Do WoT women wear underwear?

[Olivia 26]

Thanks for the snippets, Marie. I was hoping my suspicions about WoT women going commando were wrong. I can't imagine what it would be like to go panty-less, especially in a dress (which I never wear anyways - dresses, that is, not panties!), and I wince to think of all those times the women "hiked their skirts to their knees and ran" without good chest support.

 

OTOH it makes their reluctance about showing their legs a little more understandable (other than general WoT woman modesty), since pulling their skirts up means someone's more likely to get a good view. And I just suddenly remembered that time when Nyn was being lifted onto a Sea Folk ship on a plank and threatened the men not to look up while she was in the air... And imagine all those times Siuan had to tie her skirts well above her knees while working a fishing boat! One splash and her pink rose would be doused in saltwater.

 

Sidenote: <--- Why is Elayne bouncing around like she's been stuffing her cheeks with sugary sweeties more than usual? You'd think, in light of our recent knowledge, all that bouncing would be uncomfortable.

[jan 14]

 

And I just suddenly remembered that time when Nyn was being lifted onto a Sea Folk ship on a plank and threatened the men not to look up while she was in the air... And imagine all those times Siuan had to tie her skirts well above her knees while working a fishing boat! One splash and her pink rose would be doused in saltwater.

 

Fits right in with RJ-perviness too!

[Vertex 23]

Sidenote: <--- Why is Elayne bouncing around like she's been stuffing her cheeks with sugary sweeties more than usual? You'd think, in light of our recent knowledge, all that bouncing would be uncomfortable.

 

Fits right in with RJ-perviness too!

 

without breast support would also fit with perviness. She'll be a real hazard when she starts lactating. Though I am pretty sure dresses and bodices and such of the time made up for the lack of bra with extra sturdiness.

[Iris 0]

i know im like mega-late chiming in, but ive also wondered the same thing. i dont see how they didn't wear some sort of panties. not only for their own comfort and periods, but also they wore garters, and a garter belt usually is part of a pair of panties, right? like don't the garters that hold up the stockings attach the panties (think lingerie)? i dont think jordan really thought this one through. and the shift perhaps has a built in bra...

[Marie 73]

There are garters that are without the belt. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Mlle._Rhea_Flask_LC-USZ62-99952.jpg I watched a PBS special years and years ago where a family lives like a family would have in another period. Anyway, this one was during the 19th century and during the monthlies the women had to make these belt-pad things. Just because we are used to panties doesn't mean WoT women have to be. Actually, my hello thom avatar shows those style of garters.

 

Shifts by their very definition are going to be too loose for any sort of bra. I imagine the dresses are tight enough on the bodice to give support that way.

[jan 14]

That makes me wonder, why do they wear a shift then?

[Vertex 23]

Because wool itches!

[Marie 73]

Why do people wear slips these days? http://www.essortment.com/lifestyle/wearslipwhent_sgam.htm I wouldn't want to wear WoT women fashions without a lining, and it sounds like it helps with the fit as well.

[Kaitlin 22]

 

Shifts by their very definition are going to be too loose for any sort of bra. I imagine the dresses are tight enough on the bodice to give support that way.

 

Just chiming in to say that I bet the bodices of riding dresses are constructed to offer a great deal of support; probably more than their average dress. But to be honest I don't think that their ideas about fashion include bras in the same way that our current fashions in lots of parts of the world do now. RJ said his clothing and the time period was reminiscent of times later than medieval (16th-18th century perhaps? I don't remember the quote offhand) and so we can kind of look at those styles to get an idea about what women would wear. Except for corsets, which it makes sense not to have in wot as women have greater freedoms in his books and wouldn't want their movements so restricted, the clothes and undergarments RJ talks about fit in really well with those styles.

 

So, the women don't wear underwear except maybe with breeches. They don't have bras. They've got garters and slips like MarieFang! has shown. I think it's funny that it's Fang! doing the showing. They wear wool stockings with garters too, though Moiraine wouldn't put those things on her legs. Only Cairhienin wear the big skirts with panniers sometimes. They don't seem to wear heels much unless they are for riding. No one wears wigs that I can recall, which means they probably don't have a big problem with lice. Their 'pads' are the belt things with the long pad like Marie said. They probably don't shave, bbs.

[jan 14]

Why do people wear slips these days? http://www.essortmen...pwhent_sgam.htm I wouldn't want to wear WoT women fashions without a lining, and it sounds like it helps with the fit as well.

 

I've learnt new things.

[AshSnow 0]

They probably don't shave, bbs.

Could they use the "One Power" to shave? o.O Some form of wind *To cut* or fire *Controlled burning*?

Oh yeah, if they can remove water/etc from their clothes with the One Power, they could do so too when they bleed for girlie reasons.

Or something like that.

Edited May 9, 2010 by AshSnow

[Marie 73]

They don't shave...they would see no reason to do so since it isn't apart of their fashion. It's only been a little under a hundred years since shaving underarms was the fashionable thing to do for us, after all. However women don't have as dense as body hair as men, so don't allow freaky images to form in your minds...

[Vertex 23]

Is this when when we start discussing which Aes Sedai's got the biggest bush (and possibly if that's common knowledge in the White Tower?) and this posts gets moved to NN?

[Marie 73]

The term chemise or shift can refer to the classic smock, or else can refer to certain modern types of women's undergarments and dresses. In the classical usage it is a simple garment worn next to the skin to protect clothing from sweat and body oils, the precursor to the modern shirts commonly worn in Western nations.

 

I have also learned something.

[Kaitlin 22]

I am fascinated by this underwear talk.

 

The first time upperclass Caucasian women started shaving their pits in the US was when they started seeing advertisements for it in 1915. I know this because I googled. I thought it was in the Twenties, but no! Women started wearing looser smock-like togas and clothing like that with their arms showing a lot more. This was also around the same time that being flat chested was all fashionable, but then boobs came back in style later only to go out again in the 60s. I'm not sure where we're at now! The marketing campaign kind of said it was for hygiene, but mainly the focus was on it being hip to have smooth arms "just like your face!!1eleventy!". It was deemed the problem that women didn't know they had.

 

If togas become fashionable in wot then maybe they'll start shaving. I know that dark haired women with fair skin can get little mustache hairs sometimes. Little Tom Sellecks. Mo, Nyn, and Eggy haven't been complimented on their lovely 'staches though... so they probably can do some kind of plucking or waxing.

 

Maybe women in hotter climates trim their squirrel tails cause it's cooler? idk. I kinda love this thread. xD

Edited May 15, 2010 by »Snow«