Lingerie is a term, derived from the French language, for women's undergarments. These garments are heavily eroticised in Western culture. Women have worn everything from a heavy whalebone contraption with laces and pulleys, all the way to the light silky sexy lingerie of today.HISTORYWell before Christ, on the island of Crete, women were very bold. Their idea of lingerie was a boned bodice corset, designed not for support, but to tease men, by pushing their breasts up and out, literally exposing them in their entire splendour. Although they achieved the �sexy� part, the �lingerie� part was nothing like what we think of as lingerie today.Throughout time, as each vision of the woman's silhouette emerged, clothing was created to fit and accentuate this shape. There were two main elements in a silhouette, the bust and the butt. Some societies wanted the bust to be prominent, while some felt that the butt should be the �point of interest�.Greek women were corseted. Under the Greek Chiton a leather band style corset was worn and this gave definition to the hips and bust. From birth, girls were swaddled. For six months their arms and legs were bound in swaddling cloths restricting their movement and keeping limbs straight. Adolescent Greek girls were forced to keep trim. Their Greek mothers used woollen bands to keep the developing body slim.In the Middle Ages it was felt that the silhouette should be restrained, especially the breasts, which they thought should be firm and small. In those days, women wore many styles of corsets over their dresses, all with the similar purpose of flattening their breasts. An iron hinged armour like corset was worn to flatten the body giving a smooth outline beneath gowns. The iron corset must have been exceptionally uncomfortable and heavy to wear and could only have been worn by Elizabethan ladies not doing any form of heavy work. Their only benefit seems to be that they produced the incredibly small waisted, elongated flat chested smooth line torso. This was illustrated in paintings of great Elizabethan ladies wearing fabulous structured bejewelled gowns. And in case some men didn�t notice this flattering flattening, some women actually attached small bells around their neckline � the jingling bringing attention to the jiggling.
During the Renaissance, the Spanish saw the silhouette as padded in all the right places. They wanted to see women with cone-shaped breasts, flat stomachs and narrow waists. Women 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.Doctors complained that these corsets compressed women�s bodies so tightly, their internal organs were being squeezed, and their ribs were being pushed out of shape. It was quite common for women to swoon and faint. There was one report of a woman who actually died when her ribs were cinched so tightly that they pierced her liver.A petticoat construction called a Spanish farthingale (after a popular Spanish fashion that influenced Western Europe) was worn with the corset in England. The farthingale which graduated in width from hip to floor supported voluminous skirts and had hoops which gave it shape. The hoops were made of wood, rushes, wire or whalebone. Consequently it was very uncomfortable and heavy in wear, but had major effects on deportment ensuring that the wearer could only move by gliding in an elegant way.The farthingale was later worn with a roll of stiffened material called a Bum Roll.
Sixteenth century lady adjusting a bum roll used to support the folds of skirt fabric surrounding the waist. By the 18th century, life was becoming lighter, and clothing trends followed. Although the whalebone structure of the corset still kept women tightly silhouetted, there was a definite movement to incorporate the artistry that marked the era. Corsets were decorated with beautiful embroidery, ribbons and laces. They also pushed the breasts up, threatening to jump right out.Later in the 18th century, people started rebelling against many things and corsets were no exception. Again, doctors spoke out about the dangers of these body presses. And this time they were heard and actually had boned corsets outlawed.The softer silhouette was highlighted by the early 1800s. The silhouette was still enhanced, calling for the support that the old corset had given. So the corset returned, but with more elaborate methods of construction. Boning was still used, but in smaller sections, allowing for more movement. And since the fashion of the day was for a more separated look for breasts, a corset-maker named Leroy came up with a model he called a �divorce�. The problem of lacing and unlacing was met by corset designers � they developed systems that allowed women to undress themselves.During the 1840s, with the much-exaggerated silhouette for women, whalebone came back into use, but this time with huge hoops and crinolines, covered 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. This was fine, except women had to stand a lot because most of their butts were covered by the cumbersome bustle. Women wore about 5 ponds of underwear (knickers, corset, camisole, waist slip) and corseted themselves tighter than ever. The crinoline supported yards of fabric that completely exaggerated women's figures. As fashion design became more innovative, more varieties of corsets were created. Now you could get a lightly-boned corset for the morning, a boneless corset for the beach, an elastic corset for horseback riding, and a jersey corset for bicycle riding.
