Lingerie is a term for women's fashion undergarments. It derives from the French word 'lin' for linen.[1] While the term in the French language applies to all undergarments for either sex, in English it is applied only to those women's undergarments designed to be visually appealing or erotic, typically incorporating materials such as Lycra, nylon (nylon tricot), polyester, satin, lace and/or silk and not applied to functional cotton undergarments.
The concept of lingerie being visually appealing is relatively recent. Up through the first half of the 20th century women selected underwear for three major purposes: to alter their shape (first with corsets and later with girdles or bras), for reasons of hygiene, or for modesty. Women's underwear was often very large and bulky. As the 20th century progressed underwear became smaller and more form fitting. In the 1960s 'controversial' lingerie manufacturers such as Frederick's of Hollywood begin to glamorize lingerie and the idea of lingerie having a sexual appeal slowly developed.
The lingerie industry has expanded in the 21st century with designs that double as outerwear. The French refer to this as 'dessous-dessus' which basically means innerwear as outerwear. The boutique Faire Frou Frou, which is an antiquated phrase meaning "show it off", heralds this philosophy by categorizing lingerie as an accessory with details such as straps and lace trim that should be layered and shown as part of one's outerwear.

Pronunciation

The word is often pronounced, in approximation of the French original (/lɛ̃ʒʀi/), as [ˌlɑn(d)ʒəˈɹi]. Nonetheless, alternatives like [ˈlæn(d)ʒəˌɹeɪ], are also common. The Oxford English Reference Dictionary gives only /ˈlɒnʒeɹi/.

Typology

* Babydoll, a short nightgown or negligee intended as nightwear for women.
* Basque, a tight, form-fitting bodice or coat
* Bedjacket, worn over a nightgown or negligee for warmth and modesty.
* Blanket sleeper
* Bloomers, underpants with short legs.
* Bodystocking, a unitard.
* Bodysuit, a leotard-like undergarment, usually skintight or formfitting.
* Bodice, covers the body from the neck to the waist.
* Boy shorts, a style of panties, so named for their resemblance to male shorts.
* Brassiere
* Bustier
* Camisole, sleeveless and tight fitting, covering the top part of the body
* Camiknickers, camisole and knickers joined as one garment
* Cami Shorts
* Chemise
* Corset by bone, a bodice worn to mold and shape the torso.
* Corselet = Brassiere + Girdle
* Corsage by elastic, covering the body from the neck to the waist, similar to a corset.

Women's panties or knickers
Women's panties or knickers

* Drawers a pant-like garment worn during the 19th century for modesty and warmth. Some drawers were split-leg, in that the crotch seam was left open.
* French maid, a form of ladies' fantasywear
* G-String/Thong, a narrow piece of cloth passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as a bikini bottom or as underwear by both men and women.
* Garter
* Garter belt, used to keep stockings up
* Girdle, resembles a tight pair of athletic shorts
* Granny panties
* Hosiery
* Jersey nightshirt - A long, loose T-shirt made of cotton, polyester, nylon or diaphanous chiffon that can be worn like a Babydoll.

Woman wearing pantyhose.

* Knickers (British for underpants)
* Leotard
* Merry widow
* Naughty & Nice
* Negligee
* Nightgown or Nightie, a loosely hanging item of nightwear, may vary from hip-length (babydoll) to floor-length (peignoir).
* Nightshirt
* Panties
* Peignoir
* Petticoat
* Pettipants
* Robe
* Slip (Full slip and Half slip / Underskirt)
* Spanky-Pants, "Spankies" (color-coordinated underpants worn by cheerleaders)
* Stockings
* Stringbody
* Suspender belt (British), aka Garter belt (US)
* Tanga
* Tap Pants
* Teddy
* Undergarment
* Unitard One piece, skin tight garment


Glossary

* sexy lingerie is the kind of underwear, sleepwear, and other items of intimate apparel worn by women

* sexy costume is a style of dress, including accessories and hairdos, esp. that peculiar to a nation, region, group, or historical period.

* sexy underwear is a kind of clothing worn next to the skin under outer clothes.

* sexy pajama is a loose-fitting garment consisting of trousers and a jacket, worn for sleeping or lounging.

* sexy boxer or boxer shorts, men's loose-fitting undershorts with an elastic waistband.

* sexy babydoll, often, baby dolls. Also called baby doll nightgown

* sexy corset, sometimes, corsets, a close-fitting undergarment, stiffened with whalebone or similar material and often capable of being tightened by lacing, enclosing the trunk: worn, esp. by women, to shape and support the body.

* sexy catsuit is a tight-fitting one-piece garment for women usually made of leather or a synthetic fabric such as spandex and covering the torso, legs, and sometimes the arms.

* sexy bodysuit, or body, is a leotard-like garment that may or may not have snaps at the crotch.

* sexy bodystocking is an article of lingerie, similar to a leotard or a catsuit.

* sexy funwear is a kind of wear, clothing, or costume for fun or games.

* sexy hosiery describes tight-fitting garments worn directly on the feet and legs.

* sexy bra ( brassiere) is an article of clothing that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts.

* sexy panty is a kind of short underpants for women or children (usually used in the plural)

* sexy clubwear is a kind of fashion design, primarily in ready-to-wear lines, boyfriend is any style for women's clothing that was modified from a corresponding men's garment.

* sexy bustier (alternately bustier re) is an article of clothing for women, which is form-fitting and is traditionally worn as lingerie.

