The Various Types Of Lingerie Explained

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Baby Dolls
Basques
Bodysuits
Bras - Balcony
Bras - Contour
Bras - Demi Cup
Bras - Full Coverage
Bras - Nursing
Bras - Padded
Bras - Push Up
Bras - Soft Cup
Bras - Sports
Bras - Strapless
Bras - Underwire
Bustiers
Camisoles
Chemises
Cleavage Enhancers
Corsets
Garters
Garter Belts
Gowns
Kimonos
MerryWidows
Nightgowns
Pajamas
Panties - Boyshorts
Panties - Briefs
Panties - Control
Panties - French Knickers
Panties - G Strings
Panties - Knickers
Panties - Thongs
Pantyhose
Robes
Shapewear
Slips
Stockings
Teddies
Waist Cinchers
Waspies

Lingerie Explained
A Guide For Men
All About Baby Dolls
All About Bras
All About Corsets
All About Garters
All About G-Strings

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The Various Types Of Lingerie Explained

A babydoll is a short nightgown or negligee intended as nightwear for women. The garment is often trimmed with lace, ruffles, appliques, Marabou fur, bows and ribbons, optionally with spaghetti straps. Sometimes it is made of sheer or translucent fabric like nylon or chiffon or silk. The garment's hemline is usually about six inches above the knee like a minidress and may have a scoop-neck. They are usually considered provocative. It is said the name was popularized by the 1956 movie Baby Doll starring Carroll Baker in the title role, which essentially marked the beginning of the enduring popularity of the style for adults.*[1] At the same time, new synthetic fabrics and boutique retailing made the form both affordable and easy to purchase.

A basque is women's clothing term for a tight, form-fitting bodice or coat. In the Victorian fashion, a basque was a long, fitted jacket, or the skirts of such a jacket. Nowadays the term basque is used for a piece of erotic lingerie, with fetishistic overtones. Basque may also refer to details reminiscent of lingerie such as frilly lace and cut out designs.

A bodystocking is an article of lingerie, similar to a leotard or a catsuit. It is much the same thing as a unitard, but the term bodystocking is likely to be preferred when the garment is worn as an underlayer in cold weather. It usually has long legs, but it may have long, short, or no sleeves. It is usually made from a sheer fabric similar to those used for stockings and tights, or from fishnet material. Some people consider bodystockings to be an erotic garment.

A bodysuit is a leotard-like undergarment, sometimes used to provide support and shaping, sometimes simply as a top that cannot become untucked from one's trousers or skirt. It is usually skintight or formfitting. They can have long or short sleeves and be made like a tank top. Bodysuits are for both females and males. Unlike a leotard, a bodysuit also has snaps at the crotch. It is also called a snapsuit or a onesie.

A bustier is an article of clothing for women, which is form-fitting and is traditionally worn as lingerie. Some people wear it as an outer garment. Bustiers can slim the wearer's waist, while enhancing the bust. Bustiers often have detachable garter straps for holding up stockings.

A cami or camisole is a woman's undergarment which covers the top part of the body. It is sleeveless and tight fitting in contrast to a loose-fitting babydoll or chemise. The materials of choice in which they are manufactured are satin or silk. A camisole can be worn over a brassiere or without one. Some camisoles come with a built-in underwire bra which eliminates the need for a bra. In modern times, the camisole has been transformed from simply being an undergarment to outerwear, with the fabric changing more into cotton based materials. Some wearers shy away from the outerwear camisole because they fear their bra straps will be exposed, though of late several celebrities are indicating that it is fashionable to do so.

The chemise, also called a smock or shift, is a simple garment worn next to the skin to protect clothing from sweat and body oils. Chemise is the French term. Italians called it a "camicia". The English called the same shirt a "smock" and the Irish called it a "léine" (pronounced LAY-nya).

A corset is a garment worn to mold and shape the torso into a desired shape for aesthetic or medical purposes (either for the duration of wearing it, or with a more lasting effect).

A G-string, thong, or string tanga is a narrow piece of cloth or even leather that passes between the legs, usually between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as a bikini bottom or as underwear by both men and women.

