True, but back then all clothing was handsewn and hand decorated. The amount of hand labor was incredible, and they only did it where they had to. Nothing was decorated unless it was to be seen.
Some underwear back then had elaborate embroidery, but it was usually on the cuffs and collar of chemises and shirts, the parts that would show when one was dressed.
Evidence exists that fancy brocade underskirts were sometimes no more than a strip of fabric at the bottom of an otherwise plain petticoat, that fancy brocade sleeves which showed were sometimes tied onto a plain underdress or kirtle.
Under the circumstances, if I see a decorated garment from the Renaissance, I'm going to assume it was meant to be seen.
These days embellishment is cheap and easy. Lace has gone from something worth its weight in gold to something you can buy by the yard for pennies. People like embellished clothes, so decorated modern bras are readily available. It's a totally different attitude towards clothes.
The strips of fabric were sometimes taken off and cleaned - which is why they were strips. Women's skirts/dresses in the Victorian had such strips on hemlines so that actuals skirt did not get soiled as the skirt swept along the ground.
As to what women used during their menstrual cycle. I did (may have mentioned this) my first thesis on women's foundation garments. I became very curious as to what women used before commercial pads and tampons were available. To my surprise I found that sanitary towels were available from, iirc, c1880. They were made by Southall Bros and Barclays. I spent time asking elderly women what they used as young women. This was back in 1977/8 so the women I spoke to were, mostly, in their 80's and had mothers who were Victorians. Most of them wore a sort of nappy/diaper for protection. Some of them had been given a bolt of fabric and had to cut and hem it. After being used they were boil washed in the copper in the scullery. One of my fellow students was a nun and she told me that the convent she lived in had a copper for the same reason. She smiled when she said that it was rarely used.
As to knickers, my understanding was that women did not wear such garments until the roughly the end of the 18 and start of the 19 centuries. Simple logistics - how the hell did you get to pull down all your knickers with a huge great skirt in the way. Of course the ever inventive Victorians used a pair of knickers, they were not stitched down centre seam.
Some women did wear britches when riding, but I think that was a rural rather than a city thing, and this may go back to the 16th century. Not sure.
One of the reasons that the hunt was so popular in England was that the chaps followed the women, not out of chivalry or politeness but in the hope that they would part company with their horse and land head first in a ditch with their skirts over their heads.
I am finding all this so interesting - learning as well. Thank you all.
