The History of Lingerie

Lingerie, that ubiquitous genre of under garmentsdressings; even stockings became, at least for
that range from the mundane to the risqu, has beenwomen workers, a thing of luxury. Of course, after
around for longer than you may imagine. The historythe wars, by the 1950s, the hourglass was back in
of lingerie begins with the ancient Mediterranean's andstyle, and so back came the corset, though in a
encompasses both genders and all eras.much more comfortable girdle form, along with
The history of lingerie has its roots in ancient Greece,seamless brassieres.
when women wore what amounts to a corset forThe history of lingerie has a blip on the radar of time,
support. As time progressed, there are knownwhich is the 60s and 70s. Freedom, equality-these
instances of the medieval English nobles wearingwere at the forefront of society's mind. Corsets,
undergarments for the sole purpose of keepingbrassieres, stockings-implements of restraint and
clothing from absorbing filth from bodies in an erasymbolic of suppression, these were abandoned,
when regular bathing did not happen all too often.literally. Women burned their bras, but by the 80s,
As regular bathing became more commonplace, fullthey needed them back. In fact, the final two
bodied lingerie was no longer necessitated, thoughdecades of the 20th century saw a resurgence in
underwear did persist. Also, the corset became afemininity, and the corset came back. Now used for
means of achieving a cinched waist, a silhouette thatmore romantic purposes, lingerie became a symbol of
proved incredibly uncomfortable but highly desired.sensuality.
The corset utilized bones to ensure no movement,In the long history of lingerie, there have certainly
and it had the effect of making the breasts and hipbeen drastic changes. Today, lingerie includes
area protrude, which is known as the hourglass figure.chemises, robes, underwear, brassieres, and
Topping this contraption would be layers ofstockings, from the modestly feminine look to the
petticoats, chemises, and stockings.overtly risqu choices. Gone are the days of
Over the years, the history of lingerie evolved withwhale-boned corsets that squeezed the breath out
the times. By the 1920s, the era of the flapper andof women; now, there are also girdles, support hose,
the very popular boy-shape, the hourglass figure wastummy-control, thigh-control, and derriere-lifters;
shunned, and the corset was temporarily abandoned.there are push-up bras to lift and sports bras to
At this point, an early bra had been invented, too, sostifle; there are panties that show no lines and
the full-torso chemises were being ignored as well.panties that are only meant to be shown; the list
The early and mid parts of that century were alsogoes on and on. Certainly, never before in the history
war times, which meant there was not much in theof lingerie have women had so many choices.
way of money and fabric to make elaborate under