Western female underwear in the Renaissance Age

張芮嘉

【Abstract】As a special dress， female underwear plays an important role in the history of western dress development. Different periods of humanistic background， aesthetic concept and dress habits affects the shape， fabric and color of female underwear. This paper gives an analysis of western womens underwear in the Renaissance Age.

【Key words】Western； Female； Underwear； Renaissance

Renaissance humanism against feudal theology and church abstinence， emphasized human centered， replaced divinity with humanity， advocated personality liberation， etc. So in this period， culture， art and other aspects had undergone tremendous changes， and there was an important impact on clothing. At that time the womens clothing became triangular to emphasize slender waist and chubby buttocks， so women wore corsets and buttocks pads. Corset could raised chest and tightened waist， which made the slender waist and lower big skirt formed a clear contrast to strengthen womans sexy body curve.

In the 15th century， European women were wearing tight clothes to highlight curved bodies， especially the chest. To the 16th century， with the continuous correction of the process and type version， corset had a more complete shape. It occupied an independent position in the clothing， and played a important part in shaping the female chest， abdomen and hip curve.

In the first half of the 16th century， aristocratic women began to wear the corset which was not simply made of cloth. The corset made by the cloth embedded in whalebone， horn， hard cloth， etc.， which in order to compulsively change the figure.

In 1550 to 1620， the Spaniards tried every means to tighten womens waist to emphasize the beauty of thin waist， because the waist was considered to be an important factor in womens sexy performance. At this time， there was a corset which could tightened waist effectively called “Basquine” - a sleeveless corset embedded in whalebone， to meet the desire of thin waist. At the same time， in order to highlight the slender waist， the Spanish women use the bustle called “Farthingale” to exaggerate the lower body. Subsequently， this aesthetic form intensified， in order to reflect the fullness of buttocks， skirts became more and more huge， womens waist was also asked to be more and more thin， so that the iron corset had appeared. This kind of armor-like corset was a medical tool originally used by doctors to correct the deformation of the spine. At that time， the charm of womens corset was not only from the sexy underwear and the chest which was held up， but also the sexual pleasure from men helping women to wearing corset.endprint

Around 1577， “Corps Piaue” became a member of corsets. It was hard and very thick， because only in this way could forced to tighten the waist. Its production method was stitching more than two layers of linen together， between the clothes often added the thin lining. In order to fall into a pattern and tighten waist powerfully， the corset also embedded in the whalebone. The hatch of the corset was at the center of the chest or the back， tightened with a rope to achieve the effect of astricting. The inner of the lower edge put some straps or hooks to connect the bustle， the outer side of the fabric can cover the interface， so that the corset and shirt formed a whole. The tip of the end of the axle wire of the front of the underwear was called busk， which was understood as a sexual indication.

In 17th century， the artistic style of Baroque Period was contrary to complex， exaggerated， gorgeous and grand， and stressed the decoration. In the second half of the 17th century， the corset “Corps Baleine” embodied the characteristics of this style. Its surface decoration was gorgeous， so women could directly wear it as a outer clothing. As the clothing used up and down was the same fabric， so in appearance gave a sense of the overall dress. Its waist was embedded with many whalebone and the sutures from the waist to the chest radially opened， so visually the waist became much slimmer. In this time， woman wore corset from two years old， in order to support their weak body， prevent bone deformation， and indeed to better shape the waist and breasts in the future.

In addition， the corset was also a synonym for the aristocracy in the Renaissance Age. Corset was the costume that nobles had to wear， it made their figures tall， straight and elegant， so it became a symbol of noble identity. For this， even after the working women of the bottom of the community wore cheap imitation， corset was still the object of warm pursuit.endprint