History of Underwear: from shirts and stays to bras and briefs
About this episode
This episode explores the hidden history of underwear from ancient times to the modern day.
Greg Jenner is joined in western Europe by historian Dr Serena Dyer and comedian and actor Vic Michaelis to learn all about the hidden history of underwear. For as long as people have been wearing clothes, they have been wearing garments under them – Romans at Hadrian’s Wall were sent underpants, and even Ötzi the Iceman was discovered wearing a form of undergarment. But what were people wearing before the invention of underwires and elastic, so essential to our modern conceptions of underwear? This episode traces the history of our underthings in western Europe and the USA from the medieval period, through the Tudor, Regency and Victorian eras, and into the modern day. Moving around the body, it takes in the linen shifts and shirts that were the universal undergarment for much of history, the development of drawers and stockings, and the shockingly recent invention of knickers and briefs. It also tackles stays and corsets, asking whether they were really as painful as film and TV depictions suggest, and looking at the reliability of on-screen underwear in programmes like ‘Bridgerton’. If you’re a fan of fashion trends of the past, evolving views on beauty and the body, and…
People in this episode
Host: Greg Jenner
Guests: Dr Serena Dyer, Vic Michaelis
Topics covered
- history of underwear
- fashion trends
- historical myths
- beauty standards
- undergarments
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Bridgerton
Places: western Europe, Hadrian’s Wall
More episodes of You're Dead to Me
- Emperor Constantine the Great: Christianity and the Roman Empire
- Akhenaten and Nefertiti: religious revolution in ancient Egypt
- Anne Bonny and Mary Read: real-life pirates of the Caribbean
- Medieval Saints: miracles, relics and pilgrimage
- Francis Galton: Victorian scientist and pioneer of eugenics
- The Iliad and Odyssey: heroic epics from ancient Greece
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the You're Dead to Me podcast page.