Lingerie suggests fashionable and attractive women’s undergarments. It derives from the French word linge, which means “washables”. Whereas the term in the French language stands for to all undergarments for either gender, in English it refers to particularly to those women’s undergarments designed to be visually appealing or erotic. These lingeries are made of different materials such as Lycra, nylon (nylon tricot), polyester, satin, lace and/or silk and not applied to functional cotton undergarments.
The History of Lingerie
The term sexy lingerie gives an impression of light, thin material, usually translucent, draped admiringly over the female body. But well before Christ, on the island of Crete, in the Mediterranean Sea, women used to wear a boned bodice corset, designed not for support, but to tease men, by pushing their breasts up and out, factually exposing them in their entire splendor.
Throughout time, as each vision of the silhouette emerged, clothing was created to fit and emphasize this shape.
The silhouette was in demand in the middle ages. In those days, women wore many styles of corsets over their dresses, in order to flatten their breasts. Some women actually attached small bells around their neckline to veer the attraction of women in case some men didn’t notice this flattening.
During the Renaissance, the padded silhouette was offered – in all the right places. They actually had to have other people dress them because the cinching up of their corsets was done up their backs and required a lot of strength. In fact, they were tied up and bound tighter.
By the 18th century, although the whalebone structure of the corset was familiar among the women, there was a definite movement to include the artistry that marked the era. Corsets were adorned with attractive embroidery, ribbons and laces.
Later in the 18th century, people started rebelling against. Boned corsets were outlawed. The softer silhouette is highlighted by the early 1800s. Boning was still used, but in smaller sections, allowing for more movement.
In the 1840s, with the stylish silhouette for women, whalebone came back into use, but this time with huge hoops and crinolines, enclosed with all kinds of fabric and trim. The hoop-and-crinoline look was soon replaced by the soft-S silhouette, still using the corset, but adding the bustle to the back. Now they’d created an exaggerated bottom.
By the end of the 19th century, the corset had become a supporter not only of breasts, but of the new stockings. Stockings were held up by garters and suspenders attached to the corset – a very complex system of chains.
By the beginning of the 20th century, corsets were being laced down to the extent of the knee. Sexy lingerie was about to take a whole new turn. With the arrival of the industrial revolution, and the invention of the sewing machine, Germany and France opened the first corset factories.
In 1913, Mary Phelps Jacob created a new type of bra. It was much softer and much shorter than a corset. And it allowed the breasts to be shaped in their natural state.
After World War I, women joined as workforce and corsets were unquestionably not suitable for wear in factories. They looked-for shorter skirts made of cooler and lighter fabric that was easy to care for. Then in twenties fashion changed vividly – the boyish silhouette was in. The first brassieres were designed to compress the breasts, adding to the total boyish look. It reduced the needs of corset – except the bottom part that held up the stockings. So the corset was shortened right down to a belt – the suspender belt. After the World War II, lingerie comprised of the basic bras and suspender belts. This was the norm for most women. With the mini-skirt came a demand for bikini briefs. By the 1980s, wire-reinforced bras had turned into the number-one seller. Perhaps the push-up bra is most admired by women these days.
The history of sexy lingerie begins from the push-up corsets of ancient Greece, to the push-up bra of today. However the purpose of women behind wearing them is to look sexy.
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