Why pair of underwear

The real evolution of different forms of underwear began in 19th Century Europe and America. The different names for underwear also evolved at this time:. Underwear, be they called drawers, pantaloons, pants, panties or knickers, had one common characteristic for a long time. To start with, imagine the cancan dancers from the French cabarets in the s — which was the period when the dance, along with its distinctive high leg kick — became popularized.

Now imagine the divided pair of pants. Mary Phelps Jacobs used two handkerchiefs, joined by a ribbon, to create the modern bra. These days, it can present a dichotomy, given that a single piece of clothing covers our right and left sides. Kelsey is the lead editor of Undywear.

She's a fashionista who's written for Glamour, GQ and others. She enjoys breaking the stigma and taboo around underwear and writing about all things fashion. She used two handkerchiefs joined by ribbon. In the 19th century knickers came down to well below the knee. In the s they became shorter. They ended above the knee. By the s and s, many women wore briefs. In the s knickers became briefer still. In the s thongs became popular. The word drawers went out of use and they became known as underpants or pants.

Y-fronts went on sale in the USA in They went on sale in Britain in Boxer shorts were introduced in the s. That would be because of medieval pop culture.

Yes, there was pop culture before Bieber. There was even pop culture before Britney Spears. The word 'pants' is a shortened form of the word 'pantaloons', a word which refers to a medieval Italian theatre character named 'Pantalone' - a character who wore breeches to show off his wealth. Over time, pantaloons was shortened to 'pants', because shortening words is a long-lived human tradition - so every time we use the words 'pants' we're literally using slang to refer to a Scrooge McDuck type of character from Italian comedies.

So when you think about it, jokes about underpants are kind of intellectual. Well, sort of. Members Current visitors. Interface Language. Log in. Install the app. Forums English Only English Only. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You are using an out of date browser.