Ruth Goodman

it was feared that there was a dang

-water wash with soap was generally recommended once a week in or

area was undressed, washed and re-dressed before the next was exposed.

wool was best at allowing the sweat to evaporate freely and effectively.

Ammonia, which kills the bacteria that create body odour, was a very effective deodorant

Louis Pasteur demonstrated at the start of the 1860s that decay was caused by living organisms present in the air.

Miasma theory had held that bad air was the cause of all and any disease, but how that disease was expressed by the body could depend upon the person rather than the source of infection.

1879, however, that the German physician Robert Koch was able to prove that specific bacteria caused specific diseases.

Vests could be sleeveless, but most covered the entire arm, all the way down to the wrist.

Vests could be sleeveless, but most covered the entire arm, all the way down to the wrist.