Chemise

Chemise word is a French term which nowadays basically means shirt.

The word chemise can refer to convinced modern types of women’s undergarments and dresses. In the traditional convention, chemise is a straightforward garment worn out subsequently to the skin to protect the original clothing from sweat and body oils; the originator to the contemporary shirts regularly worn in Western nations.,

Contemporary Chemise

In modern tradition, chemise is usually a woman’s garment that distantly bears a resemblance to the older shirts but it is classically more fragile, and typically confrontational. Most regularly the term refers to a loose-fitting sleeveless undergarment or a type of lingerie which is unfitted at the waist portion.

Also chemise can indicate a short sleeveless dress that drapes directly from the shoulders and fits loosely at the waist. Chemise characteristically does not include any buttons or any other fastening closures and it is worn on by moreover dropping it over the head.

As lingerie, chemise is comparable to a baby doll which is also a short, loose-fitting, sleeveless garment. In general, baby dolls are more loose-fitting at the hips and are commonly designed to additional resemblance to a young girl’s nightgown, even though many modern styles have added a variety of sexualizing features.

Olden times

The chemise has been developed from the Roman tunica and initially became admired in Europe in the middle Ages. Women wore a chemise under their gown or robe; while men wore a chemise with their trousers and covered the chemises with garments such as doublets, robes, etc.

Until the late 18th century, chemise referred to an undergarment. It was the only underwear worn until the conclusion of Regency period in the 1820s and was habitually the only piece of clothe that was washed frequently.

In the period of 1810s, the word came also to be applied to an outer garment. In the side of Western countries, chemise as an undergarment clear-cut of fashion in the early 20th century and was commonly replaced by a brassiere, girdle and full slip and panties first came to be worn.

Men’s chemises may be endured 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, whereas in the Belgian army the term has been corrupted to smoke-vest.

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.