Pantalettes
 Young boy in pantalettes, 1836. | |
| Type | Underwear |
|---|---|
Pantalettes are leg-covering undergarments worn by women, girls, and very young boys before they were breeched, primarily during the early to mid-19th century.
Pantalettes originated in France in the early 19th century and quickly spread to Britain and America. They were leg-covering undergarments, sometimes resembling leggings, and could be either a one-piece design or two separate garments—one for each leg—fastened at the waist with buttons or laces. The open-crotch design was a common feature, intended for hygiene and practicality. Pantalettes were most often made from white linen and adorned with decorative elements such as tucks, lace, cutwork, or broderie anglaise.
Ankle-length pantalettes for women were worn beneath crinolines and hoop skirts to maintain modesty in case their legs were exposed. Pantalettes for children and young girls were mid-calf to ankle-length and designed to be visible beneath shorter skirts. Until the mid-19th century, very young boys were commonly dressed in dresses, gowns, and pantalettes—garments more closely associated with girls' clothing—until they were breeched, typically between the ages of 2 and 8, sometimes older.[1] This style of dress for young boys persisted at least until they were toilet-trained.
Cultural references
[edit]An Irish reel bears the title of "The Ladies' Pantalettes".[2]
The US Virgin Islands folk song "Over the Side", records how smuggler and suffragist Ella Gifft used her pantalettes to hide the rum that she was illegally importing there, during the Prohibition era.[3][4][5]
In the 1939 film Gone with the Wind Rhett Butler tells Scarlett O'Hara, upon his return from Paris, France, that pantalettes are out of style there.
Gallery
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A pantalette undergarment with an open-crotch design, exemplifying 19th-century fashion's blend of practicality and modesty, featuring a gathered waist and lace-trimmed cuffs -
A pantalette undergarment with a distinctive open-crotch design, featuring lightweight fabric and elegant scalloped hems with floral cut-out detailing, blending historical practicality with decorative refinement -
A pair of open-crotch pantalette undergarments, crafted from lightweight fabric with a straight-leg silhouette, on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York -
Vintage white pantalettes with an open-crotch design, featuring a button closure at the waist and floral lace trim at the cuffs, showcasing historical practicality and decorative elegance, 1830s -
The three graces in pantalettes, ca 1800 -
Girl, 1810 -
1830 -
1850 -
1850s -
1866 -
1872
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Baumgarten, Linda: What Clothes Reveal: The Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America, Yale University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-300-09580-5. p. 166
- ^ "The Ladies' Pantalettes (Reel) – Irish Flute Tune"; tradschool.com
- ^ O'Neal, Joseph Raymond (2004). Life Notes: Reflections of a British Virgin Islander. Xlibris Corporation. p. 9. ISBN 9781465326362.
- ^ Cohen, Colleen Ballerino (2010). Take Me to My Paradise: Tourism and Nationalism in the British Virgin Islands. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-5031-2. OCLC 768294567.
- ^ Storm, Roberts; Roberts, John Storm (1998). Black Music of Two Worlds: African, Caribbean, Latin, and African-American Traditions. New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 978-0-02-864929-0.
- C. Willett Cunnington & Phillis Cunnington, The History of Underclothes 1951, Dover. ISBN 0-486-27124-2.
External links
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