Women in the 1920′s and 30′s were trading their long underwear and petticoats for scandalous tap pants and chemises.

Back home after the walk we would often remove our dresses and sit in the garden, admiring each others’ knickers and other underwear in the sunshine.Judging by the age of the photo, it is probable that each of those women is wearing a similar pair of knickers, but the correct size knickers, of course, if I had anything to do with them! Over the decades, the waistline has evolved and while I am happy to know that French Knickers are still very much a thing, they now tend to be more of a shape that sits on your hip rather than the high waists that we associate with our Mid-Century period. By the 1920s, skirts had shortened to the knee, the body shape to aspire to was boy-like with no curves and fabric had become sheerer so lingerie styles progressed accordingly which is where our ‘French Knickers’ style comes in, alongside Camiknickers which combined the bodice and knickers into one garment.

Drawers” started to develop in the early 1800s and became widespread in the era of Victorian prudishness but were still not our familiar garments, rather they were separate legs, initially ankle length and attached at the waist, probably more about keeping your legs warm as fabrics became thinner and ensuring your naughty little ankles remained out of sight than anything else. Here, a woman has tucked her pinny into her knickers, and I’m sure that those people working behind her were all enjoying her beautiful, knickered bottom all day long!Slips also helped to ensure that clothing 'lay' properly, and didn't accidentally reveal the wearer's body (particularly in the case of sheer or see-through garments). Up until relatively recently really, women didn’t wear covered in “pants” but rather their nether regions through the ages would have been uncovered but obscured beneath layers of voluminous petticoats, floor-length skirts, long shifts, and chemises, not to mention corsets, bustles, and hoops. Here is a group of older, village women out helping with the harvest, just as they did all around my remote farming area when I was young.

Other famous faces include Stacey Solomon, Nadia Sawalha and Saira Khan as the slogan reads: “A campaign to prove every body tells a story. Most of our time seemed to be spent dreaming and contriving new ways to safely show flashes of our knickers to our chosen targets, and our knickers were always foremost in our minds.The short film with a new invention (for 1929), the camiknickers…a precursor to more contemporary teddies, bodysuits, and rompers.