The Story of Lingerie

Contents

Preface

ntroduction

Underwear and fashion

Lingerie, corsetry and hosiery

How underwear began to allow the silhouette evolve

From Ancient Greece to modern woman: what have they been wearing under their clothes?

European women in the 15th century

Renaissance women

Women in “1900”

Colours

Underwear and Society

Stages of life

Rites of passage

Baptism

First Communion

From childhood to adolescence

Marriage

Mourning

The trousseau and its reflection in Society

Women’s work

The rise and fall of the trousseau

Caring for linen

Care of raw materials

A Woman’s private life and clothing

The nightdress

The negligee

The bedroom and private life

Underwear according to the season and social status

Clothing for children

Contradictory arguments about trousers for women and the corset

Trousers or bloomers

The corset

Sports underwear

Horseback riding

Cycling

Swimming

Dancers

Eroticism, seduction and fetishism

The eroticism of women’s underwear

Seductive and sexy underwear

Fetishism and women’s underwear: from private clubs to the catwalk

Economics

Lingerie manufacturing

How fashion was distributed

The current lingerie market

Distribution networks

Motivation to purchase

Communication

Advertising goes too far

Marketing

Some current directions for lingerie

The youth market

Underwear on top

Technological contributions to lingerie

Sportswear at the beginning of the 21st century

Sexy lingerie

Conclusion

Glossary

1. TECHNICAL AND GENERAL TERMS:

2. TERMS SPECIFIC TO UNDERWEAR:

Notes

Bibliography

Acknowledgements