." . . thoroughness and most impressive scholarship . . . much entertaining detail and . . . pleasant humour." -- The Times Literary Supplement (London) Underwear -- practical garments with a utilitarian function or body coverings that serve an erotic purpose? As this fascinating and intelligently written study shows, the role played by underclothing over the last several centuries has been a varied one. In a well-documented, profusely illustrated volume combining impressive scholarship with an entertaining, often humorous style, two distinguished clothing historians consider...
." . . thoroughness and most impressive scholarship . . . much entertaining detail and . . . pleasant humour." -- The Times Literary Supplement<...
The nineteenth century, according to C. Willett Cunnington, was a period when the cult of modesty was a tactical maneuver camouflaged as a virtue. It was also a period when euphemisms were used for such terms as -naked, - -breast, - and -leg, - and when underclothing was vaguely spoken of as -lingerie.- Cunnington, an early twentieth-century authority on fashion, argues that the Victorian matron was governed as much by current popular style as she was by instinct and custom. In a light, amusing, and highly readable account, he not only describes what Englishwomen wore in the nineteenth...
The nineteenth century, according to C. Willett Cunnington, was a period when the cult of modesty was a tactical maneuver camouflaged as a virtue. It ...