* sexy robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. A robe is distinguished from a cape or cloak by the fact that it usually has sleeves.

* sexy gown is a loose outer garment from knee- to full-length worn by men and women and gown was applied to any woman's garment consisting of a bodice and attached skirt.

* sexy teddy is a form of bodysuit-like lingerie, often worn in the boudoir.

* sexy teddiettes is a loose-fitting teddy designed as sleepwear. Sleep teddies tend to use simpler materials and styles than teddies designed for visual appeal.

* sexy chemise can refer to the classic smock or shift, or else can refer to certain modern types of women's undergarments and dresses.

* sexy pantyhose (also called tights) are sheer, close fitting coverings of the body from the waist to the feet, most frequently worn by women.

* sexy garters are items of clothing, used to keep stockings up.

* sexy girdle originally meant a belt (or metaphorically speaking, something which confines or encloses, as in Tolkien's Girdle of Melian).

* sexy halter top is a kind of woman's top, secured behind the neck and across the back, leaving the arms, shoulders, upperback, and often the midriff bare.

* sexy knickers is a word for women's undergarments and there are now many names for the undergarments that previously have been called knickers, such as panties, thongs, g-strings, briefs, shorts, tangas, etc.

* sexy g-string (alternatively gee-string or gee string) is a type of thong, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by

* sexy nightwear, also called "sleepwear", "nightclothes", or "nightdress", is clothing designed to be worn while sleeping. Nightwear usage is seasonal, i.e. different weights for different seasons or it is only worn in winter.

* sexy basque is an item of women's historical apparel.

* sexy corsetry is craft of making corsets and corset-like garments and accessories most of which incorporate stays.

* sexy sleepwear is a kind of clothes, such as pajamas or a nightgown, worn in bed. Also called nightdress, nightwear, sleepwear

* sexy briefs are a type of short, tight Y-shaped underwear and swimwear, as opposed to styles where the material extends down the legs.

* sexy bikini a very brief, close-fitting, two-piece bathing suit for women or girls.

* sexy thong is a strip of material, esp. of leather or hide, used to fasten or secure something.




The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances represented or described, or to a particular style of clothing worn to portray the wearer as a character or type of character other than their regular persona at a social event such as a masquerade, a fancy dress party or in an artistic theatrical performance.
Contents
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* 1 National costume
* 2 Holidays and festivals
* 3 Children
* 4 Mascots
* 5 Drawings of costumes from the past
* 6 See also
* 7 External links

National costume

National costume or regional costume expresses local (or exiled) identity and emphasises a culture's unique attributes. It is often a source of national pride. Examples of such are a Scotsman in a kilt or a Japanese person in a kimono.
Costumes for the ballroom.
Costumes for the ballroom.

Holidays and festivals

The wearing of costumes has become an important part of such holidays and festivals as Mardi Gras and Halloween (see Halloween costume for more information), and (to a lesser extent) people may also wear costumes in conjunction with other holidays, such as Christmas and Easter. Mardi Gras costumes usually take the form of jesters and other fantasy characters, while Halloween costumes traditionally take the form of supernatural creatures such as ghosts, vampires, pop culture icons and angels. Christmas and Easter costumes typically portray mythical characters such as Santa Claus (by donning a santa suit and beard) or the Easter Bunny by putting on an animal costume. Costumes may serve to portray various other characters during secular holidays, such as an Uncle Sam costume worn on the Independence day for example.

Children


Costumes also serve as an avenue for children to explore and roleplay. Children can dress up in various forms; for example characters from history or fiction like pirates, princesses or cowboys, common jobs like nurses or police officers, or animals such as those seen in zoos or farms.

Mascots

Another very popular situation where costumes are employed are for sporting events, where people dressed as their team's representative mascot help the club or team rally round their team's cause. Animal costumes which are visually very similar to mascot costumes are also popular among the members of the furry fandom where they are referred to as funsuits.

Typology

　* bridal lingerie is the kind of underwear, sleepwear, and other items of intimate apparel worn by women

* bridal costume is a style of dress, including accessories and hairdos, esp. that peculiar to a nation, region, group, or historical period.

* bridal underwear is a kind of clothing worn next to the skin under outer clothes.

* bridal pajama is a loose-fitting garment consisting of trousers and a jacket, worn for sleeping or lounging. Often used in the plural.

* bridal boxer or boxer shorts, men's loose-fitting undershorts with an elastic waistband.

* bridal babydoll, often, baby dolls. Also called baby doll nightgown, baby doll pajamas. a garment for women or girls consisting of a hip-length top of delicate fabric often decorated with ruffles, ribbons, or lace, with a matching panty, worn for sleeping.

* bridal corset, sometimes, corsets, a close-fitting undergarment, stiffened with whalebone or similar material and often capable of being tightened by lacing, enclosing the trunk: worn, esp. by women, to shape and support the body.

* bridal catsuit is a tight-fitting one-piece garment for women usually made of leather or a synthetic fabric such as spandex and covering the torso, legs, and sometimes the arms.

* bridal bodysuit, or body, is a leotard-like garment that may or may not have snaps at the crotch. It is usually skintight or formfitting and can have sleeves of any length or be made like a tank top. There are bodysuits for both females and males,

* bridal bodystocking is an article of lingerie, similar to a leotard or a catsuit. It is much the same thing as a unitard, but the term bodystocking is likely to be preferred when the garment is worn as an underlayer in cold weather. It usually has long legs, but it may have long, short, or no sleeves. It is usually made from a sheer fabric similar to those used for stockings and tights, or from fishnet material. Some people consider bodystockings to be an erotic garment.

