Evolution of undergarments till the renaissance period

Well, one of the primary needs of both men and women is the undergarments and these days there have been so many trends in these garments that when you land up in a place for their shopping you would just be eye struck of what to buy and what not to buy. This article will widen your horizons of knowledge about how and when these undergarments came into existence.

Starting of with the history of men’s undergarments, the archaeologists have found that almost about 7000 years ago, the pre historic men wore loin cloths under their cloths. In the two thousand B.C., it was the Egyptians, who wore these loin cloths beneath their skirts. They wore loin cloths with the intention that these cloths would be useful to them after their death. One interesting fact that would amaze you is that in the year 1323A.D.King Tutankhamen was buried with almost one hundred and forty five cloths.

As far as the Greeks are concerned, they wrapped a cloth around themselves starting from the neck and ending to just above their knees, however the sides of the cloth would be open but they were fastened with pins all around. However they did not use the under garments but their slaves did wear the under garments.

Another form of undergarments which were worn during those times were the subligaculums, which is a loin cloth worn in the lower body like a shorts. In particular these forms of underwear were worn by the athletes, stage actors.

It was during the medieval period that the underwear gained its significance. It became an important piece of apparel which was worn by all classes of people. The Braies replaced the loin cloths. The braies were made of linen, it was a pair wherein one had to step into the pair pull it up between the legs as we do these days with the underwear and the only difference is that the braies have to be tied on to our waist. In Europe fashion statement was at its boom and underwear was used for giving a proper shape. During this period fashion had become an extremely important priority and as a result various forms of under garments like the cod pieces, stockings, undershirts came into existence.

During the renaissance period the braies became very short and the codpiece became a very essential requirement, in a way braies were just like the shorts which are worn these days and on the other hand cod piece were the typical undergarments worn today. Over the years the shape of cod pieces were customized and they were built in accordance with the shape of the genital area. However the history of underwear has shaped the way how we feel and how we look today.