15 Historical Undergarments That We’re Glad We No Longer Have To Wear

From flying pantaloons to girdles for men, we are glad that fashions go out of style. Don’t get your panties in a bunch, here are 15 historical undergarments that we’re glad we no longer have to wear.

1. Panniers

Do you recollect the lavish dresses from “The King and I” and how the dancers’s skirts would fly up every time they would sway their hips sideways? No thanks.

 2. Bullet bras

They called them bullet bras because of how dangerous they used to be. Why, you could nearly take someone’s eye out with that thing!

3. Braies

Historically, the men always liked to let it hang and wore free flowing undergarments.

 4. Loincloth

While the men might breathe a sigh of relief that they no longer have to wear loincloths, the rest of us sigh that they no longer do. That is, until we see Jack Black at the beach.

5. Cage Crinoline

Scarlett O’ Hara probably would’ve had an easier time defending Tara if it weren’t for her pain-in-the-butt cage crinoline.

6. Sanitary Belt

The next time you females complain about pads or tampons, just count your blessings, because it could be worse. Historically, sanitary belts during menstruation made many women feel like they were strapped down like a laboratory Rhesus monkey.

7. Chemise

In today’s time, we’d call them nightgowns, but back then, people called them undergarments and literally wore them under their clothes.

8. Subligaculum

Today we might see them in Japan on sumo wrestlers, but subligaculum is pretty much a thing of a past. Apparently, people eventually started to complain about having to wear diapers all day.

9. Bustle

Before there was the Brazilian butt lift, there was the bustle that can give any stick figure a full curvaceous booty.

10. Pantalets

This fashion trend drove every man wild…Amish men, that is.

11. Long Underwear

While long thermal underwear nowadays still resemble history’s long johns, they often came in boring white colors and were worn as a one-piece with a “pocket” in the buttock area.

12. Petticoat

Petticoats used to be a mandatory article of clothing for every woman donning skirts to give them a “fluffy feel.” Otherwise, you’d be a flat boring stiff.

13. Rags

If you thought the sanitary belt was bad, then this rag will be your worst nightmare. During the medieval times, menstruating women would just stick an old rag between their legs and hope it’d do the trick.

14. Men’s bracer

Even men can feel self-conscious about their weight and wore girdles to “smooth out” their love handles.

15. Tight Lace Corset

The difference between a regular corset and a tight lace corset is that the latter meant tying your waist into an unnatural Barbie doll figure. It’s amazing how the women could breathe in this.

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