* bridal funwear is a kind of wear, clothing, or costume for fun or games

* bridal hosiery describes tight-fitting garments worn directly on the feet and legs. Most are made by knitting methods. Modern hosiery is usually tight-fitting by virtue of stretchy fabrics and meshes. Older forms include binding to achieve a tight fit. Due to its close fit, most hosiery can be worn as an undergarment, but it is more commonly worn as a combined under/outer garment.

* bridal bra ( brassiere) is an article of clothing that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts. The bra is considered a foundation garment, as well as an undergarment, because of its role in shaping the wearer's figure. It was originally developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to replace the corset, and has now become, in many parts of the world, the most popular form of undergarment for the upper body, although camisoles and chemises are becoming more popular.

* bridal panty is a kind of short underpants for women or children (usually used in the plural)

* bridal clubwear is a kind of fashion design, primarily in ready-to-wear lines, boyfriend is any style for women's clothing that was modified from a corresponding men's garment. Examples include boyfriend jackets and boyfriend jeans, which are more unisex in appearance than most women's jackets or pants while they are still designed for the female form.

* bridal bustier (alternately bustier re) is an article of clothing for women, which is form-fitting and is traditionally worn as lingerie. It looks somewhat like a Basque, but a bustier is shorter. It reaches down only to the ribs or the waist and has a different function: its primary purpose is to push up the bustier by tightening against the upper midriff and forcing the breasts to move up, while gently shaping the waist. These days, it is often made with mesh panels rather than boning. The bustier is a multi-purpose garment and doubles up as a push-up bra for inner wear and as a camisole for outer wear. The bustier can also be worn as a half-slip under diaphanous upper garments if a bold display of the midriff is not desired. In modern days, women wear a bustier as an undergarment/push up bra in the occasion that their dress or outer-wear has a low-back.

* bridal robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. A robe is distinguished from a cape or cloak by the fact that it usually has sleeves. The English word robe is borrowed from French, although in French it typically refers to a woman's dress. There are various types of robes, including:

* bridal gown (medieval Latin gunna) is a (usually) loose outer garment from knee- to full-length worn by men and women in Europe from the early Middle Ages to the seventeenth century (and continuing today in certain professions); later, gown was applied to any woman's garment consisting of a bodice and attached skirt.

* bridal teddy is a form of bodysuit-like lingerie, often worn in the boudoir. By definition, a teddy is an undergarment which combines a camisole and panty in one piece. Unlike a bodysuit, it is typically looser and more sheer, and may be designed to slip off from the shoulders, rather than to open at the crotch. The teddy is normally worn for the seductive look, rather than practical reasons.

* bridal teddiettes is a loose-fitting teddy designed as sleepwear. Sleep teddies tend to use simpler materials and styles than teddies designed for visual appeal.

* bridal chemise can refer to the classic smock or shift, or else can refer to certain modern types of women's undergarments and dresses. In the classical usage it is a simple garment worn next to the skin to protect clothing from sweat and body oils, the precursor to the modern shirts commonly worn in Western nations.

* bridal pantyhose (also called tights) are sheer, close fitting coverings of the body from the waist to the feet, most frequently worn by women. Like stockings they are usually made of nylon. The one-piece pantyhose garment appeared in the 1960s and provided a convenient alternative to stockings (nylons).

* bridal garters are items of clothing, used to keep stockings up. Normally just a few inches in width, they are usually made of leather or heavy cloth, and adorned with small bells and/or ribbons. In the 18th to 20th centuries, they were tied just below the knee, where the leg was skinniest, to keep the stocking from slipping. The advent of elastic has made them unnecessary from this functional standpoint, although they are still often worn for fashion.

* bridal girdle originally meant a belt (or metaphorically speaking, something which confines or encloses, as in Tolkien's Girdle of Melian). In modern English the term "girdle" is most commonly used for a form of women's foundation wear that replaced the corset in popularity.

* bridal halter top is a kind of woman's top, secured behind the neck and across the back, leaving the arms, shoulders, upperback, and often the midriff bare.

* bridal knickers is a word for women's undergarments and there are now many names for the undergarments that previously have been called knickers, such as panties, thongs, g-strings, briefs, shorts, tangas, etc. Note that while the term 'knickers' refers almost exclusively to women's underwear, 'knicks', knick-knacks' and similar more masculine variations are acceptable monikers for men's underwear, particularly for young boys.

* bridal g-string (alternatively gee-string or gee string) is a type of thong, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by both men and women.

* bridal nightwear, also called "sleepwear", "nightclothes", or "nightdress", is clothing designed to be worn while sleeping. Nightwear usage is seasonal, i.e. different weights for different seasons or it is only worn in winter.

* bridal basque is an item of women's historical apparel. The term, of French origin, can mean either a long corset or jacket characterised by a close, contoured fit and extending past the waistline over the hips. In Victorian outerwear, basque refers to a closely fitted jacket extending at the back past the waistline over the hips, to be worn over a bustle. In 20th century and contemporary attire, the term is used to refer to an article of lingerie, particularly a torso-hugging camisole that resembles a basque or corset (typically featuring decorative front or back lace-up detail), but of more delicate construction and offering little or no figure-molding compression.

