Conserving A 1920s House Of Worth Gown
This guest blog post was kindly written by Annika Cilke. Annika Cilke is an independent textile conservator based in Oslo, Norway. She holds an MPhil in Textile Conservation from…
Sparklewren Autumn 2020 Lookbook: ‘Bless The Weather’
Sparklewren Autumn 2020 Lookbook 'Bless The Weather'. The Underpinnings Museum. Photography by Jenni Hampshire. Although the Sparklewren brand is still on indefinite hiatus, earlier this year designer Jenni…
The End of Maternal Corsetry
The end of the nineteenth century was marked by several political, economic and social changes that permanently affected the fabric of Western communities. To understand how these changes…
Rosamond Lilian Klin: The Inventor Of The Kestos Bra
'High Line' CC41 Cotton Bra By Kestos, c. 1941, Great Britain. The Underpinnings Museum. Photography by Tigz Rice The Kestos lingerie brand has long been one of my…
Favourite Things: Ayten Gasson
Another installment in our blog series 'Favourite Things', where we ask lingerie industry professionals to pick a favourite object from our collection. Today's selection comes from Ayten Roberts…
New Acquisition: c. 1830s Corset
Earlier this year, The Underpinnings Museum ran its first major fundraiser since 2016's Kickstarter (the crowdfunding campaign that helped us to launch this website). We took to social…
‘Hello Boys’: How Wonderbra Survived the Bra Wars
Initially developed in Canada in the 1930s, lingerie manufacturer Canadelle first registered its Wonderbra name as a Trademark in the United States in 1955. In 1963 the Wonderbra…
Favourite Things: Stephanie Bodnar of Evgenia Lingerie
Another installment in our blog series 'Favourite Things', where we ask lingerie industry professionals to pick a favourite object from our collection. Today's selection comes from Stephanie Bodnar…
The Underpinnings Museum is now a member of AIM
Running an online museum has its own special rewards and challenges. Although we have lots of visitors, we don't get to meet you all in person and chat…
ART-CHERIE: Inspiration from online archives
Clothing and textile archives are fascinating places. Although, as a fashion historian, you might expect me to visit archives as part of my research, they’re also very useful…
Favourite Things: Maude Nibelungen
Another installment in our blog series 'Favourite Things', where we ask lingerie industry professionals to pick a favourite object from our collection. Today's selection comes from Maude Nibelungen,…
Behind the Scenes at an Underpinnings Museum Photoshoot
Running an online museum with people who live in three different European countries is exciting, but also means it’s very easy to forget how different things can be…
Favourite Things: Kaaren Bedi of Layneau Collection
Another installment in our blog series 'Favourite Things', where we ask lingerie industry professionals to pick a favourite object from our collection. Today's selection comes from Kaaren Bedi…
Guest Post: Depilation in the 1920s, by Lucy Jane Santos
In this series of posts, I will be taking something from the Underpinnings Museum’s collection and using it to look at an object from my collection of historical…
Favourite Things: Catherine Clavering of Kiss Me Deadly
This is the first installment in our series 'Favourite Things', where we ask lingerie industry professionals to pick a favourite object from our collection. Our first pick comes…
#UPMTC: Archives: A Brief Introduction, by Georgina Orgill
The final blog post in our series documenting the first Underpinnings Museum Twitter conference shares the presentation by Georgina Orgill, entitled Archives: A Brief Introduction. UAL Archives and…
#UPMTC: Hold On and Suck In, by Cassidy Percoco
This blog post details the Underpinnings Museum Twitter conference presentation from Cassidy Percoco, entitled Hold On and Suck In: 20th Century Views of the 19th Century Corset. Since…
#UPMTC: Women and Corsets in Toronto, by Alanna McKnight
This blog post covers the Underpinnings Museum Twitter conference presentation from Alanna McKnight entitled Women and Corsets in Toronto, 1870-1914. This study argues that corsets were a site…
#UPMTC: The curious history of Radioactive Corsets, by Lucy Jane Santos
This blog post documents the Underpinnings Museum Twitter Conference presentation by Lucy Jane Santos, entitled The Curious History of Radioactive Corsets. This presentation will look at the surprising…
#UPMTC: The Big Sell, by Shaun Cole
This blog post details the presentation from Shaun Cole at the first Underpinnings Museum Twitter conference, entitled The Big Sell: Men’s Underwear Advertising in the Early 20th Century. In…
#UPMTC: Auschwitz and Underwear, by Lucy Adlington
This blog post - part of a series documenting the first Underpinnings Museum Twitter conference - details the presentation from Lucy Adlington, entitled Auschwitz and Underwear: the humanising…
#UPMTC: The Walls of Jericho, by Casci Ritchie
This blog post - part of a series documenting the first Underpinnings Museum Twitter conference - details the presentation from Casci Ritchie, entitled The Walls of Jericho: Dressing…
#UPMTC: Boudoir Caps & Zeppelin Nighties, by Lucie Whitmore
In the third of our posts documenting the first Underpinnings Twitter conference, we are sharing the presentation of Lucie Whitmore, entitled Boudoir Caps & Zeppelin Nighties: How fashionable…
#UPMTC: The role of women in the history of underwear, by Susanna Cordner
This is the second of our blog posts documenting the first Underpinnings Museum Twitter conference. It focuses on the presentation from our keynote speaker Susanna Cordner, which followed…
#UPMTC: Our first ever Twitter conference
On Friday 12th January 2018, the Underpinnings Museum held an academic conference 100% online as part of our ongoing quest to bring the history of underwear to a…
Announcing the Underpinnings Museum Twitter Conference
As part of its quest to bring the history of underwear to a wider audience, making collections and research freely accessible online, The Underpinnings Museum is hosting a…
The Underpinnings Museum at The Oxford Conference of Corsetry
If you’re a fan of the art of corsetry, I’m sure you are already aware of The Oxford Conference of Corsetry (OCOC). It is a two day residential…
Collaborative Unit at London College of Fashion
In 2015 London College of Fashion introduced the Collaborative Unit for MA students across 17 subject areas. The unit is designed to provide an opportunity to innovate, explore…
International Women’s Day: Celebrating Lingerie’s Women Designers
On International Women’s Day, I wanted to take the times to showcase some of the incredible women-designed objects within the museum collections. The creation of clothing has almost…
How Did Corsets Evolve Into Girdles?
The change from 'old-fashioned' corset to 'modern' girdle began in the 1910s with the help of some Parisian couture houses who began to adopt features of alternative modes…
The Changing Fashion Of Breast Shape
The December issue of British Vogue has generated a lot of discussion in the last week for declaring that cleavage is over. Media outlets were jumping on this story…
Why I Got Involved In The Underpinnings Museum
I first met Karolina back in 2013, when I went to be fitted for a bespoke lingerie set that she was making for me. After we checked the…
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