By the end of the 19th century, the corset had become a supporter not only of breasts, but of the newly-created stockings. Stockings were held up by garters and suspenders attached to the corset.By the beginning of the 20th century, corsets were being laced down as far as the knee. But many people didn�t like that style, and fashion designers were leaning towards an uncorseted, more free-flowing style. With the advent 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. When too many people started asking Mary for her design, she thought she�d better get it protected. So she applied for a patent. She eventually sold this patent to Warner Company.
Early supposedly healthier Reform Bodice bra with mesh net cups that gave virtually no support
Mary Phelps Jacobs patentAfter World War I, women began to enter the workforce and corsets were definitely not appropriate for wear in factories. They needed shorter skirts made of cooler and lighter fabric that was easy to care for.The 1920s with it�s elaborate parties meant the boyish silhouette was in. The quest for flat chests and stomachs, and straight hips and buttocks, led the fashion industry to create the liberty bodice, the chemise, and bloomers � loose-fitting and light.
liberty bodiceAnd a long-overdue substitute for plain old white appeared � pastel coloured lingerie. The first brassieres were designed to flatten the breasts, adding to the total boyish look. The corset was no longer needed � except the bottom part that held up the stockings. So the corset was shortened right down to a belt � the suspender belt.
The 1930s brought with them a complete turnaround in the shape of the desired silhouette. Women were encouraged to look well-proportioned, full-figured, but still reasonably slim in the hips. Now women had a full set of lingerie to outfit themselves � a breast-enhancing brassiere, an elastic suspender belt, and the girdle, that kept all the curves in the right places.One of the biggest advancements in the lingerie industry came in the 1930s when Dunlop Rubber invented Lastex. Lastex was an elastic fibre that could be interwoven with the fabric used to make lingerie fashions. Now the industry could make lingerie in various sizes, to properly fit a woman�s shape.But then came World War II, and with it, its shortages. People started making home-knitted underwear out of anything they could find.After the war, lingerie consisted of the basic bras and suspender belts. This was the norm for most women. But the teenage girl, emerging from the oppression of the war, and looking for excitement, became a target market. These teenagers were anxious to grow up, and wearing lingerie was a big step towards getting there. So the lingerie industry started to create lingerie sets that would attract the attention of these young girls.In America, the lingerie industry was making its own mark. Everyone was trying to create something new and different. The market was flooded with all kinds of innovations to help women look sexy. For example, Howard Hughes created a new bra � a special wire-reinforced design for Jane Russell.
The silhouette suffered as bras were burned in the 60s. There was a wave of women�s emancipation movements and feminists burned their bras. This movement gave the lingerie industry a heavy hit. Many manufacturers were forced out of business. But on the positive side, Lycra had just been invented, and women�s legs began to be adorned in tights or, even better for the men, the sexy little mini-skirt. And with the mini-skirt came a demand for bikini briefs.By the 1980s, wire-reinforced bras had become the number-one seller. For those who need that added support, these are still very popular today. Probably the biggest seller was the push-up bra.
Towards the end of the 20th Century and beginning of the 21st fashion was pushing women to show off the underwear as outerwear that is worn for the visual enjoyment of a partner. Lingerie is to be thought of by many women as a second skin. All tastes and wishes are catered for. Women are free in their lingerie choices more than ever.
Today�s silhouette varies in shape. Obviously, the purpose of lingerie hasn�t changed � women still want to look sexy. The only thing that has changed is the method. We now have a society that allows much more freedom than in the past. We have lighter, lacier, sexier fabric. We have more liberal ideas of how much can be bared. And of course, the men are all for it. So the goal of the lingerie industry remains the same � to create an image of a woman who�s desirable and sexy. Today, lingerie is the most beautiful, luxurious and feminine clothes that is worn intimately and appreciated for its practicality and comfort.
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