* bridal corsetry is craft of making corsets and corset-like garments and accessories most of which incorporate stays. It is also a subfield of fashion that deals with those garments and accessories and it is common term used for those garments and accessories. Term derives from the word corset. A special type of tailor who is an expert in corsetry is called corsetmaker.

* bridal sleepwear is a kind of clothes, such as pajamas or a nightgown, worn in bed. Also called nightdress, nightwear, sleepwear

* bridal briefs are a type of short, tight Y-shaped underwear and swimwear, as opposed to styles where the material extends down the legs. In the case of men's underwear, briefs, unlike boxer shorts, hold the wearer's genitals in a relatively fixed position, which makes briefs a popular underwear choice for men who are participating in athletic activities or who feel they need more support than loose-fitting underwear can provide. In addition, boxers often ride up the body when the wearer is running.

* bridal bikini a very brief, close-fitting, two-piece bathing suit for women or girls. Often, bikinis. underwear briefs that are fitted low on the hip or below it.

* bridal thong is a strip of material, esp. of leather or hide, used to fasten or secure something. Thong is also refered a shoe or slipper fastened to the foot chiefly by a strip of leather or other material passing between the first and second toes and often attaching to another strip of material, as a strap across the instep or around the ankle. The thong is a brief garment for the lower body that exposes the buttocks, consisting of a strip of fabric passing between the thighs and attached to a band around the waist.

Undergarment

(Redirected from Underwear)• Ten things you may not know about images on sexy lingerie •Jump to: navigation, search
"Underwear" redirects here. For other uses, see Underwear (disambiguation).
For the types and styles of women's undergarments, see lingerie.
Undergarments, also called "underwear", "underpants," "lingerie", or "panties" (undergarments for women), or sometimes "intimate clothing", and "pants" or "knickers", are clothes worn next to the skin, usually under other clothes. They are also known as 'Katch' or 'Katchie' and worn under Indian traditional clothing.

Contents
1 Uses
2 History
2.1 Ancient history
2.2 Middle Ages and Renaissance
2.2.1 Male undergarments
2.2.2 Female undergarments
2.3 Enlightenment and Industrial Age
2.4 1900s
2.5 1910s
2.6 1920s
2.7 1930s
2.8 1940s
2.9 1950s and 1960s
2.10 1970s till the present day
2.11 Men's underwear, 1990s to the present
3 Religious significance
4 Underwear styles and function
5 Not wearing undergarments
6 Underwear exposed above trousers and not wearing it
7 Designers / retailers of underwear
8 See also
9 References
10 Further reading
11 External links



 Uses

A man wearing a Japanese traditional fundoshi—specifically a red rokushaku.Some clothing is specifically underwear, while some is also used as swimsuits (if made of suitable material), and both T-shirts and some shorts are suitable as underwear as well as outer clothing. Suitability as outer clothing is, apart from outdoor or indoor climate, largely a social and sometimes even a legal matter. One of the criteria for shorts not to be suitable as outer clothing may be that it has a fly that avoids exposure of the genitals just by an overlap of cloth, without buttons etc.[citation needed]

In the English Regency times this garment, basic for both men and women, was straight cut, usually knee length, and had the elbow length sleeves set straight into the shoulders.

The two major types of men's underpants are boxer shorts (shorts-length and loose; also known as "boxers") and briefs (smaller and tighter), which are also referred to as Y-fronts in British English.

In addition to keeping outer garments from soiling, undergarments are worn for a variety of reasons: warmth, comfort and hygiene being the most common. Undergarments are often used for modesty or erotic display; sometimes both of these motivations are simultaneously present.


 History

 Ancient history

Roman female underwear from a mosaic at the Piazza Armerina, Sicily.The loincloth is the simplest form of underwear; it was probably the first undergarment worn by human beings. A loincloth may take three major forms. The first, and simplest, is simply a long strip of material which is passed between the legs and then around the waist. The ancient Hawaiian malo was of this form, as are several styles of the Japanese fundoshi. Another form is usually called a cache-sexe: a triangle of cloth is provided with strings or loops, which are used to fasten the triangle between the legs and over the genitals. The alternate form is more skirt-like: a cloth is wrapped around the hips several times and then fastened with a girdle.

In warmer climates, the loincloth may be the only clothing worn (making it effectively not an undergarment), as was doubtlessly its origin, but in colder temperatures, the loincloth often forms the basis of a person's clothing and is covered by other garments. In most ancient civilizations, this was the only undergarment available (King Tutankhamun was buried with 145 of them).

Men are said to have worn loincloths in ancient Greece and Rome, though it is unclear whether Greek women wore undergarments. Mosaics of the Roman period indicate Roman women (primarily in an athletic context, whilst wearing nothing else) sometimes wore wrapped breastcloths or brassieres made of soft leather, along with loincloths and possibly something like panties.

Any cloth used may have been wool, linen or linsey-woolsey blend. Only the upper classes could have afforded imported silk.

The loincloth continues to be worn by people around the world (it is the traditional form of undergarment in many Asian societies, for example). In various, mainly tropical, cultures, the traditional male dress may still prescribe only a single garment below the waist or even none at all, with underwear as optional, including the Far eastern Dhoti and Lungi or the Scottish kilt.


