What is the Underpinnings Museum?
The Underpinnings Museum is an online archive dedicated to the history of underwear. The goal of the project is to provide free access to an oft-neglected area of fashion study. Each object is accompanied by detailed imagery, technical and contextual information.
Do you have a physical location that I can visit?
The Underpinnings Museum exists solely online and does not have a physical location that can be visited. Occasionally we are able to arrange pop up exhibitions and events which will be advertised on the site.
Is the archive available for private study?
Regretfully our archive is not accessible for private study. It may be possible to arrange a study day for an academic institution for a fee (rates depending on group sizes and travel costs). Please contact us directly for more information.
Can I use your photos in my project?
We are happy for our images to be used for non-profit, academic purposes as long as they are fully and appropriately credited, both to the museum and our photographer Tigz Rice. We do not allow any of our images to be edited. For commercial use, please contact us directly for licensing fees.
Can I donate to the museum?
All monetary donations go directly to the upkeep and expansion of The Underpinnings Museum! You can send donations via PayPal using this link here. If you would like to donate a garment, please contact us with more information. As much as we appreciate all the offers of garment donations, our limited resources and storage space mean we cannot accept every donation.
Why does the museum ask for donations/advertising/sponsorship?
Although the museum is online rather than a physical location, there are still numerous running costs (including but not limited to: web hosting, garment storage and maintenance, photography). Donations/advertising/sponsorship allows us to continue offering our website as a free access resource, as well as developing new exhibitions and sourcing new objects for the collections.
Can you please tell me more about a particular garment that I own?
If the item is similar to an object in our collection we can link you to this, but regretfully we cannot research and study individual objects outside the archive.
Can you please value a garment for me?
We do not offer a valuation service.
Can I borrow a garment?
If you are an accredited museum that would like to borrow part of our collection for an upcoming exhibition, please contact us to discuss further. We do not loan our collection to private individuals.
If you can’t find an answer to your question please get in touch!
