A Brief History of Briefs: From Loincloths to Lace

Thousands of years of human ingenuity, modesty, rebellion, and style — all aimed at solving the same basic problem. A surprisingly entertaining tour through the evolution of underwear.

By Rhonda Shear · Founder, Rhonda Shear Intimates · August 2023

Every item of clothing you're wearing right now is the result of thousands of years of humans trying to solve a problem, express an identity, respond to a cultural moment, or simply stay warm. No garment captures that evolution more vividly than underwear — the most intimate item in any wardrobe, hidden from the world but central to how we feel in it.

Here's the unexpectedly fascinating journey from the earliest loincloths to the seamless wire-free lace styles of today.

A Tour Through Time: Underwear Through the Ages

Prehistoric Era

The Loincloth — Fashion's First Foundation

The earliest evidence of anything resembling underwear dates back roughly 7,000 years — simple strips of animal hide or woven plant fiber worn around the hips. Archaeological finds suggest these weren't purely functional: some showed signs of decoration, indicating that even prehistoric humans understood that what you wear against your skin says something about who you are. The impulse to make underwear beautiful is as old as underwear itself.

Ancient Rome · ~200 BC–400 AD

The Subligaculum — The World's First Structured Undergarment

Romans wore the subligaculum — a wrapped linen cloth worn under togas and tunics. Women athletes, depicted in Roman mosaics, wore early versions of both bandeau tops and hip-wrapping bottoms while competing. The concept of a fitted undergarment that provides both modesty and movement freedom is, apparently, a Roman contribution. Their version was linen — ours is 96% nylon.

The Dark Ages · ~500–1000 AD

The Braies — Utilitarian and Uncelebrated

Medieval underwear was functional without ambition. The braies — loose linen drawers — were the unsung workhorse of the Middle Ages. Worn by men and women, they served purely practical purposes. Fashion historians note an almost complete absence of decorative underwear from this period. The Dark Ages were dark for intimate apparel design too.

Renaissance · 1400s–1600s

The Corset Arrives — Structure Gets Dramatic

The Renaissance introduced rigid structure to undergarments with the corset — whalebone or wooden boning sewn into linen fabric, worn to reshape the torso into the period's ideal silhouette. This was the era when underwear stopped being purely functional and became aspirational. The corset would dominate women's intimate apparel for the next four centuries, through constant reinvention, until the 20th century's rebellion against it.

Victorian Era · 1830s–1900s

Layers Upon Layers — Modesty as Architecture

Victorian underwear was a project. Women wore multiple layers — the chemise, the corset, the corset cover, the bustle, the petticoats — each serving a specific purpose in constructing the era's ideal silhouette. The more layers, the more respectable. It wasn't until the early 20th century that women began pushing back against the sheer physical inconvenience of this approach, a rebellion that would define the next hundred years of intimate apparel design.

The Roaring Twenties · 1920s

Liberation — The "Step-In" Changes Everything

The 1920s were the first genuinely modern era of underwear. Flappers rejected Victorian layers entirely, adopting the step-in — an early one-piece panty that could be stepped into rather than wrapped or laced. It was lighter, freer, and allowed for the dancing and movement that defined the decade's spirit. For the first time, underwear design was driven by women's desire for freedom of movement rather than male ideas about ideal silhouette.

World War II Era · 1940s

Utility Briefs — Practicality Over Everything

Wartime material rationing simplified intimate apparel to its most functional form. The classic brief — simple, practical, minimal fabric — became standard. Nylon stockings disappeared when nylon was redirected to parachute production. The decade proved that intimate apparel adapts to circumstance; it also reinforced that comfort and practicality, when prioritized, make for better garments.

The Swinging Sixties · 1960s

The Thong Arrives — Minimalism Goes Mainstream

The 1960s and '70s brought the bikini cut to everyday underwear, and eventually the thong — a minimalist design that appeared in Brazilian swimwear and crossed into mainstream intimate apparel by the 1980s. The decade's bigger contribution was the bralette: the loosening of structure, the rejection of rigid underwire in favor of lighter, stretchier construction. The seeds of the wire-free movement were planted in the 1960s.

Early 2000s — Today

The Wire-Free Revolution — Comfort Finally Wins

The early 2000s saw wire-free intimate apparel gain serious traction for the first time. The development of high-performance stretch fabrics — particularly high-nylon knits with spandex — made it possible to provide real support without rigid construction. The result: bras and panties that move with the body, that are comfortable all day, that come in real sizes (XS through 5X) at the same price, and that prove that the most important feature in a piece of intimate apparel is how it makes you feel. That's the revolution Rhonda Shear has been part of since the beginning.

Where the Story Ends Up: Rhonda Shear Panties

After thousands of years of loincloths, corsets, drawers, step-ins, and briefs, the best version of underwear turns out to be deceptively simple: the right fabric, the right cut, the right size, and the right feel. That's it. No elaborate construction required.

Seamless · All-Day Comfort