Underwear and Bridal Underwear

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Undergarments or underwear are clothes worn under other clothes, often next to the skin. They keep outer garments from being soiled by perspiration, shape the body and provide support for parts of it. When the weather is cold, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional warmth. Some undergarments are intended for erotic effect. Special types of undergarments have religious significance. Some items of clothing are designed as underwear, while others such as T-shirts and certain types of shorts are appropriate both as undergarments and as outer clothing. If made of suitable material, some undergarments can serve as nightwear or swimsuits.

Undergarments commonly worn by women today include brassieres and panties (also known as knickers), while men wear briefs, boxer shorts, or boxer briefs. Items worn by both sexes include T-shirts, sleeveless shirts (also called singlets), bikini underwear, thongs and G-strings.

Terminology
There are a number of alternative terms for undergarments. Underclothes, underclothing and underwear are formal terms, while undergarments may be more casually referred to in Australia as Reg Grundys (rhyming slang for undies) or Reginalds, and in the UK as smalls (from the earlier smallclothes).

Women's undergarments are collectively known as lingerie. They may also be called intimate clothing or simply intimates.

An undershirt is a general word for a piece of underwear covering the torso, while underpants (in the UK, often simply known as pants), drawers, or shorts enclose the genital region. Terms for specific forms of undergarments are listed in the table below.

Function
Underwear is worn for a variety of reasons. They keep outer garments from being soiled by perspiration. Women's brassieres provide support for their breasts, and men's briefs serve the same function for the male genitalia; a corset may be worn as a foundation garment to alter a woman's body shape. For additional support and protection when playing sports, men often wear more tightly fitting underwear, including jockstraps and trunks. Women may wear sports bras which provide greater support, thus increasing comfort and reducing the chance of damage to the ligaments of the chest during high-impact exercises such as jogging.

In cold climates, underwear may be an additional layer of clothing that helps the wearer keep warm. Underwear can be used to preserve the wearer's modesty – for instance, some women wear camisoles and slips (petticoats) under clothes that are sheer. Conversely, underwear can also be worn for erotic effect. It is possible to purchase underwear made specifically for sexual titillation, such as edible underwear and crotchless panties.

Some items of clothing are designed as underwear, while others such as T-shirts and certain types of shorts are suitable both as underwear and as outer clothing. The suitability of underwear as outer clothing is, apart from the indoor or outdoor climate, largely dependent on societal norms, fashion and the requirements of the law. If made of suitable material, some underwear can serve as nightwear or swimsuits.

Religious functions
Undergarments can also have religious significance:

    * Judaism. Male Orthodox Jews wear a four-cornered prayer shawl called a tallit katan, which has tzitzit (fringes) attached to the corners, draped over their shoulders. To conform with societal dress codes, a tallit katan is often worn beneath one's shirt, but above an undershirt as it should not come into contact with the skin.
    * Mormonism. Most members of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) wear special temple garments after they have been endowed in a temple to help them remember the teachings of the temple.
    * Sikhism. One of the panj kakaar (five articles of faith) that Sikh men wear is a type of underpants called the kaccha, which are similar to boxer shorts.



Fashions and trends
Exposed underwear
Underwear is sometimes partly exposed for fashion reasons or to titillate. A woman may, for instance, allow the top of her brassiere to be visible from under her collar, or wear a see-through blouse over it. Some men wear T-shirts underneath partly- or fully-unbuttoned shirts.

A common style among young men is to allow their trousers to sag below their waists, thus revealing the waistband or a greater portion of their boxer shorts. A woman wearing low-rise trousers which expose the upper rear portion of her thong underwear is said to display a "whale tail".

Not wearing undergarments
Not wearing underwear under one's outer clothing is known in American slang as freeballing for men or freebuffing for women; in addition, the term going commando is used for both sexes. People choose to forgo underwear for reasons of comfort, to enable their outer garments (particularly those which are form-fitting) to look more flattering, or because they find it sexually arousing. The practice is not without its risks, particularly for women, some of whom have been the victims of upskirt photographers.

