Lingerie

The Empress's lingerie

Items of lingerie owned by Empress Elisabeth which have passed to the Schloss Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. from the Klauda Collection will be displayed at the Sisi Museum from 1 April 2008. They include a pair of cream-coloured stockings, a cotton lawn camisole, a pair of drawers and a nightgown.

These items of underwear are typical of the 19th century in appearance. They were usually made of linen or fine cotton and decorated with embroidery, lace, crochet patterns, pleats or coloured ribbons. These materials and the colour white were deliberate choices from around the mid-eighteenth century onwards as these items were worn next to the skin and therefore washed frequently. The associated trades of Weissnäherei (plain needlework) and Weisswäscherei (white laundry) also began to flourish from this time onwards.

Feminine underwear in the form of hose, i.e., underpants or pantaloons, was not to make its appearance for a considerable time, as trousers were an exclusive symbol of masculinity. During the 18^th century an ankle-length chemise was worn underneath the outer garments, and only in the very coldest weather was it considered acceptable for ladies to wear lined pantaloons beneath their farthingales. It was not until a century later that the culotte (a type of drawers) was adopted as an item of feminine attire.

As corsets were relatively long and very tight, thus making it impossible to bend to any degree, these long underpants had to allow their wearers to use the lavatory easily. The culotte was thus open at the crotch. Stockings secured with garters were worn underneath the culotte, with a chemise being worn under the corset.

The first mention of a nightgown occurs in Italy around 1500. These usually took the form of a loose-fitting knee- or ankle-length shirt (known in German-speaking countries as a ‘heart-protector’). It may seem surprising that even the figure-conscious Elisabeth wore voluminous nightgowns, but this was a result of the fact that nightgowns with a drawstring in the waistband did not come onto the market until 1880 and that even imperial lingerie was dependent on the fashion of the times.

Culotte of Empress Elisabeth

Elisabeth's cream-coloured stockings