History of Drawers (Underpants) (Late 19th Century, U.S.A.)

Although women sometimes wore pants underneath their dresses for riding or to keep warm, pants were a symbol of men's power, and women's underpants as such apparently developed very slowly around 1800 in Europe among the upper classes, partly for concealment of the genitals and legs (Germans called them "Beinkleider," "leg clothes," as "Hose," the German word for pants, referred to men's clothing and was considered indecent when applied to women.) For hundreds of years before this time both men and women of all classes wore the shirt-like chemise, day and night, as their only underclothing.

In the 19th century, cumbersome and sometimes huge dresses and complex underclothing made it practical for women to wear underpants with a permanent opening between the legs, so they wouldn't have to reach under and pull them down when urinating or defecating.

Fewer and lighter clothes in the early 20th century made open crotches unnecessary - now pulling underpants down was easy - and underpants could then fulfill their concealment function by covering the genitals. But they were still wide-leg and long (but see this exception for menstruation) until the mid 1930s, when briefs for women appeared in mass markets.

Ultimately underpants functioned to preserve modesty, and in a century when people covered their chair and table legs because of their suggestive nature, it's understandable how long the ones below are. High-top shoes covered the lower leg, and drawers, with lace covering the lower part - in case someone peeked - covered much of the rest, as you see.