Exhibition reveals the secrets of old underwear
A hundred years of underwear is the unlikely theme of an exhibition currently being staged at the Museum of Anthropology in Tenerife.
The years in question are from 1850-1950 and the exhibition includes more than 60 items of clothing that were once worn by men and women of the island, the grandparents, or even great-grandparents of today’s younger generation.
The purpose of the exhibition is to show the rapid evolution in the design and use of materials in that time.
The lingerie items that make up the exhibition are particularly well conserved because many of them have been hidden away in the depths of the museum for many years.
Bodices, girdles, corsets, petticoats, nightdresses and other, more intimate items, including a heavy hand-knitted brassiere worn in the early 1900s, are included in the exhibition, part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of Casa de Carta in Valle de Guerra, La Laguna.
The ‘Letter House’ is an 18th century Canarian family mansion now dedicated to the popular culture of the archipelago, featuring ceramics, furniture and traditional dress down the ages.
The underwear exhibition continues until May 31 and the museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 7pm. Admission is free.