Suspenders in British English, or garters in North America are small straps or bands that hold up socks or stockings. For stockings, they are usually attached to a suspender belt or the bottom of a corset, and have special clips on their ends. Suspenders worn with stockings by women have a strong erotic appeal to many men. As with many items of female undergarments, they are sometimes items of fetish. For this reason they are sometimes worn by exotic dancers.

In the United Kingdom and some fellow Commonwealth nations, knickers is a term for panties or similar women's undergarments: "Don't get your knickers in a twist" (i.e. "don't panic," or, in US usage "don't get your panties in a bunch."). George Cruikshank, whose illustrations are classic icons for Charles Dickens' works, also did the illustrations for Irving's droll History of New York when it was published in London. He showed the old-time Knickerbockers in their loose Dutch breeches, and by 1859, short loose ladies undergarments, a kind of abbreviated version of pantalettes or pantaloons, were knickers in England. After World War I, very loose ladies' knickers were called "taxi treats", when the driver was asked to take the long way round the Park.

A merry widow is a short, strapless corset with half-cups for the breasts and long garters. It was first made by the lingerie company Maidenform in 1952, to coincide with the 1952 film, The Merry Widow, starring Lana Turner. The original Merry Widow foundation garment was a full-length corselette, cut with attractive panels of black and white lace, incorporating slim panels of black elastic yarn net. A heavy-duty zip was inserted behind a velvet-backed hook-and-eye flange, and the whole garment was lined with nylon voile. Nine long spiral wires were cased in black satin. Turner is reputed to have said, "I am telling you, the Merry Widow was designed by a man. A woman would never do that to another woman." To this day, merry widow is the generic term for a corselette bra in the United States. This type of lingerie is also know as a Torsolette and is used in Bridal Lingerie and used like a Bustier.

The negligee is a form of womenswear intended for wear at night and in the bedroom. It is a form of nightgown; first introduced in France in the 18th Century, where it mimicked the heavy head-to-toe style of women's day dresses of the time. By the 1920s it began to mimic women's satin single-layer evening dresses of the period. The term "negligee" was used of a Royal Doulton run of ceramic figurines in 1927, showing women wearing what appears to be a one-piece knee-length silk or rayon slip, trimmed with lace. The word comes from the French négliger, meaning to neglect, to disregard or to overlook. Although the evening-dresses style of nightwear made moves towards the modern negligee style (translucent bodices, lace trimming, bows - exemplified in 1941 by a photo of Rita Hayworth in Life), it was only after World War II that nightwear changed from being primarily utilitarian to being primarily sensual or even erotic; the negligee emerged strongly as a form of lingerie.

A nightgown (also called a nightdress) is a loosely hanging item of nightwear nowadays solely for women, Its length may vary from hip-length (babydoll) to floor-length (peignoir) but is typically knee-length. A nightgown is manufactured of e.g. cotton, silk, satin, or nylon. It may be decorated with lace appliqués or embroidery at cups and hem. Optionally, panties (UK - knickers) are worn under the nightgown (nightdress). A short nightgown is often called nightie. A slip nightgown may be used as a nightgown or as a full slip.

A slip is a woman's undergarment worn beneath a dress or skirt to help it hang smoothly and to prevent chafing of the skin from coarse fabrics such as wool. Slips are also worn for warmth, and to protect fine fabrics from perspiration.

A full slip hangs from the shoulders, usually by means of narrow straps, and extends from the breast to the fashionable skirt length. A half slip hangs from the waist, and may also be called a petticoat (particularly in Australia and the UK). Slips are usually made of a smooth and slippery fabric such as silk, satin, polyester, or nylon and may be decorated with lace at the edges. They are typically worn over more intimate undergarments. Slips are also worn for modesty under translucent outer garments. A half slip may be worn with a matching camisole as an alternative to a full slip.

A teddy is a form of bodysuit-like lingerie, often worn in the boudoir. Unlike a bodysuit, it is typically looser and more sheer, and may be designed to slip off from the shoulders, rather than to open at the crotch. The teddy is normally worn for the seductive look, rather than practical reasons.