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TUDOR/ELIZABETHAN
15th – 16th century
The Pair of Bodies
The term stays and corset both come along later. A pair of bodies from what we traditionally call the “Renaissance” generally have shoulder straps, and end either at the waist or have tabs which go just below the waist (which is more comfortable). They are “boned” with whalebone (which is really not bone at all, but baleen), reeds, or are “corded” with lots of tiny channels holding cord sewn in to provide the necessary stiffness. They were not super tight, and were not designed to pull the waist in, but to flatten and lift the breasts, giving a smooth, tube-like appearance to the torso. There are only two extant examples, one laces up the back and one laces up the front. To get out of either of them though, your dress and other underpinnings had be removed (and they were spiral laced, not cross laced like a tennis shoe).
For more information about the Elizabetahn pair of bodies and to see a brilliantly realized recreation of one, explore Drea Leed's wonderful site:
The Effigy Corset. There you will find general information, and links to more detailed construcion and history sites: "The Effigy Corset: A New Look at Elizabethan Corsetry" and "The Elizabethan Corset Page."
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Countess of Southampton
c. 1600
You can clearly see her long pair of bodies beneath her dressing gown.
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Extant example from Germany
c. 1590s
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Roped Petticoat (farthingale)
Great example by Kendra of demode
To read more about it see her site:
http://demode.tweedlebop.com
(there is a link off the Georgian page).
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The Rest
Under the corset the lady would have worn a shift/chemise of fine linen. Then the corset. On top of it she would have had a Spanish farthingale (cone shaped hoop skirt) and bumroll (a large, padded three-quarter-moon worn tied around the waist to hold out your skirts, often called a rowle), or a French “wheel” farthingale (post 1560) and rowle (to support the wheel). While we call them farthingales (or hoops), the women wearing them referred to them as a verdingal. They were stiffined with rows of rope or of willow (the willow ones being much stiffer, and more likely to have been worn for formal/court events). She would most likely not have worn drawers of any kind. Contrary to what you see at Renaissance Faires, there is no evidence that women wore bloomers (by the LATE 16th century, bloomers were just being adopted in Italy, it would have taken decades before this reached England). There is documentation for little string-tied bikini-type underpants for woman from the “German” duchies, but I haven’t seen documentation of the like for English or Scottish ladies. So if you want underpants, go with the woven bikinis that tie on either side. She would have worn thigh-high stockings, most likely woven, bias cut ones, held up with garters tied above the knee. Knit stockings did exist, and were known to have been worn in Ireland, and a pair of knit silk stockings were an especially treasured gift of Elizabeth I. If your lady has a pair, she’s over the moon about them.
To see a great (interactive) explanation of the layers and garments involved see
Overview of an Elizabethan Outfit.
Suggested Viewing: Lady Jane, 1553-1554; Elizabeth R (BBC miniseries), 1550-1600; Shakespeare in Love, c. 1580s (?).
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Detail of period woodcut: French farthingale being tied on between the underskirt and overskirt.
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