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TIL: Victorian dresses were crotchless


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I believe they also used to sometimes stand with their legs apart hidden by their volumous skirts and pee straight down onto the ground or over a drain.  Nobody would see anything and if any of their pee didn't make it straight to the ground there were layers of underskirts as well as the bloomers (or more accurately "pantalettes") mentioned above would absorb the stray drops and nothing would be visible at the outer layer, thus preserving the ladies' modesty.  

https://www.thecut.com/2013/12/victorian-women-could-pee-standing-up.html

There is also various information on the web that indicates women didn't wear underwear at all until the late 1800s - before that the wide and copious skirts were considered sufficient modesty protection and some places mention that underwear was first introduced for ladies when bicycling became a thing - if they fell off then the underwear protected their modesty - but they were crotchless garments so that they could still pee unimpeded.

 

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They also used a Bourdaloue, coined after a priest who's sermons were long, to relieve themselves during church without having to miss any part of the sermon.

I'm not a churchgoer but I don't think many churches would allow that practice today.

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25 minutes ago, Foobar said:

They also used a Bourdaloue, coined after a priest who's sermons were long, to relieve themselves during church without having to miss any part of the sermon.

I'm not a churchgoer but I don't think many churches would allow that practice today.

On the other hand practices like this might make a churchgoer out of me yet again.. 

1780644_10152263101447369_1500392188_n.jpg

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