Lingerie Transforming From Innerwear To Outerwear

Lingerie-- the word suggests lovely, provocative outfits. But lingerie came from lowly origins. The word lingerie is from the French linge, or linen referring to the material from which underwear was normally made. By the late 1800s, lingerie had become a familiar term to depict underwear that had moved beyond sensible function to be used as an erotic accessory. At first lingerie was created for all sizes- including plus sizes.

Lingerie was supposed to only be used by women within the confines of a blissfully married life in the early years; with strict controls. One female journalist penned in 1902, Lovely lingerie does not belong only to the fast. . . . dainty undergarments are not necessarily a sign of depravity. As time passed, lingeries attractiveness to the general population increased along with decreasing adherence to Victorian morality, and the increasing social status of women. Lingerie was freedom from the practical and flagrantly straitlaced undergarments advocated by the Victorian era. For example, a doctor of that time period recommended wool as the perfect underwear for sanitation and wellbeing.

In the beginning, handmade lingerie was a symbol of high social class, which only a few could afford. Notable were those designed by English fashion designer known as Lucile (Lady Duff-Gordon) who produced camisoles, peignoirs, and petticoats using combinations of lace, chiffon, and crepe de chine. These fabrics intentionally appealed to the sense of touch, and were the basis of a new sensuality for the 20th woman. Although artificial fibers such as rayon and nylon were marketed in the 1920s and 1930s as a luxury fabrics through the use of the name artificial silk their use made lingerie more affordable.

WIKIPEDIA SAYS-Nylon is a thermoplastic silky material, first used commercially in a nylon-bristled toothbrush (1938), followed more famously by womens nylons stockings (1940). It is made of repeating units linked by peptide bonds (another name for amide bonds) and is frequently referred to as polyamide (PA). Nylon was the first commercially successful polymer and the first synthetic fiber to be made entirely from coal, water and air.

The more body-conscious fashions of that decade also led to a new item of lingerie, the teddy, named after its inventor Theodore Baer, who combined a chemise with a short slip or attached knickers. The camisole, which originated from an ornamental waist-length article of clothing with a pleated front and shoulder straps that were worn over the corset for warmth and modesty, became a staple garment of lingerie, eventually becoming an item of outerwear by the 1970s. Similarly the slip, a standard piece of lingerie from the 1950s, was transformed to outerwear by a number of designers in the 1990s, most especially John Galliano, Dolce

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