In the 15th Century, a woman wore two items of underwear. A linen shift and woollen stockings.

Linen is made from flax. Cotton was imported from Asia and Africa but was not as widely used in England as it is today. It was often blended with flax or wool to make fustian, a hard wearing fabric. Alternatively, it was sometimes used in its raw state as padding.

The stockings were made from woollen fabric and were held up with garters as there was no elastic.

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