The History of Lingerie Not Always Sexy

Lingerie, that ubiquitous of gender under clothing ranging from the mundane to the risqu, has been around longer than you might imagine. The history of lingerie begins with the ancient Mediterranean and involves both sexes and all ages.

The history of lingerie has its roots in ancient Greece, when women wore what amounts to a corset of support. As time progressed, there are cases known to the medieval English nobles wearing undergarments, with the sole purpose of keeping the clothes of absorption filth of bodies in a regular bathing season when not happened too often.

Europeans were again prevalent in the history of lingerie with its decidedly uncomfortable wearing corsets with the sole purpose of achieving the hourglass figure. Corsets, constructed of rigid boning, incorporated the torsos, stressing the breast and hip areas. This incredibly restrictive look hung around for a while.

As time moved to the century 20, and women began to push the standards, dance has become very popular, especially in the decade of 1920. At this point, corsets had limited movement dance, fashion and the look was really moving away from the hourglass shapes. The corset has taken a backseat, while at the same time, a brasserie had been invented and was replacing the women also wore chemises.

Clearly, the first half of the century which also was mainly a time of war, when supplies of everything from basic to luxury were scarce. Therefore, the corsets and half of the past could not be taken, and instead there was a big dependence on under clothing basics. So far the two world wars were more, the glamour of the 50 taken, and the hourglass shape was once again desirable.

The history of lingerie has a blip on the radar of time, which is the 60s and 70s. Freedom, equality, they were at the forefront of society's mind. Corsets, brassieres, half-implements of restraint and symbolic of repression, they were abandoned, literally. The women burned their bras, but by the 80s, they needed them back. Indeed, the final two decades of the 20 th century saw a resurgence of femininity, and again corset. Now used for more romantic, lingerie became a symbol of sensuality.

Overall, the history of lingerie has certainly experienced change, but lasting today. As a matter of fact, the category has such a following that there are stores devoted exclusively to lingerie, and each store has a section that belong to it, too. Today's lingerie includes a variety of models, both functional and decorative. The options are endless, and so too, apparently, is the longevity of lingerie.