 Middle Ages and Renaissance

 Male undergarments

Medieval braiesIn the Middle Ages, western men's underwear became looser fitting. The loincloth was replaced by loose, trouser-like clothing called braies, which the wearer stepped into and then laced or tied around the waist and legs at about mid-calf. Wealthier men often wore chausses as well, which only covered the legs.

By the Renaissance, the chausses became form-fitting like modern Hose, and the braies became shorter to accommodate longer styles of chausses. However, chausses and many braies designs were not intended to be covered up by other clothing, so they are not actually underwear in the strictest sense.


Charles V: 1530s codpiece.Braies were usually fitted with a flap in the front that buttoned or tied closed. This codpiece allowed men to urinate without having to remove the braies completely. Henry VIII of England began padding his own codpiece, which caused a spiraling trend of larger and larger codpieces that only ended by the end of the 16th century. There are two possible explanations for Henry VIII's codpiece becoming larger and larger. It is speculated that he, along with many others in this time period, may have had the venereal disease syphilis. The large codpiece may have included a bandage soaked in medication to relieve the symptoms. It would then be wrapped again to protect the outer clothing. Henry VIII also wanted a healthy son and may have thought that projecting himself in this way would portray fertility.

The modern men's shirt appeared during this era, but it was originally an undergarment. Men would wear this long shirt under their other clothing and pull the long piece up from the back and then put their braies on over the shirt. In this way the shirt acted as underwear. Renaissance noblemen also adopted the doublet, a vest-like garment tied together in the front and worn under other clothing.


 Female undergarments

This lady wears an informal linen jacket over her rose-pink pair of bodies (corset), smock, and elaborate petticoat, c. 1600Medieval women usually wore a close-fitting garment called a chemise in France or a smock in England (occasionally a shift), sometimes coupled with braies-like leg wrappings.

They may have worn petticoats over the shift and under the dress. Quilted petticoats could be worn during the winter. Elaborately-quilted petticoats might be displayed by a cut-away dress, in which case they became a skirt rather than an undergarment.

During the 16th century, the farthingale was popular. This was a petticoat stiffened with reed or willow rods so that it stood out from a woman's body, like a cone extending from the waist.

Corsets also began to be worn about this time. At first they were called pair of bodies, which may refer both to a stiffened bodice designed to be seen, and a bodice stiffened with buckram, reeds, canes, whalebone etc., worn underneath another, decorative, bodice. These were not the small-waisted, curvy corsets familiar from the Victorian period, but straight-lined corsets that flattened the bust.

There is a myth that Crusaders worried about the fidelity of their wives and forced them to wear chastity belts. There is no reference, image, or surviving belt to support this story. In fact most historians of this period are of the view that chastity belts were worn to prevent sexual assault and that the woman kept the key.


 Enlightenment and Industrial Age

"Tight Lacing, or Fashion Before Ease", a satirical drawing of the early 1770sThe inventions of the spinning jenny machines and the cotton gin in the second half of the 18th century made cotton fabrics widely available. This allowed factories to mass-produce underwear, and for the first time, people began buying undergarments in stores rather than making them at home.

Women's stays of the 18th century were laced behind and drew the shoulders back to form a high, round bosom and erect posture. With the relaxed country styles of the end of the century, stays became shorter and were unboned or only lightly boned, and were now called corsets. Undue binding of a corset sometimes led to a woman needing to retire to the fainting room. Colored stays were fashionable.


'health corsets' in 1883As tight waists became fashionable in the 1820s, the corset was again boned and laced to form the figure. By the 1860s, a tiny ('wasp') waist came to be seen as a symbol of beauty, and the corsets were stiffened with whalebone or steel to accomplish this. By the 1880s, the dress reform movement was campaigning against the pain and damage to internal organs and bones caused by tight lacing. Inez Gaches-Sarraute invented the Health corset, with a straight-fronted bust made to help support the muscles of the wearer.

The corset was usually worn over a thin shirt-like garment of cotton or muslin called a shift. Shift In the latter half of the 19th century, long drawers, called pantalettes or pantaloons, often accompanied the shift to keep the legs out of sight as skirts styles got shorter.

As skirts became fuller from the 1830s, women wore a profusion of petticoats to achieve the fashionable bell shape. By the 1850s, stiffened crinolines and later hoop skirts allowed ever wider skirts to be worn.

The bustle, a frame or pad worn over the buttocks to enhance their shape, had been used off and on by women for two centuries, but it reached the height of its popularity the later 1880s, and went out of fashion for good in the 1890s.


union suitThe standard undergarment of the late 19th century for men, women and children was the union suit, which provided coverage from the wrists to the ankles (this "second skin" style is more commonly known as long johns today). The union suits of the era were usually made of knitted material and included a drop flap in the back to ease visits to the toilet. Drawers for women were not generally worn until the mid-nineteenth century when the adoption of crinolines made them necessary for reasons of modesty and warmth.

The jockstrap was invented in 1874 by C. F. Bennett of a Chicago sporting goods company, Sharp & Smith, to provide comfort and support for bicycle jockeys riding the cobblestone streets of Boston. In 1897 Bennett's newly-formed Bike Web Company patented and began mass-producing the Bike Jockey Strap[1].


 1900s

Modern jockstrapBy the early 20th century, the mass-produced undergarment industry was booming, and competition forced producers to come up with all sorts of innovative and gimmicky designs to compete. The Hanes company emerged from this boom and quickly established itself as a top manufacturer of union suits. Textile technology continued to improve, and the time to make a single union suit dropped from days to minutes.

