Costume designer’s talk to explore women’s undergarments

Costume designer’s talk to explore women’s undergarments

Corsets, girdles, brassieres, petticoats, chemises, bloomers, stockings, bustles and hoop skirts. That may sound like wardrobe inventory for actors in “Gone with the Wind” (and you wouldn’t be far off) but these ladies’ undergarments represent how women throughout history have outfitted themselves in accordance with the prevailing image of ideal womanhood. If what strikes you is how restrictive many of these garments were, you might be on to som…