Many of our notions about fashion have been altered by hyperbolic illustrations and humorous depictions. While Victorian era high fashion did often employ tightly laced corsets and large hoop skirts, social commentators focused on these extremes. This has led to an erroneous assumption that everyone dressed outrageously, even for mundane tasks.
In reality, while women working in the home and in factories in the nineteenth century did wear corsets, they were primarily worn as garments to provide bust and back support. 
Much like the images seen on the runway and in high fashion magazines today, these garments don’t generally represent the clothing that was worn by the average person while going to work and completing household chores.
Learn about the types of undergarments worn by everyday people during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Unmentionables is open in the Dardaris Gallery during museum hours, Tuesdays – Sundays 12-4pm.