Certain types of clothes, such as cycling shorts and kilts, are designed to be worn or are traditionally worn without underwear.


History

Ancient history
The loincloth is the simplest form of underwear; it was probably the first undergarment worn by human beings. In warmer climates the loincloth was often the only clothing worn (effectively making it an outer garment rather than an undergarment), as was doubtless its origin, but in colder regions the loincloth often formed the basis of a person's clothing and was covered by other garments. In most ancient civilizations, this was the only undergarment available.

A loincloth may take three major forms. The first, and simplest, is simply a long strip of material which is passed between the legs and then around the waist. Archaeologists have found the remains of such loincloths made of leather dating back 7,000 years. The ancient Hawaiian malo was of this form, as are several styles of the Japanese fundoshi. Another form is usually called a cache-sexe: a triangle of cloth is provided with strings or loops, which are used to fasten the triangle between the legs and over the genitals. Egyptian king Tutankhamun (1341 BC – 1323 BC) was found buried with numerous linen loincloths of this style. An alternate form is more skirt-like: a cloth is wrapped around the hips several times and then fastened with a girdle.

Men are said to have worn loincloths in ancient Greece and Rome, though it is unclear whether Greek women wore undergarments. There is some speculation that only slaves wore loincloths and that citizens did not wear undergarments beneath their chitons. Mosaics of the Roman period indicate that women (primarily in an athletic context, whilst wearing nothing else) sometimes wore strophiae (breastcloths) or brassieres made of soft leather, along with subligaculae which were either in the form of shorts or loincloths. Subligaculae were also worn by men.

The fabric used for loincloths may have been wool, linen or a linsey-woolsey blend. Only the upper classes could have afforded imported silk.

The loincloth continues to be worn by people around the world – it is the traditional form of undergarment in many Asian societies, for example. In various, mainly tropical, cultures, the traditional male dress may still consist of only a single garment below the waist or even none at all, with underwear as optional, including the Far-Eastern dhoti and lungi, or the Scottish kilt.


Middle Ages and Renaissance

In the Middle Ages, western men's underwear became looser fitting. The loincloth was replaced by loose, trouser-like clothing called braies, which the wearer stepped into and then laced or tied around the waist and legs at about mid-calf. Wealthier men often wore chausses as well, which only covered the legs.

By the time of the Renaissance, braies had become shorter to accommodate longer styles of chausses. Chausses were also giving way to form-fitting hose, which covered the legs and feet. Fifteenth-century hose were often particolored, with each leg in a different-coloured fabric or even more than one colour on a leg. However, many types of braies, chausses and hose were not intended to be covered up by other clothing, so they were not actually underwear in the strict sense.

Braies were usually fitted with a front flap that was buttoned or tied closed. This codpiece allowed men to urinate without having to remove the braies completely. Codpieces were also worn with hose when very short doublets – vest-like garments tied together in the front and worn under other clothing – were in fashion, as early forms of hose were open at the crotch. Henry VIII of England began padding his codpiece, which caused a spiralling trend of larger and larger codpieces that only ended by the end of the 16th century. It has been speculated that the King may have had the venereal disease syphilis, and his large codpiece may have included a bandage soaked in medication to relieve its symptoms. Henry VIII also wanted a healthy son and may have thought that projecting himself in this way would portray fertility. Codpieces were sometimes used as a pocket for holding small items.

Over the upper part of their bodies, both medieval men and women usually wore a close-fitting shirt-like garment called a chemise in France, or a smock or shift in England. The forerunner of the modern-day shirt, men tucked long chemises into their braies and wore their outer clothing on top. Women wore them underneath their gowns or robes, sometimes with petticoats over the chemise. Elaborately quilted petticoats might be displayed by a cut-away dress, in which case they served a skirt rather than an undergarment. During the 16th century, the farthingale was popular. This was a petticoat stiffened with reed or willow rods so that it stood out from a woman's body like a cone extending from the waist.

Corsets also began to be worn about this time. At first they were called pairs of bodies, which refers to a stiffened decorative bodice worn on top of another bodice stiffened with buckram, reeds, canes, whalebone or other materials. These were not the small-waisted, curved corsets familiar from the Victorian era, but straight-lined corsets that flattened the bust.

