A chemise or shift is a classic smock, or a modern type of women's undergarment or dress. Historically, a chemise was 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.
The English word chemise is a loanword from the French word for shirt and is related to the Italian camicia or Latin camisia, which, according to Elizabeth Wayland Barber, is likely derived from Celtic.[1]
History
Marie Antoinette wearing a dress that came to be known as chemise à la reine.
The chemise seems to have developed from the Roman tunica and first became popular in Europe in the Middle Ages. Women wore a shift or chemise under their gown or robe; while men wore a chemise with their trousers or braies, and covered the chemises with garments such as doublets, robes, etc.
This chemise or shift of the 1830s has elbow-length sleeves and is worn under a corset and petticoats.
Until the late 18th century, a chemise referred to an undergarment. It was the only underwear worn until the end of the Regency era in the 1820s,[2] and was usually the only piece of clothing that was washed regularly.
In the eighteenth century, the primary female undergarment was the chemise or shift: a knee-length, loose-fitting garment of white linen with a straight or slightly triangular silhouette. The term chemise was first used to describe an outer garment in the 1780s, when Queen Marie Antoinette of France popularized a kind of informal, loose-fitting gown of sheer white cotton, resembling a chemise in both cut and material, which became known as the chemise à la reine.[3][4] In the 1810s, the term came also to be applied to an outergarment.[5] In Western countries, the chemise as an undergarment fell out of fashion in the early 20th century, and was generally replaced by a brassiere, girdle, and full slip, and panties first came to be worn.
Men's chemises may be said to have survived as the common T-shirt, which still serves as an undergarment. The chemise also morphed into the smock-frock, a garment worn by English laborers until the early 20th century. Its loose cut and wide sleeves were well adapted to heavy labor. The name smock is nowadays still used for military combat jackets in the UK.
A late 18th century women's chemise made of linen.
A chemise, shift, or smock was usually sewn at home, by the women of a household. It was assembled from rectangles and triangles cut from one piece of cloth so as to leave no waste. The poor would wear skimpy chemises pieced from a narrow piece of rough cloth; while the rich might have voluminous chemises pieced from thin, smooth fine linen.
A modern chemise is generally a woman's garment that vaguely resembles the older shirts but is typically more delicate, and usually more revealing. Most commonly the term refers to a loose-fitting, sleeveless undergarment or type of lingerie which is unfitted at the waist. It can also refer to a short, sleeveless dress that hangs straight from the shoulders and fits loosely at the waist. A chemise typically does not have any buttons or other fasteners and is put on by either dropping it over the head or stepping into it and lifting it up.
A modern-day chemise.
As lingerie, a chemise is similar to a babydoll, which is also a short, loose-fitting, sleeveless garment. Typically, though, babydolls are looser fitting at the hips.
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For the wall in fortification see Chemise wall Not to be confused with chamise a shrub A chemise or shift is a classic smock or a modern type of women s undergarment or dress Historically a chemise was 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 A drawing of a chemise laid flat 2014 Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Modern chemise 4 See also 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 Further reading 8 External linksEtymology EditThe English word chemise is a loanword from the French word for shirt and is related to the Italian camicia or Latin camisia which according to Elizabeth Wayland Barber is likely derived from Celtic 1 History Edit Marie Antoinette wearing a dress that came to be known as chemise a la reine The chemise seems to have developed from the Roman tunica and first became popular in Europe in the Middle Ages Women wore a shift or chemise under their gown or robe while men wore a chemise with their trousers or braies and covered the chemises with garments such as doublets robes etc This chemise or shift of the 1830s has elbow length sleeves and is worn under a corset and petticoats Until the late 18th century a chemise referred to an undergarment It was the only underwear worn until the end of the Regency era in the 1820s 2 and was usually the only piece of clothing that was washed regularly In the eighteenth century the primary female undergarment was the chemise or shift a knee length loose fitting garment of white linen with a straight or slightly triangular silhouette The term chemise was first used to describe an outer garment in the 1780s when Queen Marie Antoinette of France popularized a kind of informal loose fitting gown of sheer white cotton resembling a chemise in both cut and material which became known as the chemise a la reine 3 4 In the 1810s the term came also to be applied to an outergarment 5 In Western countries the chemise as an undergarment fell out of fashion in the early 20th century and was generally replaced by a brassiere girdle and full slip and panties first came to be worn Men s chemises may be said to have survived as the common T shirt which still serves as an undergarment The chemise also morphed into the smock frock a garment worn by English laborers until the early 20th century Its loose cut and wide sleeves were well adapted to heavy labor The name smock is nowadays still used for military combat jackets in the UK A late 18th century women s chemise made of linen A chemise shift or smock was usually sewn at home by the women of a household It was assembled from rectangles and triangles cut from one piece of cloth so as to leave no waste The poor would wear skimpy chemises pieced from a narrow piece of rough cloth while the rich might have voluminous chemises pieced from thin smooth fine linen Modern chemise EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed June 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message A modern chemise is generally a woman s garment that vaguely resembles the older shirts but is typically more delicate and usually more revealing Most commonly the term refers to a loose fitting sleeveless undergarment or type of lingerie which is unfitted at the waist It can also refer to a short sleeveless dress that hangs straight from the shoulders and fits loosely at the waist A chemise typically does not have any buttons or other fasteners and is put on by either dropping it over the head or stepping into it and lifting it up A modern day chemise As lingerie a chemise is similar to a babydoll which is also a short loose fitting sleeveless garment Typically though babydolls are looser fitting at the hips See also EditCamisole Kirtle Shalwar kameez Slip clothing Smock disambiguation Portal FashionReferences Edit Barber Elizabeth Wayland 1994 Women s Work The first 20 000 Years New York Norton amp Company p 137 ISBN 0 393 31348 4 Retrieved 3 June 2021 Scott Lord An Introduction to Ladies Fashions of the Regency Era We Make History Chemise Dress Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion 2005 Title Manchester Art Gallery Retrieved 2021 07 06 Chemise dress angelascartier net Bibliography EditBurnham Dorothy 1973 Cut My Cote Royal Ontario Museum ISBN 978 0 88854 046 1 A survey of shirt patterns over the ages with diagrams Smith Kathleen R February March 1987 A Plain Linen Shift Plain Sewing Makes the Most of Your Fabric Threads Magazine Further reading Edit 18th century women s shifts larsdatter com Archived from the original on 2010 12 27 Retrieved 2010 09 01 How to make an 18th century chemise marquise de Women s smocks in the 13th 15th centuries larsdatter com Archived from the original on 2010 10 15 Retrieved 2010 09 01 External links EditChemise at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons Data from Wikidata Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chemise amp oldid 1143702593, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
