"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> On 2016-07-01 3:20 PM, S Viemeister wrote:
>> On 7/1/2016 3:04 PM, graham wrote:
>>
>>> A bit earlier than that:-)
>>>
>>> "I'll put a girdle round about the earth"
>>> Puck, MSND, II/1
>>>
>>> Mind you, I think Shakespeare was stretching it a bit!
>>>
>> Amusing.
>> But 'girdle', to Shakespeare, (as you well know!) did _not_ signify a
>> stretchy undergarment. A girdle was often a sash, belt, or cord.
>
>
> I don't know how men got dragged into the girdle issue. A girdle was
> indeed more \of a sash and commonly worn by men for centuries. It was not
> only the early 20th century that it became a women's undergarment, and it
> was the demand from women that is responsible for its popularity. I
> suppose it was easier to snap on a girdle to hold in the gut than to diet
> and exercise.

Men do wear dance girdles which are sometimes padded in the front. When I
danced, they were made for both sexes. Now only for men. I assume if a
female needed such a thing, she could easily buy it in the lingerie dept.
But in those days, the standard girdle had thick stitches and boning.