889. Other chemists were doing the same type of research, particularly in England where Cross, Bevan and Beadle patented their discoveries in 1892. Rayon was manufactured in England from 1905 and in the United States of America in 1911 due to the support of Courtauld. Rayon was actually only used for clothing after the 1920s, and the most popular rayon fabrics were crêpe, organdie, twill and jersey. Petticoats, slips, bloomers and nightclothes were made out of it. The shine of rayon was appreciated and earned it the name of “artificial silk”. Now all women could afford luxurious-looking underwear at a lower price.

      Nylon also brought about great changes. Dupont de Nemours Inc began research into the first synthetic thread in 1927. This research was lead by Doctor Wallace H. Carroters and his team. The first nylon stockings were presented at the New York World Fair in 1937 and they went on sale in 1939 in the United States of America. Nylon arrived in Great Britain in 1940, distributed by British Nylon Spinners Ltd, and became widespread in Europe by 1947 for all types of women’s underwear.

      During the Second World War, nylon was strictly reserved for parachutes, and clothing in Europe was rationed. So underwear had to be made out of household linen (this was already the case for modest pre-war families) and women dyed their legs to give the illusion of stockings. After 1949, nylon became very popular and allowed lingerie to be accessible to everyone. It shone like silk, was easy to maintain and was affordable.

      Chantal Thomass, Bas Up. Autumn / Winter Collection 2003.

      Chantal Thomass, Plumetis Stockings. Autumn / Winter Collection 2003.

      At the end of the 20th century laboratories began to create more synthetic fibres, first to make sports underwear which held firm and aerated the body. Sports bras were made of polyamide, elastane or a mix of these fibres. This underwear was made from micro fibres composed of microfilaments and was very light, seamless and often with controlling properties such as Dim control tights.

      In addition to synthetic materials, underwear needed elastic materials made from latex or rubber, for example. Once again, this new material was introduced through sportswear. The first corset reinforced with rubber was presented in 1851 at the Universal Exhibition in London, but the first elastic corset (in latex) was only sold in 1911: it was a sports corset. The development of elastic fabrics made of latex posed a major problem, as latex coagulates. It has to be mixed with ammonia to maintain its liquid state. Threads are made out of it and it is then woven (Dunlop improved this process). Elastic progressively replaced boning, steel and lacing. In addition to this, circular knitting machines were being designed to develop girdles which were entirely made of rubber. Latex was knitted into a sort of fabric. It was used by all brands, some of them perfected its usage such as Kestos and Warner who introduced two-way elasticity.

      At the end of the 1950s, researchers developed a more versatile fibre: Lycra, which was patented in 1959 by Dupont de Nemours. It had all the properties of rubber without its disadvantages. It was up to four times more resistant, three time lighter, and resistant to abrasion, perspiration and damage from detergents and lotions. Lycra was first used for sportswear such as bathing costumes and bodies, and then was introduced for underwear. It was used in combination with other textiles, usually at a rate of 15 to 40%. It was elastic and followed the shape of the body, as described by Vogue in 1968: “Drive, jump, ride, stretch, accelerate into spring with briefer simpler foundations, that you can put on and forget…they look like you, move like you, feel like you.[24]“ Playtex opened in France as a result of its “Cross your heart” model (1969) and also due to the “18-hour girdle” (1971) which had such light elastic fibre that one did not feel one was wearing it.