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MEN'S UNDERGARMENTS
1500-1900
Drawers
Men’s
undergarments are a bit easier to get a grasp of (hence the single page). By the Renaissance men were wearing woven versions
of both boxers and briefs (braies). By the Eighteenth century these had elongated to reach just below the knee (just like
the men’s breeches) and were simply called drawers. They closed just like the trousers of the era, with either a button
fly, or a frontfall, and they buttoned at the knee. Some men didn’t bother with drawers, they just tucked their shirttails
over and under and called it a day. By the Victorian era trousers had replaced breeches, and men’s drawers also got longer
(sometimes reaching the ankle). The Union Suit made its appearance in the1890s (before which, some men wore a kind of chemise
under their shirt, a layer of knit wool or cotton for warmth).
Past Patterns (which specializes in patterns for taken
from extant examples) has a pattern
for men’s drawers (short Regency era ones and long Victorian ones).
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Extant 16th century underpants.
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Open frontfall.
Extant trousers, c. 1820
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Getting His Pants Off
During the Renaissance
men’s pants closed with either buttons, ties, or hook and eyes, with the cod piece covering the closure. From about 1600
on, pants buttoned closed in the front. When waistcoats and coats shortened in the late 1700s the closure was hidden by a
flap that buttoned on either side like a bib (called a narrow fall or later, a broadfall as it widened). By the Victorian
era men had returned to the classic front button fly which still endures today.
If you want to see some photos of reproductions
made for films where the falls are obvious, check out the men’s fashion page on Jessamyn’s
Regency Costume Companion (ok, so we’re basically checking out the packages of Hugh Grant and Greg Wise . . . sue me).
For
a more in-depth look at men's undergarments throughout history I highly recommend The History of Underclothes by Cunnington,
which is readily available (and cheap).
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