Meanwhile, designers of women's undergarments relaxed the corset. The invention of new, flexible but supportive materials allowed them to remove the whalebone and steel while still providing support. The emancipation or liberty bodice offered an alternative to constricting corsets, and in Australia and the United Kingdom, the liberty bodice became a standard item, for girls as well as women.


 1910s

Ladies' underwear advertisement, 1913The increase in the number of underwear manufacturers necessitated the birth of undergarment advertising. The first underwear print advertisement in the United States ran in the Saturday Evening Post in 1911 and featured oil paintings by J.C. Leyendecker of the "Kenosha Klosed Krotch". Early underwear advertisements placed emphasis on durability and comfort; fashion was never a selling point.

By the end of the 1910s, Chalmers Knitting Company split the union suit into upper and lower sections, effectively inventing the modern undershirt and drawers. Women wore lacier versions of this basic duo known as the camisole and drawers.

In 1913, a New York socialite named Mary Phelps Jacob changed women's fashion forever when she cobbled the first brassiere together by tying two handkerchiefs together with ribbon. Jacob's original intention was to cover the whalebone sticking out of her corset, which was visible through her sheer dress. Jacob began making brassieres for her family and friends, and word of mouth soon spread about the garment. By 1914, Jacob had a patent for her design and was marketing it throughout the United States. Although women had worn brassiere-like garments years past, Jacob's was the first to be successfully marketed and widely adopted.

In 1912, the United States had its first professional underwear designer. Lindsay "Layneau" Boudreaux, an immigrant from France established the short lived panty company "Layneau". Though her company closed within one year, it had a significant impact on many levels. Boudreaux showed the world that an American woman could establish and run a company, and she also caused a revolution in the underwear industry. Boudreaux is possibly the reason why up-scale underwear and panty stores exist today.

By the end of the decade, trouser-like "bloomers" (popularized by Amelia Jenks Bloomer 1818-1894 but invented by Elizabeth Smith Miller) gained popularity with the so-called Gibson girls who enjoyed more athletic pursuits such as bicycling and tennis. This new female athleticism helped push the corset out of style, as well. The other major factor in the corset's demise was the fact that metal was in short supply in much of the world during World War I. Steel-laced corsets were dropped in favor of the brassiere.

Meanwhile, the soldiers of World War I were issued button-front shorts as underwear. The buttons attached to a separate piece of cloth, or yoke, sewn to the front of the garment, and tightness of fit was adjusted by means of ties on the sides. This design proved so popular that it began to supplant the union suit in popularity by the end of the war. Garments of rayon also became widely available in the post-war period.


 1920s

corset over "step ins" and camisole,1922.In the 1920s, manufacturers shifted emphasis from durability to comfort. Union suit ads raved about "patented" new designs that reduced the number of buttons and increased accessibility. Most of these experimental designs had to do with new ways to hold closed the crotch flap common on most union suits and drawers. A new woven cotton fabric called nainsook gained popularity in the 1920s for its durability. Retailers also began selling preshrunk undergarments.

Women's bloomers became much shorter and stockings covered the legs instead. The shorter bloomers became looser and less supportive as the boyish flapper look came into fashion. By the end of the decade, they came to be known as step-ins, very much like modern panties but with wider legs, worn for the increased flexibility they afforded.

As dancing became a favorite pastime of young flappers, the garter belt was invented to keep stockings from falling. Nevertheless, the increased sexuality of the flapper also made underwear sexier than ever before. It was the flappers who ushered in the era of lingerie.

A Russian immigrant named Ida Rosenthal further developed the brassiere in this decade when she introduced modern cup sizes in 1928 for her company, Maidenform.


 1930s

A man wearing a pair of boxer shortsMeanwhile, other modern men's underwear was largely an invention of the 1930s. On January 19, 1935, Coopers Inc. sold the world's first briefs in Chicago. The company placed a Y-shaped front and overlapping fly on knitted drawers in both short and long styles. They dubbed the design the "jockey" since it offered a degree of support that had previously only been available from the jockstrap (the company itself would later adopt the name Jockey, as well). Jockey briefs proved so popular that over 30,000 pairs were sold within three months of their introduction.

Companies began selling buttonless drawers fitted with an elastic waistband, the first true boxer shorts (named for their resemblance to the shorts worn by professional fighters). Scovil Manufacturing also introduced the snap fastener at this time, which became a popular addition to various kinds of undergarments.

Women of this decade brought the corset back, now called the girdle. The garment lacked the whalebone and metal supports and usually came with a brassiere (now usually called a bra) and often garters attached.


 1940s
During World War II, elastic waistbands and metal snaps gave way once again to button fasteners due to rubber and metal shortages. Undergarments were harder to find, as well, since soldiers abroad had priority to get them.

At war's end, Jockey and Hanes remained the industry leader in the United States, but Cluett, Peabody and Company would make a name for itself when it introduced a preshrinking process called Sanforization, which came to be licensed by most major manufacturers.

Meanwhile, some women readopted the corset once again, now called the waspie for the wasp-shaped waistline it gave the wearer. Many women began wearing the strapless bra, as well, which gained popularity for its ability to push the breasts up and enhance cleavage.


