Product Code Database
Underwear, underclothing, or undergarments are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer clothing from being soiled or damaged by Human waste, to lessen the friction of outerwear against the skin, to shape the body, and to provide concealment or support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional warmth. Special types of undergarments have religious significance. Some items of clothing are designed as undergarments, while others, such as and certain types of shorts, are appropriate both as underwear and outerwear. If made of suitable material or textile, some underwear can serve as nightwear or swimwear, and some undergarments are intended for sexual attraction or visual appeal.
Undergarments are generally of two types, those that are worn to cover the torso and those that are worn to cover the waist and legs, although there are also underclothes which cover both. Different styles of underwear are generally worn by females and males. Undergarments commonly worn by females today include and panties ( in British English), while males often wear boxer briefs or boxer shorts. Items worn by both sexes include T-shirts, (also called singlets, tank tops, A-shirts, or vests), classic briefs, bikini briefs, , and .
Women's undergarments collectively are also called lingerie. They also are called intimate clothing and .
An undershirt ( in the United Kingdom) is a piece of underwear covering the torso, while underpants (often called in the United Kingdom), , and cover the Sex organ and often buttocks. Terms for specific undergarments are shown in the table below.
In cold climates, underwear may constitute an additional layer of clothing helping to keep the wearer warm. Underwear may also be used to preserve the wearer's modesty – for instance, some women wear and slips () under clothes that are sheer. Conversely, some types of underwear can be worn for sexual titillation, such as edible underwear or crotchless panties.
Undergarments are worn for insulation under and . In the case of dry suits, the insulation value of the undergarments is selected to match the expected water temperature and the level of activity for the planned dive or water activity. (1999). 9780967430508, Hammerhead Press. ISBN 9780967430508
Some items of clothing are designed exclusively as underwear, while others such as 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 .
A loincloth may take three major forms. The first, and simplest, is simply a long strip of material that 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. 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 Ancient 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. 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 Subligaculum which were either in the form of shorts or loincloths. Subligacula 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 Indian dhoti and lungi, or the Scottish kilt.
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-colored fabric or even more than one color 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 Urination without having to remove the braies completely. Codpieces were also worn with hose when very short doublets – vest- (UK: waistcoat-) 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 sexually transmitted 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, the chemise was tucked into a man's braies, under his outer clothing. Women wore a chemise underneath their or , sometimes with over the chemise. Elaborately Quilting petticoats might be displayed by a cut-away dress, in which case they served as a skirt rather than an undergarment. During the 16th century, the farthingale was popular. This was a petticoat stiffened with Phragmites 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, Baleen or other materials. These were not the small-waisted, curved corsets familiar from the Victorian era, but straight-lined stays that flattened the bust.
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.
Medieval people wearing only tunics, without underpants, can be seen on works like by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, in the by Limbourg Brothers, or in the by Gerard Horenbout.
In 2012, findings in Lengberg Castle, in Austria, showed that lace and linen brassiere-like garments, one of which greatly resembled the modern bra, date back to hundreds of years before it was thought to exist.
Women's stays of the 18th century were laced behind and drew the shoulders back to form a high, round bosom and erect posture. Colored stays were popular. With the relaxed country styles of the end of the century, stays became shorter and were unboned or only lightly boned, and were now called corsets. As tight waists became fashionable in the 1820s, the corset was again boned and laced to form the figure. By the 1860s, a tiny ("Wasp waist") waist came to be seen as a symbol of beauty, and the corsets were stiffened with whalebone or steel to accomplish this. While "tight lacing" of corsets was not a common practice except among a minority of women, which sometimes led to a woman needing to retire to the fainting room, the primary use of a corset was to create a smooth line for the garments to effect the fashionable shape of the day, using the optical illusion created by the corset and garments together to achieve the look of a smaller waist. By the 1880s, the dress reform movement was campaigning against the alleged pain and damage to internal organs and bones caused by Tightlacing. Inez Gaches-Sarraute invented the "health corset", with a straight-fronted busk made to help support the wearer's muscles.
The corset was usually worn over a thin shirt-like shift of linen or cotton or muslin. Skirt styles became shorter and long drawers called pantalettes or kept the legs covered. Pantalettes originated in France in the early 19th century, and quickly spread to Britain and America. Pantalettes were a form of leggings or long drawers. They could be one-piece or two separate garments, one for each leg, attached at the waist with buttons or laces. The crotch was left open for hygiene reasons.
