Breaking down lingerie into numbers for you...

In the 1880s, your waist would be considered perfect if a man could put his two hands around it with his thumbs touching each other. That's about as wide as a jar of mayonnaise. Women were expected to wear corsets to achieve this. Thank god times have changed.

It was normal to put on 7 - 10 pounds of underwear back in the 1870s.

These 10 lingeries were common in the mid 19th century: a chemise, corset, camisole, flannel vest, panties, garters, stockings, petticoat, hoop skirt and crinoline.

And the 4 underwear necessities? A corset, crinoline, garters and stockings.

Napoleon's wife Josephine had 993 slips.

 

During World War I, the US government requested that women stop wearing corsets to conserve metal. This resulted in over 28000 tons of metal saved - enough to build 2 war ships!

The invention of the modern bra, in 1914, is credited to Mary Phelps Jacobs. She sold her patent to the Warner Brothers Company for $1500, worth around $21000 today. Truly a meagre sum, as Warner went on to make $15+ million over the next 30 years.