16. Women Didn’t Wear Underwear
Fashion began to change drastically during the Regency era. After the bloodshed of the French Revolution, no one wanted to risk looking like a French aristocrat of old. Empire-waisted gowns with clean lines and simpler fabrics replaced the frilly over-complicated dresses of the previous era. These changes allowed women to be more comfortable and made fashionable attire more attainable for lower-class women. The fabrics used in the Regency era were overall cheaper to obtain and more accessible to launder than those of the previous period. The simpler dresses also meant that maids or attendants were no longer required to help women dress.
Interestingly, the simple gowns of the era had a saucy side effect: Regency women went “commando.” Slips, a basic form of chemise, were worn to ensure that the light, diaphanous dresses of the era were opaque and modest. Drawers, which still would have left most of a woman’s nether regions exposed, were still quite controversial due to their similarity to men’s trousers. Even had a Regency woman worn drawers, she would have been primarily exposed under her gown, as drawers only covered the legs like chaps. Given the modesty of the era, it’s rather amusing to think that the fashionable, wealthy women at galas were all dancing around without knickers.