By Tim Lambert

Knickers in the 19th Century

Women did not usually wear knickers until the end of the 18th century. However after about 1800 women also wore underwear called drawers. Today we still say a pair of knickers. That is because in the early 19th century women's underwear consisted to two separate legs joined at the waist. They really were a 'pair' of knickers. The word drawers was invented because underwear for women was drawn on. Knickers are called knickers because of an illustration in a novel called History of New York by Diedrich Knickerbocker who was, supposedly a Dutchman living in New York (it was actually written by Washington Irving). In Britain the illustrations for the book showed a Dutchman wearing long, loose fitting garments on his lower body. When men wore loose trousers for playing sports they were sometimes called knickerbockers. However in Britain women's underwear were soon called knickerbockers too. In the late 19th century the word was shortened to knickers.

In the USA knickers are called panties, which is obviously derived from the word pants (American for trousers). In the early 20th century panties became the name for female underwear in the USA. The word panties is sometimes used in the UK but it has never replaced the word knickers.

At first knickers were usually very plain but in the late 19th century they were sometimes decorated with lace and bands. In the 1860s some women began to wear colored drawers although white remained very common. In the winter women often wore woolen knickers. No doubt they were needed in the days before central heating!. In the 19th century knickers were sometimes called bloomers. A woman named Elizabeth Miller invented loose trousers to be worn by women. After 1849 Amelia Bloomer promoted the idea and they became known as bloomers after her. In time long drawers became known as bloomers. The word lingerie is derived from the French word for linen, lin. Lingerie were things made from linen.

Knickers in the 20th Century

In the 19th century knickers were usually open between the legs but in the 20th century closed knickers replaced them. In 1910 stockings and knickers were first made of rayon (at first rayon was called artificial silk). From the mid 20th century knickers were also made of nylon. However in the early 20th century poor women sometimes made pairs of knickers from flour sacks.

In the 19th century knickers came down to the knee. In the 1920s they became shorter, down to the mid-calf. (At that time pink, ivory or peach knickers were popular). (Knickers with short legs were called French knickers because many people thought anything risque came from France). By the 1940s and 1950s many women wore briefs. Meanwhile in Britain during the Second World War women sometimes used the silk from parachutes to make knickers. Then in 1949 an American tennis player named Gertrude Moran or Gussie Moran (1923-) caused a sensation when she appeared at Wimbledon wearing frilly knickers. She was called Gorgeous Gussie and it was very daring in 1949! The modern thong was designed in 1974 and thongs became popular in Britain in the 1990s. At the beginning of the 21st century boy shorts became popular.

A timeline of women's underwear

A history of bras

A brief history of women's clothes

A brief history of cosmetics

A brief history of women