As skirts became fuller from the 1830s, women wore many petticoats to achieve a fashionable bell shape. By the 1850s, stiffened and later allowed ever wider skirts to be worn. The bustle, a frame or pad worn over the buttocks to enhance their shape, had been used off and on by women for two centuries, but reached the height of its popularity in the later 1880s, and went out of fashion in the 1890s. Women dressed in crinolines often wore drawers under them for modesty and warmth. Another common undergarment of the late 19th century for men, women, and children was the union suit. Invented in Utica, New York and patented in 1868, this was a one-piece front-buttoning garment usually made of knitted material with sleeves extending to the wrists and legs down to the ankles. It had a buttoned flap (known colloquially as the "access hatch", "drop seat", or "fireman's flap") in the back to ease visits to the toilet. The union suit was the precursor of Long underwear, a two-piece garment consisting of a long-sleeved top and long pants possibly named after American boxer John L. Sullivan who wore a similar garment in the ring.
The jockstrap was invented in 1874, by C. F. Bennett of a Chicago sporting goods company, Sharp & Smith, to provide comfort and support for bicycle jockeys riding the cobblestone streets of Boston, Massachusetts. In 1897 Bennett's newly formed Bike Web Company patented and began mass-producing the Bike Jockey Strap.
Meanwhile, designers of women's undergarments relaxed the corset. The invention of new, flexible but supportive materials allowed whalebone and steel bones to be removed. The emancipation or liberty bodice offered an alternative to constricting corsets and, in Australia and the UK, the liberty bodice became a standard item for girls as well as women.
Men's underwear also continued to be developed. Benjamin Joseph Clark, a migrant to Louisiana from New Jersey, opened a firm named Bossier in Bossier Parish. One product manufactured by his firm was tightly fitting boxer shorts that resembled modern underwear. Though the company was bankrupt by the early 20th century, it had some influence on men's underwear design.
Underwear advertising first made an appearance in the 1910s. The first underwear print advertisement in the US appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in 1911 and featured oil paintings by J. C. Leyendecker of the "Kenosha Klosed Krotch". Early underwear advertisements emphasized durability and comfort, and fashion was not regarded as a selling point.
By the end of the 1910s, Chalmers Knitting Company split the union suit into upper and lower sections, effectively inventing the modern undershirt and drawers. Women wore lacier versions of this basic duo known as the camisole and tap pants.
In 1912, the US had its first professional underwear designer. Lindsay "Layneau" Boudreaux, a French immigrant, established the short-lived panty company Layneau. Though her company closed within one year, it had a significant impact on many levels. Boudreaux showed the world that an American woman could establish and run a company, and she also caused a revolution in the underwear industry.
In 1913, a New York socialite named Mary Phelps Jacob created the first modern brassiere by tying two handkerchiefs together with ribbon. Jacob's original intention was to cover the whalebone sticking out of her corset, which was visible through her sheer dress. Jacob began making brassieres for her family and friends, and news of the garment soon spread by word of mouth. By 1914, Jacob had a patent for her design and was marketing it throughout the US. Although women had worn brassiere-like garments in years past, Jacob's was the first to be successfully marketed and widely adopted.
By the end of the decade, trouser-like "bloomers", which were popularized by Amelia Jenks Bloomer (1818–1894) but invented by Elizabeth Smith Miller, gained popularity with the so-called who enjoyed pursuits such as cycling and tennis. This new female athleticism helped push the corset out of style. The other major factor in the corset's demise was the fact that metal was globally in short supply during the First World War. Steel-laced corsets were dropped in favor of the brassiere.
Meanwhile, World War I soldiers were issued button-front shorts as underwear. The buttons attached to a separate piece of cloth, or "yoke", sewn to the front of the garment, and tightness of fit was adjusted by means of ties on the sides. This design proved so popular that it began to supplant the union suit in popularity by the end of the war. Rayon garments also became widely available in the post-war period.
In the 1920s, manufacturers shifted emphasis from durability to comfort. Union suit advertisements raved about patented new designs that reduced the number of buttons and increased accessibility. Most of these experimental designs had to do with new ways to hold closed the crotch flap common on most union suits and drawers. A new woven cotton fabric called nainsook gained popularity in the 1920s for its durability. Retailers also began selling preshrunk undergarments.
Also in the 1920s, as of women's dresses rose, women began to wear stockings to cover the exposed legs. Women's bloomers also became much shorter. The shorter bloomers became looser and less supportive as the boyish flapper look came into fashion. By the end of the decade, they came to be known as "step-ins", very much like modern panties but with wider legs. They were worn for the increased flexibility they afforded.
The Garter belts was invented to keep stockings from falling.
In 1928, Maidenform, a company operated by Ida Rosenthal, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, developed the brassiere and introduced modern cup sizes for bras.
In this decade, companies also began selling buttonless drawers fitted with an elastic waistband. These were the first true boxer shorts, which were named for their resemblance to the shorts worn by Boxing. Scovil Manufacturing introduced the snap fastener at this time, which became a popular addition to various kinds of undergarments.
