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Thursday, August 8, 2013

French Women And Their Underwear . . . OOOH LA, LA !


No one will call my book about France ordinary,
but then I do not expect the French to be ordinary, do you?

I've had this post stored in my drafts,
and thought it was time to share.

Paris has always been famous for their fashion . . .
whether it be dresses, costume, or lingerie. 


Bustles & Corsets
Oh, the things women do to look beautiful :)
Do you see the children hiding under her hoop skirt?
How hard do you think it was to sit down in them?


Look at those tiny waistbands.
My grandmother told me stories of her hanging on to the bedpost, 
while her sister would pull her corset stings :)
The French may have come up with this fashion,
but it spread around the world,
and was copied by manufacturers everywhere. 
I was fortunate enough to be a young adult when not wearing a bra was the fashion
(except for work and church of course).
Most of the time at home I do not wear one.
I can not imagine being harnessed into a corset each day.

So here's to the comforts of modern under garments,
may they live on through generations to come :)


 Well, this was another chapter in my Altered Book ~ All Things French.
A little bit history and a little bit everything else.
I hope you enjoyed.

Have a marvelous day, and stay comfortable :)

Your blogging sister,

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19 comments:

  1. I remember hearing of how my great aunt used to have to cut the shirt tails off of her husband's new shirts and make underware out of the material.

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    1. Oh, I'll bet that was during the great depression or war time. When times are hard, women stand strong and make do. It is amazing what ideas creative minds are capable of :)

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  2. I really loved this post. Oh, at least we escaped the torture of foot binding. Can you imagine having to do that for beauty? (shudder)
    I love the illustration of the children under the hoop skirt.
    I have a couple of corsets, I like their structure, but I certainly can't lace them for sucking-in power, it's painful, so I keep them firm but loose and don't wear them often as daywear. They are very well engineered, probably by a man originally?! But then they have to wear nooses (I mean ties) around their necks.

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    1. Hi Melanie, I'm so happy to see you. I knew that you would appreciate this post :)

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  3. This is a fun and interesting post. I can't imagine wearing all that on a regular basis either. I was uncomfortable just wearing day wear (no corset or a lot of the other uncomfortable stuff) for a few hours at a Victorian event. It was held outside at a farm and I was amazed at how much dirt my skirt, petticoat and stockings picked up. I didn't have a hoop on but it was still hard to sit. But, it was fun to dress up like that...because I don't do it all the time. :-)

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    1. It sounds like a fun event, but can you imagine having to wash those long dresses on a washboard and then heat an iron on the stove to iron them. All that work to just drag them through the dirt again :)

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  4. What a cute and funny chapter in the French book. And you know what I found out? In Victorian times, women were always fainting and having a case of the vapors. There were even fainting couches. Turns out it was because of the corsets! I remember the bra burning in the 60's, do you?

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    1. Hi Ginny, yes I do remember bra burning :) My girlfriend and I took a Victorian house tour in Port Townsend, WA, when she was here visiting. On the landing between the staircases there would be a fainting couch. Staircases and cossets, didn't work well together, LOL.

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  5. Love the pages of your french book. Those are awesome. I've always loved the look of how they dressed back then but I can't imagine putting that stuff on every single day. I can't imagine that it was real comfortable.

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    1. I can not imagine having to do that everyday either.

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  6. Evening Connie, I assume you made this FRENCH Book. It is very unique!! LOVE the pictures! Maybe these garments were not comfy but they sure were pretty!! I had to chuckle when you talked about your bra wearing....you are the second blogger I've read in the last few days that say they don't wear a bra when home.....sounds GOOD to me!! I must get in on this! Lol!! Blessings and have a wonderful weekend~~~Roxie

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    1. Hi Roxie, maybe it is time for another bra burning :)

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  7. I would love to have a tiny waist but sure would not have liked wearing those! Glad for the freedom in clothes that we have now. Nancy

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  8. Ooh la la is right! How fun! Great images too!

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  9. These are great images, Connie and so glad they are relegated to history now! I remember my Mother wearing a girdle and how as soon as she would get home from an outing, that girdle got thrown across the room! Girdles were needed to hold up the stockings! Oh, those were the days! I grew up during the bra burning days, too - a love and peace hippie girl. So glad women don't have to harness ourselves into those corset contraptions any more. Must have made women pretty cranky! Love your book! xo

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    1. Hi Karen, either cranky or past out for lack of oxygen, LOL

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  10. Dear Connie, what a wonderful book you have made! The illustrations are just gorgeous! I love it! xx

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