Centuries before the Victoria’s Secret Angels were raising eyebrows on the cat-walk, European noblewomen set fingers wagging and hearts racing with their voluminous skirts! For this week’s episode of ‘History, Bitches,’ I chat with Sarah Bendall, a Phd candidate researching women’s history through the lens of underwear. For the first in a two-part series, we discuss the farthingale, a structural garment worn under the skirt to increase its diameter. For visual reference, Sarah has provided the following pictures:
Spanish Farthingale: c. 1540s-1580s
French Farthingale: c. 1570s-1620s
Wheel Farthingale: c. 1580s-1620s
Mantua, from the Museum of London c. 1750s
