This week I thought it would be fun to have a little series called 'Vintage Underpinnings', because what goes on underneath the clothes is often as important as the clothes themselves for creating a vintage look! I'm looking forward to exploring some different types of vintage underpinning garments and will try to link to sewing patterns and places to source different pieces. I'm also looking forward to hearing about some of your favourite vintage-inspired foundational garments!
For this new series, I've been trying to find 1940s vintage underpinnings and in this case, thermals--for those cold days and nights! And boy, it's getting cold in Scotland. Pretty soon I'll be packing away the dresses (except for those that layer well and go with winter tights) and wearing my me-made trousers. I love trousers…specifically Simplicity 3688 trousers (a reproduction pattern from 1941). I've made them in navy, tweed, green and black (with more to come, hopefully!):
Awhile back Cargo Cult Craft (...we miss you Susannah!!) posted about thermal 'vests' that women wore under dresses:
And I've seen some vintage ads for what we would call long underwear or thermal leggings. But I had yet to see anything that might work well under high-waisted 1940s trousers. So when I was contacted by Marks and Spencer (the UK equivalent of a Macy's or Nordstrom's--but they ship internationally for free!) about styling lingerie with vintage fashions, I was bowled over when I saw these...
High-waisted thermals!!! How cool! So I decided to give them a try to see how they would work under my 1941 trousers:
The high-waisted bit is a 'tummy control' panel that comes up quite high (just under the bra for me). It's not too tight at all around the stomach--so I'm not sure how much 'tummy control' there actually is…Though, I did find it a bit difficult in the beginning getting them over my *ahem* thighs and bum. lol. But once on, I found the thermals to be quite comfortable and I liked having the extra support!
Whoever thought of these--is brilliant! Thank you--now I can wear thermals with my high-waisted trousers, which is good since the green and tweed pairs of trousers I made are of lightweight wool. Definitely not warm enough to keep out the Scottish wind without some sort of thermals underneath.
On a side note, isn't this sweater set cute? I got it a local vintage fair and I've been wearing it a lot because the white embroidered paisley designs remind me of winter snowflakes!!
Thanks to the Marks and Spencer team for letting me try these out!
Have you seen any other high-waisted thermals? What about vintage-inspired thermals?
