"Plain bays for Jenny's"?

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>... baize seems an uncomfortable material to wear next to the skin. ....

But baize was routinely employed for petticoats. Maybe baize was a little
different back in the old days.

My poor-man's OED says (under "baize"):

<<... now used chiefly for linings, coverings, curtains, etc., in warmer
countries for articles of clothing, e.g., shirts, petticoats, ponchos; it
was formerly, when made of finer and lighter texture, used as a clothing
material in Britain also.>>

1732 citation reads: <<70 yards of red bays .. for under petticoats.>>

The on-line proceedings of the Old Bailey include several 18th-century
mentions of baize petticoats (mostly stolen ones).

-- Doug Wilson


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