Women of the 1930s brought the corset back, now called the "girdle". The garment lacked the whalebone and metal supports and usually came with a brassiere (now usually called a "bra") and attached garters.
In 1933, Henrik Natvig Brun, a commandant in the Norwegian army, invented the first Brynje thermal , as Norwegian King’s Guard cold season clothing, in development since 1921, repurposing two fishing nets, previously used to catch herring, and made into a shirt for trapping air close to the skin which would provide insulation. A cellular cloth based on the same principle had been patented in 1896 under the trade name Aertex.
During World War II, elastic waistbands and metal snaps gave way once again to button fasteners due to rubber and metal shortages. Undergarments were harder to find as well, since soldiers abroad had priority to obtain them. The Special Operations Executive issued a string vest to agents that could be used as rope. By the end of the war, Jockey and Hanes remained the industry leaders in the US, but Cluett, Peabody and Company made a name for itself when it introduced a preshrinking process called "Sanforization", invented by Sanford Cluett in 1933, which came to be licensed by most major manufacturers.
Meanwhile, some women adopted the corset once again, now called the "Waist cincher" for the wasp-shaped it gave the wearer. Many women began wearing the strapless bra as well, which gained popularity for its ability to push the breasts up and enhance cleavage.
Women's undergarments began to emphasize the breasts instead of the waist. The decade saw the introduction of the bullet bra pointed bust, inspired by Christian Dior's "New Look", which featured pointed cups. The original Wonderbra and push-up bra by Frederick's of Hollywood achieved great popularity. Women's panties became more colorful and decorative and, by the mid-1960s, were available in two abbreviated styles called the hip-hugger and the bikini (named after the Pacific Ocean Bikini Atoll of that name), frequently in sheer nylon fabric.
Pantyhose, also called tights in British English, which combined panties and hose into one garment, made their first appearance in 1959, invented by Glen Raven Mills of North Carolina. The company later introduced seamless pantyhose in 1965, spurred by the popularity of the miniskirt. By the end of the decade, the girdle had fallen out of favor as women chose sexier, lighter and more comfortable alternatives.
With the emergence of the woman's movement in the United States sales for pantyhose dropped off during the later half of the 1960s having soared initially.
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 continued edge over boxer shorts among young men, but a decade later boxers were given a boost by Nick Kamen's performance in Levi's "" TV commercial for its 501 jeans, during which he stripped down to a pair of white boxers in a public laundromat. Briefs however remained popular in America amongst young men from the 1950s until the mid-1990s.
The Sleeveless shirt, 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 , 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.
The 1990s saw the introduction of boxer briefs, which take the longer shape of boxer shorts but maintain the tightness of briefs. Hip hop stars popularized "sagging", in which loosely fitting pants or shorts were allowed to droop below the waist exposing the waistband or a greater portion of the underpants worn underneath; typically boxer shorts or boxer briefs.
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 or A-shirts underneath partly or fully unbuttoned shirts. A common style among young men (2018) is to allow the trousers to sag below the waist, thus revealing the waistband or a greater portion of their underpants. This is commonly referred to (in North America) as "hang-low style". A woman wearing low-rise trousers exposing the upper rear portion of her thong underwear is said to display a "whale tail".
Celebrity underwear is sometimes sold. A framed pair of Elvis Presley's dirty underwear sold for $8,000 in 2012. Undergarments of Marilyn Monroe, Queen Elizabeth, and former Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph have been sold at auction. The celebrities Jarvis Cocker, Alison Goldfrapp, Nick Cave, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ricky Gervais, Jah Wobble, Fergie, and Helen Mirren donated underwear to be sold for charity.
US: (slang), jockey shorts, jockeys
Australia: jocks (slang)
In 1985, Fruit of the Loom, Hanes, and Jockey International had the largest shares of the U.S. men's underwear market; these companies had about 35%, 15%, and 10% of the market, respectively.Kanner, Bernice. "Briefs Encounter: The Long and Shorts of It" ("On Madison Avenue" column). New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC, 29 April 1985. Vol. 18, No. 17. ISSN 0028-7369. Start p. 28. CITED: p. 28.
Gregory Woods, author of "We're Here, We're Queer and We're not Going Catalogue Shopping", stated that companies often do not market men's underwear to straight men on the assumption that they are not interested in buying underwear for themselves; therefore many such advertisements are aimed at women to convince them to buy underwear for their husbands, as well as to gay or bisexual men.Woods, Gregory. "We're Here, We're Queer and We're not Going Catalogue Shopping" (Chapter 7). In: Burston, Paul and Colin Richardson (editors). A Queer Romance: Lesbians, Gay Men and Popular Culture. Routledge, 26 July 2005. , 9781134864829. Start: p. 157. CITED: p. 166. In 1985 Jockey International president Howard Cooley stated that women often shop more than men do, and men request women to buy underwear for them. According to multiple studies conducted , 60-80% of men's undergarments for sale had been purchased by women.