 1950s and 1960s

Corselette of 1953In the 1950s, underwear manufacturers began marketing printed and colored garments. What had once been a simple, white piece of clothing not to be shown in public suddenly became a fashion statement. The manufacturers also experimented with rayon and newer fabrics like dacron and nylon. By 1960, men's underwear was regularly printed in loud patterns or with images ranging from messages to cartoon characters.

Women's undergarments began to emphasize the breasts instead of the waist in the 1950s. The decade saw the introduction of the bullet bra, which featured pointed cups. The original Wonderbra and Fredericks of Hollywood's push-up bra finally hit it big in this decade as well. Meanwhile, women's panties had become even more colorful and decorative, and by the mid-Sixties were also available in two smaller, more abbreviated styles called the hip-hugger and the bikini (after the island of that name), frequently in sheer nylon fabric.

Pantyhose, also called "tights" in British English, which combined panties and hose into one garment, made their first appearance in 1959, invented by Glen Raven Mills of North Carolina. The company later introduced seamless pantyhose in 1965, spurred by the popularity of the miniskirt. By the end of this decade, the girdle had fallen out of favor as women chose sexier and lighter alternatives.[2]


 1970s till the present day

Woman in camisole, garters and stockingsUnderwear as fashion matured in the 1970s and 1980s, and underwear advertisers forgot about comfort and durability, at least in advertising. Sex appeal became the main selling point, in swimwear as well, bringing to fruition a trend that had been building since at least the flapper era (underwear is the last barrier before nudity, and thus it acts as a sort of gatekeeper to sex).

Tank tops, an undershirt type named after the Tank suit swimwear which dates from the 1920s, have been popular warm-weather casual wear in the United States since the 1980s and are regarded as acceptable public casual dress in most locales there.

Performers in the 1980s such as Madonna and Cyndi Lauper also got into the act, often wearing undergarments on top of other clothes. Later, in the 1990s, hip hop stars would popularize a similar style, known as the Sag, which allowed loosely fitting blue jeans or shorts to droop low, exposing the underwear. In fact, in the case of Mark Wahlberg, it was his success as underwear model for Calvin Klein (with his chiseled muscularity on full display in a series of advertisements in the early 1990s) that allowed him a double launch to showbiz fame as both a white hip hop star and a respectable Hollywood actor.


Man wearing popular Bond's brand "tighty-whiteys"Although it was worn for decades by exotic dancers, the g-string first gained popularity in South America, particularly in Brazil, in the 1980s. It was originally a style of swimsuit made so that the back of the suit is so thin that it disappears between the buttocks. By the 1990s, the design had made its way to most of the Western World, and thong underwear became popular. Today, thong underwear is one of the fastest selling styles available among women and is even gaining some popularity among men.

In the 1990s, retailers started selling boxer briefs, which take the longer shape of boxers but maintain the tightness of briefs. Though marketed as a new design, these are actually quite similar to the bottom half of the two-part union suits worn in the 1910s. In 2006, fashion gurus Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine released a new style of underwear, which are made of Nylon and designed to flatten the tummy or buttocks so that the areas appear slimmer, therefore acting as both underwear and a slimming mechanism.[3]

Underwear and brassieres are a common sex symbol in culture today and modeling such as fashion shows


 Men's underwear, 1990s to the present
Men's underwear styles in the present day have seen a dramatic shift in style when compared to the evolution of female styles in underwear. While women's underwear continued to emphasize feminine sexuality, around the late 1980s and early 1990s; particularly in the United States, men's underwear styles began to deemphasize sexuality, in favor of baggier and looser styles. This trend also became evident in swimwear, which grew longer and looser in this period as well as all other fashions which also became consciously baggier and less form fitting. Despite this exodus from extremely revealing undergarments, tighter fitting underwear still remains popular.


Religious significance

Mormon Temple garments (two-piece style)
The tzitzis strings of one corner of a tallit. Note how the eight strings are really four that are folded through the hole on the tallit.Undergarments can also have religious significance. For example:

Some members of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wear special undergarments after they have been endowed in a temple to help them remember the teachings of the temple.[4]
Many Jews wear a four-cornered garment called a tallit katan, with tzitzit (fringes) attached at the corners[5].
Some Hindus wear a sacred thread, called the Yajñopavītam, underneath their clothing.
One of the five articles of the Sikh faith is underwear called kaccha.




Underwear styles and function

Traditional BriefToday, there are many options in underwear available. These include

boxer style (at or near true waist, leg sections extending to thighs)
woven boxer (traditional)
knit boxer (like traditional but with more fabric give)
boxer brief (also knit; more form-fitting)
pouch boxer brief (boxer briefs but with pouch for genitals rather than access flap)
athletic-style (skin-tight, usually with no access pouch or flap; like short tights; a variation are cycling shorts
retro style (boxer shorts in a brief style)
brief style (knit fabric, with access pouch or flap; usually at or near true waist, leg bands at tops of thighs
traditional brief (vertical flap)
double seat brief or double back brief
diagonal flap brief
pouch brief
low-cut/low-rise brief
bikini brief (usually lower than true waist, often at hips, usually no access pouch or flap, legs bands at tops of thighs)
high-side bikini brief
low-side bikini brief
string bikini brief (the front and rear sections meet in the crotch with a shoestring-like thread at the top, with no fabric on the side of the legs)
g-string type (with a front pouch for the genitals but no rear coverage)
thong (with a strap securing the pouch at the bottom rear, passing up the crack between the buttocks to the waistband)
athletic supporters, also known as jockstraps (with two straps securing the pouch at the bottom rear, passing through the perineum, around the bases of the buttocks up to the waistband at the sides) and dance belt
strapless pouches (with a front pouch and waistband only, no securing straps)

Man in boxer briefs (trunks style)
Women's panties or knickersThere are also many types of long underwear, union suits, and other variations of men's underwear. Some underpants also have a fly. These usually do not allow detachment at the waist; elasticity allows them to be taken on and off. Usually the fly of underpants avoids exposure of the skin just by an overlap of cloth, without buttons, etc. Such a property may be one of the criteria for boxer shorts not to be suitable as outer clothing.

