It must be the season for fashion exhibitions in Brisbane, because I went to another one at the museum today entitled "Undressed. 350 years of underwear in fashion". It was absolutely fascinating as the changes in underwear were really reflective of so many things: women's role in society, the body type that was fashionable in a particular era, the ability to launder clothing, the ability to produce textiles and the fibre technology available.

One point that was made was that women have worn foundation garments for centuries and it is only in the last couple of decades that they are expected to create an "ideal" body shape through diet and exercise. Previous generations all had help! I'm sure part of the trade-off is that the foundation garments worn were so restrictive that it would have been impossible to do anything vey active whilst wearing them and it seems that the gradual abandonment of corsets seems to parallel the increasing independence of women. Although it was interesting seeing exhortations to women involved in the war effort in WW2 not to neglect the support of their figures!

The other idea that interested me was that underwear was previously there in order to protect the body from corsets and harsh fabrics and to protect clothes from sweat, in a time when it was hard to do laundry. Men's shirts were originally underwear and one of the quotes that amused me was "A sincere heart has not won half as many conquests as an open waistcoat" Those provocative 18th century men! I had not previously recognised the wearing of a business shirt as an attempt at seduction through the wanton exposure of underwear.

One other story I found particularly amusing was the transition of underwear from practical to pretty. The ability to mass produce lace and ribbon was the beginning of this, but it was still considered a bit morally dubious to have fancy underwear. It was not until the early 1900s that wearing pretty underwear became acceptable after a women's journal writer decreed that it was "the duty of every woman to wear pretty lingerie to save their husbands from the sin of adultery"!

There were lots of garment from across the ages and it was so interesting to see the development of textile technology and the evolution of role of underwear. Fashion really is the point where culture, environment and the body intersect in the most interesting of ways!

ETA: I wore my HL bra under a mesh top to the exhibition. It seemed appropriate!