The History of Lingerie

Underwear is everywhere, and it seems that itOf course, the first half of that century was also
has always been that way. It has an extensivemostly a time of war, when supplies of
past that spans millennia; in fact, the history ofeverything from basics to luxuries were scarce.
lingerie can actually be traced to its inception inFor this reason, the corsets and stockings of the
the ancient civilizations of the Greek and Egyptianpast could not be had, and instead there was a
peoples.reliance on very basic under garments. By the
The history of lingerie begins in ancient Greecetime the two world wars were over, the glamour
and Egypt, when women wore an earlyof the 50s took over, and the hourglass shape
prototype of the corset for support of thewas once more desirable.
breasts; the garment reached just under theThe history of lingerie has a blip on the radar of
breast bone. From there, it moved through timetime, which is the 60s and 70s. Freedom,
to Europe, when the nobility, both men andequality-these were at the forefront of society's
women, wore underclothing, much like the modernmind. Corsets, brassieres, stockings-implements of
day slip or chemise, to keep the outer wear fromrestraint and symbolic of suppression, these were
becoming soiled.abandoned, literally. Women burned their bras, but
As regular bathing became more commonplace,by the 80s, they needed them back. In fact, the
full bodied lingerie was no longer necessitated,final two decades of the 20th century saw a
though underwear did persist. Also, the corsetresurgence in femininity, and the corset came
became a means of achieving a cinched waist, aback. Now used for more romantic purposes,
silhouette that proved incredibly uncomfortablelingerie became a symbol of sensuality.
but highly desired. The corset utilized bones toIn the long history of lingerie, there have certainly
ensure no movement, and it had the effect ofbeen drastic changes. Today, lingerie includes
making the breasts and hip area protrude, whichchemises, robes, underwear, brassieres, and
is known as the hourglass figure. Topping thisstockings, from the modestly feminine look to the
contraption would be layers of petticoats,overtly risqu choices. Gone are the days of
chemises, and stockings.whale-boned corsets that squeezed the breath
As time moved forward, the history of lingerieout of women; now, there are also girdles,
took another turn. The early decades of thesupport hose, tummy-control, thigh-control, and
twentieth century saw the invention of thederriere-lifters; there are push-up bras to lift and
brassiere, as well as a change in the ideal bodysports bras to stifle; there are panties that show
image. Dancing-the kind that required the body tono lines and panties that are only meant to be
move-necessitated an unlacing of the corset andshown; the list goes on and on. Certainly, never
an adoption of a more androgynous fashionbefore in the history of lingerie have women had
sense.so many choices.