There is a myth that Crusaders, worried about the fidelity of their wives, forced them to wear chastity belts. There is no reference, image, or surviving belt to support this story. Most historians of this period are of the view that a chastity belt was worn to prevent sexual assault and that the woman kept the key.[supposed]

Men's braies and hose were eventually replaced by simple cotton, silk or linen drawers, which were usually knee-length trousers with a button flap in the front.

1970s to the present day
Underwear as fashion matured in the 1970s and 1980s, and underwear advertisers forgot about comfort and durability, at least in advertising. Sex appeal became the main selling point, in swimwear as well, bringing to fruition a trend that had been building since at least the flapper era.

The tank top, an undershirt named after the type of swimwear dating from the 1920s known as a tank suit or maillot, became popular warm-weather casual outerwear in the US in the 1980s. Performers such as Madonna and Cyndi Lauper were also often seen wearing their undergarments on top of other clothes.

Although worn for decades by exotic dancers, in the 1980s the G-string first gained popularity in South America, particularly in Brazil. Originally a style of swimsuit, the back of the garment is so narrow that it disappears between the buttocks. By the 1990s the design had made its way to most of the Western world, and thong underwear became popular. Today, the thong is one of the fastest-selling styles of underwear among women, and is also worn by men.

While health and practicality had previously been emphasized, in the 1970s retailers of men's underpants began focusing on fashion and sex appeal. Designers such as Calvin Klein began featuring near-naked models in their advertisements. The increased wealth of the gay community helped to promote a diversity of undergarment choices. In his book The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (1975), Andy Warhol wrote:

    I told B I needed some socks too and at least 30 pairs of Jockey shorts. He suggested I switch to Italian-style briefs, the ones with the T-shaped crotch that tends to build you up. I told him I'd tried them once, in Rome, the day I was walking through a Liz Taylor movie – and I didn't like them because they made me too self-aware. It gave me the feeling girls must have when they wear uplift bras.

Warhol liked his Jockey briefs so much that he used a pair as a canvas for one of his dollar-sign paintings.

In the UK in the 1970s, tight jeans gave briefs a temporary edge over boxer shorts, but a decade later boxers were given a boost by Nick Kamen's performance in Levi's "Launderette" TV commercial for its 501 jeans, during which he stripped down to a pair of white boxer shorts in a public laundromat.

The 1990s saw the introduction of boxer briefs, which take the longer shape of boxers but maintain the tightness of briefs. Hip hop stars popularized "sagging", in which loosely fitting jeans or shorts were allowed to droop below the waist, exposing the waistband or a greater portion of boxer shorts worn underneath. The chiselled muscularity of Mark Wahlberg (then known as Marky Mark) in a series of 1990s underwear advertisements for Calvin Klein led to his success as a white hip hop star and a Hollywood actor.

In January 2008 it was reported that, according to market research firm Mintel, the men's underwear market in the UK was worth £674 million, and volume sales of men's underpants rose by 24% between 2000 and 2005. British manufacturers and retailers claim that most British men prefer "trunks", or short boxer briefs. The director of menswear of major British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S), which sells 40 million pairs of men's underpants a year, was quoted as saying that while boxer shorts were still the most popular at M&S, demand was easing off in favour of hipster trunks similar in design to the swimming trunks worn by actor Daniel Craig in the James Bond film Casino Royale (2006).

The industry

Designers and retailers

A number of major designer labels are renowned for their underwear collections, including Calvin Klein and Dolce & Gabbana. Likewise, specialist underwear brands such as 2(x)ist, C-IN2, Ginch Gonch, Lord and Obviously are constantly emerging.

Specialist retailers of underwear include high street stores La Senza (Canada), Agent Provocateur, Lingerie2005 (UK), Victoria's Secret (USA), and GapBody, the lingerie division of the Gap established in 1998 (USA). In 2008 Abercrombie & Fitch opened a new chain of stores, Gilly Hicks, to compete with other underwear retailers.

SOURCE: Wikipedia