The History and the Future of Lingerie

The History and the Future of Lingerie

The garments that we know today as lingerie are relatively new arrivals in the garment industry. A women’s undergarments had always been large, unattractive and used as a mere functional piece rather than something to complement her form, however, around the middle of the twentieth century that all began to change.

During the 1960’s women’s undergarments started to change in design and become more feminine. The new garments were much smaller and delicate looking than their former counter parts, such as the girdle or large bulky fitting bras. There was a distinctly feminine look to underwear now, which was in stark contrast with the utilitarian garments that women had thus far been forced to use.

These days, attractive lingerie is almost seen as the standard in women’s undergarments. Although most women have some "everyday" undergarments and some more attractive "special occasion" lingerie, even the everyday undergarments are much more visually appealing than those of 50 years ago.

How Should We Define Lingerie?

Lingerie is very common today and at times it can be hard to tell the difference between it and some of the everyday undergarments. They can appear so close in resemblance some people find it hard to determine which are lingerie items and those that are just regular everyday undergarments.

Generally lingerie garments are fancier in appearance, made from more refined, expensive materials that are femininely decorated and can be worn as a functional piece as well. In fact, they are often more decorative than they are functional.

The everyday underwear for women will often be made of cotton and have wider, more comfortable waistbands. These features make everyday underwear more comfortable and practical for frequent use than that of lingerie, although daily underwear can still be very attractive.

What has Lingerie Done for Womankind?

Many people will agree that the invention of lingerie has helped more women be comfortable with feeling sexy and attractive. The time has past for wearing huge cotton panties and enormous bras and women can look and feel feminine at all times by the choice of undergarments they wear, no matter what outfit they are wearing on the outside.

Women who were at one time were embarrassed of their figure can now purchase push-up bras or even panties with padded bottoms to help them have a more smooth looking appearance.

Does Today’s Underwear have a Future?

There are people in the fashion industry that believe that somewhere in the near future undergarments will move even more to the outside of the garments, verses remaining on the inside of them. The change has been coming about for some time now and over the past few years; women have been letting their bra straps show while wearing tank tops, something that was completely unheard of in the past.

One must ask, if in the future will lingerie take the place of the current conservative underwear pieces? In Europe this new phase has already begun and women tend to shop for sexy lingerie items to complement an outfit, rather then just wear it as an undergarment.