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> Those layers were still designed to serve a purpose - largely keeping warm Yes and no. Something that people often take for granted is doing laundry. The in
by gspencley 2y ago
> Those layers were still designed to serve a purpose - largely keeping warm
Yes and no.
Something that people often take for granted is doing laundry. The invention of the automatic clothes washer and dryer changed things dramatically.
Before automation, laundry day for a household of 4 was a huge, laborious, and often multi-day task.
Not only did garments need to be washed by hand, but there was a lot of attention to how to clean certain types of garments and fabrics effectively. A woman's summer dress with grass stains on the bottom hems, for example, needed different treatment than a man's 3 piece grey suit (which, by the way, were constructed very differently than they are today).
Since you needed your stove-top to heat water, most laundry was done in the kitchen which meant that you also needed to plan in advance what your family was going to eat that day and have things prepared.
I own a recreation Edwardian era 3 piece suit. It has no zippers and it is unlined (I recently wore this to a funeral here in Canada and it was COLD despite the layers that I was wearing).
The reason that the suit is unlined is because, as you say, it was common at the time to wear layers. So the thing is shockingly breathable and light compared to a modern, lined formal suit (which is also made out of different suiting wool so the texture is different too, an Edwardian suit "feels" less formal than a modern suit).
But the reason people wore those layers was not always necessarily to stay warm. In fact, the layers were worn in the summer in hot climates as well as during winter in cold climates.
Today people often assume that full body undergarments were born out of a prudish sense of modesty (a la "magic Mormon underwear"). This is a myth. The reality is that they:
a) kept the outer garment clean for longer by avoiding direct contact with the skin (and thus sweat etc.) and
b) they gave everyone in the family roughly the same general style of undergarment (in terms of colour and fabric) so that you could batch-wash what needs to be washed most often all together in a single pot on the stove
Here's a good YouTube video that really puts into perspective why laundry was so different pre-automation, and it was one major factor (though not the only one) that informed how people dressed:
https://youtu.be/88Wv0xZBSTI?si=c-YEogtMyy8pAFlA https://youtu.be/88Wv0xZBSTI?si=c-YEogtMyy8pAFlA
- ljm 2y agoI wonder how much this relates to the placement of a washing machine and/or dryer. It's typically in the kitchen in a British household, unless you have a house with a utility room or an old outdoor toilet (growing up, my house had an external downstairs toilet but it was just used for storage and the washing machine). When I moved abroad though it wasn't unusual to see the washer/dryer in the bathroom. > But the reason people wore those layers was not always necessarily to stay warm. In fact, the layers were worn in the summer in hot climates as well as during winter in cold climates. This still holds up today. Can't speak for anywhere else but in the UK people will go out in 30ºC weather in an anorak or puffer jacket with a hoodie and tee underneath. The exact opposite of us northern British types who go out in winter wearing just one light layer at 5ºC (tee + jeans, top + skirt).
- pm215 2y agoI think a big part of why UK washing machines aren't in bathrooms is our electrical regs, which don't allow plug sockets within three metres of a bath or shower. Most UK bathrooms aren't big enough for that, so you end up having to do awkward workarounds like giving them a hardwired connection and/or boxing the machine into a cupboard. (I used to own a flat where the only space to put the washing machine was the bathroom and had to get it boxed in...)
- MisterBastahrd 2y agoAsk anyone in New Orleans and they'll tell you that Mondays are for red beans. This is because it was laundry day, and one of the easiest, heartiest, and least labor intensive things that you could cook for a long time with minimal supervision is a pot of beans that only got better the longer it cooked.
- ineedaj0b 2y agois there any reason we still line suits today? debating removing the lining of one of my suits to see what happens
- bafe 2y agoThere are summer suits and sports coats that are unlined or half -lined (e.g the sleeves are usually lined for ease of wearing and removing).
- harimau777 2y agoLinings are often a slippery fabric in order to make a jacket easier to put on. The lining also reduces wear on the main body of the fabric since you are rubbing against the lining instead. Linings are also a useful way to hide the seams and other construction details of the garment. However, any of these could probably be worked around.
- saaaaaam 2y agoThe visible lining is one thing, but when people talk about lining in suits it can also mean an inner structure made of stiffer material like canvas to help give the suit form and structure. So in a more traditional suit there is the outer wool, an inner canvas structural lining, and then the slippery inner lining to hide all the seams and make it look finished. I suspect the Edwardian suit had a slippery inner lining (or maybe cotton inner lining) but no canvas structural lining in between. https://thesages.vn/canvas-the-secret-of-tailoring-suit/ https://thesages.vn/canvas-the-secret-of-tailoring-suit/
- LargoLasskhyfv 2y agoInteresting site/company, though it takes really long to load and render. Maybe 'HNified' ? I'm tempted to ask them, with all their customizing, if they'd be up to something more 'cosplay'/sci-fi-uniform style, but only slightly, not 'overdoing' it. While keeping their high quality standards regarding the textile materials and their craft. Hmm. Former Saigon...never been there, sure there is much more to experience and see. Tempting, Tempting, Tempting...
- bluGill 2y agoThat youtube is a long rabbit hole that I'll be spending some time going down. My wife hates you... (okay, I'll be careful not to let it take up so much time my wife notices, but it could get that far if I'm not careful)
- gspencley 2y agoYeah Bernadette Banner is amazing and I practically learned everything I know about how to sew and fabricate costumes from her channel. My wife and I are part time performing magicians and what I like about magic is that it is kind of the ultimate "maker hobby." If you're performing a trick, it can be as simple as a card trick or it can be as complicated as involving prosthetic makeup and practical vfx. So you can bring in all kinds of skills from woodworking to costuming to welding to special vfx makeup and you can make the hobby as wide or narrow as you like. Being someone with a ton of hobbies mostly centred around making stuff ... it enables me to be a "renaissance man" and consolidate all of those into one focused endeavour. So we do all of our own costuming. The 3 piece Edwardian suit I mentioned I purchased from Darcy Clothing LTD in the UK and had it fitted by a tailor and then I altered it myself to add a few sneaky features for magic reasons. And I'm currently fabricating for my wife's costume a longline underbust corset in a late Victorian / early Edwardian style to replace the mass-produced one she's been wearing that is falling apart. This is my most ambitious project yet, clothing wise, because it's the first piece of visible outer-wear that I am fabricating from scratch and to fit her. Gradually I want to be able to do all of our own tailoring and costuming from scratch (i.e: would love to be able to make my own bespoke 3-piece suit by hand) but it's a craft that takes a long time to get good at.