Brassieres of the 'Teens

The layers involved in getting dressed in the years from 1910 through 1919 involved the following items (and more):

Chemise

Corset.

This is not my 'teens corset, but you can see it in the picture below.  Just using it for an example.

Below you can see an authentic 'teens corset.  Note that it sits below the bust, making a brassiere necessary.  I did not have a brassiere when I modeled this--but I did not really need one at this time. :)

And, as corsets got lower and lower, a brassiere.  This model has a hook at the bottom with a hole to fasten to one of the studs on the front of the corset to hold it down.  The hook at the bottom was to match a hook on the skirt to keep the skirt in place.

The back of the brassiere had hooks and eyes and elastic, which has been doubled over and sewn together on this one--probably when it lost its stretchiness.

Here you can see the places where bones were inserted to keep everything smooth and the owner made some very nice repairs when the underarms wore out.

This is how the hook attached to the corset stud.

Depending on the time of year and how sheer your slip and dress were, bloomers were also worn.  Here is a beautiful heavy silk satin pair with an elastic waist. When corsets disappeared and girdles appeared, bloomers were worn more often.  I'll show more in a future post.

There's a little extra reinforcement at the knee and look at that beautiful insertion, lace, and little flower.  These are unsold old store stock.