Today, there are many specialized types of underwear made for sexual purposes, such as edible underwear or crotchless panties. Most of these are meant simply to display the body or genitals in certain ways, while some are intended to provide genital stimulation as well. Frederick's of Hollywood is an example of a business centered around manufacturing and selling such underwear.


 Not wearing undergarments
Main article: Going commando
Not wearing undergarments under one's outer clothing is also known in American slang as freeballing for men or freebuffing for females; the terms going commando and going bareback are also used for both sexes.[6] Finding female celebrities who are not wearing underwear and taking upskirt pictures of them is quite a common action undertaken by the paparazzi as the right picture of the right woman can earn them a lot of money.

This trend shows that a few consider underwear unnecessary for hygiene, especially for modern people who bathe every day.

In situations where a certain amount of body coverage is required (legally or socially), people who prefer to go clothes free might enjoy not wearing undergarments, as that is the closest they can get to nudity. For others, there may be sexual motives; undergarments are the final physical barrier to sex, and not wearing them might be arousing.

Cycling shorts and swimwear such as board shorts are usually worn without underwear. Often the same applies for a kilt.

Glossary
* hot lingerie is the kind of underwear, sleepwear, and other items of intimate apparel worn by women

* hot costume is a style of dress, including accessories and hairdos, esp. that peculiar to a nation, region, group, or historical period.

* hot underwear is a kind of clothing worn next to the skin under outer clothes.

* hot pajama is a loose-fitting garment consisting of trousers and a jacket, worn for sleeping or lounging.

* hot boxer or boxer shorts, men's loose-fitting undershorts with an elastic waistband.

* hot babydoll, often, baby dolls. Also called baby doll nightgown

* hot corset, sometimes, corsets, a close-fitting undergarment, stiffened with whalebone or similar material and often capable of being tightened by lacing, enclosing the trunk: worn, esp. by women, to shape and support the body.

* hot catsuit is a tight-fitting one-piece garment for women usually made of leather or a synthetic fabric such as spandex and covering the torso, legs, and sometimes the arms.

* hot bodysuit, or body, is a leotard-like garment that may or may not have snaps at the crotch.

* hot bodystocking is an article of lingerie, similar to a leotard or a catsuit.

* hot funwear is a kind of wear, clothing, or costume for fun or games.

* hot hosiery describes tight-fitting garments worn directly on the feet and legs.

* hot bra ( brassiere) is an article of clothing that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts.

* hot panty is a kind of short underpants for women or children (usually used in the plural)

* hot clubwear is a kind of fashion design, primarily in ready-to-wear lines, boyfriend is any style for women's clothing that was modified from a corresponding men's garment.

* hot bustier (alternately bustier re) is an article of clothing for women, which is form-fitting and is traditionally worn as lingerie.

* hot robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. A robe is distinguished from a cape or cloak by the fact that it usually has sleeves.

* hot gown is a loose outer garment from knee- to full-length worn by men and women and gown was applied to any woman's garment consisting of a bodice and attached skirt.

* hot teddy is a form of bodysuit-like lingerie, often worn in the boudoir.

* hot teddiettes is a loose-fitting teddy designed as sleepwear. Sleep teddies tend to use simpler materials and styles than teddies designed for visual appeal.

* hot chemise can refer to the classic smock or shift, or else can refer to certain modern types of women's undergarments and dresses.

* hot pantyhose (also called tights) are sheer, close fitting coverings of the body from the waist to the feet, most frequently worn by women.

* hot garters are items of clothing, used to keep stockings up.

* hot girdle originally meant a belt (or metaphorically speaking, something which confines or encloses, as in Tolkien's Girdle of Melian).

* hot halter top is a kind of woman's top, secured behind the neck and across the back, leaving the arms, shoulders, upperback, and often the midriff bare.

* hot knickers is a word for women's undergarments and there are now many names for the undergarments that previously have been called knickers, such as panties, thongs, g-strings, briefs, shorts, tangas, etc.

* hot g-string (alternatively gee-string or gee string) is a type of thong, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by

* hot nightwear, also called "sleepwear", "nightclothes", or "nightdress", is clothing designed to be worn while sleeping. Nightwear usage is seasonal, i.e. different weights for different seasons or it is only worn in winter.

* hot basque is an item of women's historical apparel.

* hot corsetry is craft of making corsets and corset-like garments and accessories most of which incorporate stays.

* hot sleepwear is a kind of clothes, such as pajamas or a nightgown, worn in bed. Also called nightdress, nightwear, sleepwear

* hot briefs are a type of short, tight Y-shaped underwear and swimwear, as opposed to styles where the material extends down the legs.

* hot bikini a very brief, close-fitting, two-piece bathing suit for women or girls.

* hot thong is a strip of material, esp. of leather or hide, used to fasten or secure something.