Specialist retailers of underwear include High Street stores La Senza (Canada), Agent Provocateur (UK), Victoria's Secret (U.S.), and GapBody, the lingerie division of the Gap established in 1998 (U.S.). In 2000, the online retailer, Freshpair, started in New York and in 2008 Abercrombie & Fitch opened a new chain of stores, Gilly Hicks, to compete with other underwear retailers.
The 2014 Stockholm Skateathon was sponsored by Björn Borg and the advertising campaign encouraged participants either skateboarding or longboarding, for example, to wear undergarments, and whilst it received criticism by the skateboarders, some people ended up dressing in the undergarments
The origins of the phrase go commando are uncertain, with some speculating that it may refer to being "out in the open" or "ready for action". The modern usage may be traced in the United States to university students , where it was perhaps associated with soldiers in the Vietnam War, who were reputed to go without underwear to "increase ventilation and reduce moisture". The phrase was in use in the UK before then, referring mainly to women, from the late 1960s. The connection to the UK and women has been suggested to link to a World War II euphemism for prostitutes working in London's West End, who were termed "Piccadilly Commandos". The term was re-popularized in the US after it appeared in a 1996 episode of Friends, where Joey Tribbiani wears everything Chandler Bing owns in an act of revenge, while also going "commando". (copy from The Detroit News)
In a 2014 open-access poll, 60 Minutes and Vanity Fair asked visitors to their websites the question "How often do you 'go commando'?" A quarter of participants said that they did this at least occasionally, while 39% said they never did so, and 35% said that they did not know the meaning of the term.
Notes
Further reading
Types and styles
Common contemporary types and styles of undergarments are listed in the table below.
Worn by both sexes Whole body Long underwear long johns A two-piece undergarment worn during cold weather consisting of a shirt with sleeves extending to the wrists and pants with legs reaching down to the ankles.
Upper body T-shirt tee A garment covering a person's torso which is usually made without buttons, pockets, or a collar, and can have short or long sleeves. It is worn by pulling it over the head. It is often worn as an outer garment, especially in informal situations.
Sleeveless shirt tank top, (slang), singlet, muscle shirt, athletic shirt, A-shirt A sleeveless garment similar to a T-shirt. Also sometimes worn as an informal outer garment.
Lower body Bikini briefs bikini
Australia: briefs (men's) Usually worn with the waistband lower than the wearer's true waist, and often at the hips, with the leg bands ending at the groin. Men's bikini briefs normally have no fly.
G-string
]]Gee-string, G string A type of thong consisting of a narrow piece of material that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a string around the hips. C-String
]]Cee-string, C string A type of thong which is as narrow as a G-string, but without the supporting "string" around the wearer's hips/panty line, leaving just a sideways C-shaped piece between the legs. Thong
]]Cheeky A type of thong which is wider than a G-string and fairly wide in the front, more like the wide V of a traditional brief. Fit tends to be more comfortable than that of a plain thong or G-string and is often more embellished. Thong Has a narrow strip of material along the centre of the garment's rear which sits between the wearer's buttocks and connects the front or pouch to the waistband behind the wearer. Thongs are sometimes worn to reduce "panty lines" when wearing tightly fitting trousers. T-front Has a narrow piece of cloth passing between the buttocks and the labia and only widening above the clitoris. It provides no coverage while still maintaining the basic hygienic underwear functions. Worn by women Upper body Bra Usually consists of two cups for the breasts, a centre panel (gore), a band running around the torso under the bust, and a shoulder strap for each side.
Lower body Boyshorts booty shorts, boyleg briefs, boy short panties, boys' cut shorts, boyshorts, hipsters, shorties A type of panties with sides that extend lower down the hips, similar to men's trunk briefs. Tap pants side-cut shorts, dance shorts, French knickers A form of lingerie that covers the pelvic area and the upper part of the upper legs. Panties briefs, classic briefs
UK: knickers These usually have an elastic waistband, a crotch to cover the genital area which is usually lined with absorbent material such as cotton, and a pair of leg openings which are often also elasticized. They either have very short or no leg sections.
Worn by men Lower body Boxer briefs tight boxers
UK: trunks These are similar in style to boxer shorts, but are form-fitting like briefs.
Boxer briefs trunk briefs, short-leg boxer briefs These are similar in style to boxer briefs, but shorter in the inseam.
Midway briefs midways, long-leg boxer briefs These are similar in style to boxer briefs, while being longer in the legs, to near or up to the knees.
Boxer shorts boxers
UK: trunks These have an elasticized waistband that is at or near the wearer's waist, while the leg sections are fairly loose and extend to the mid-thigh. There is usually a fly, either with or without buttons.
Boxer shorts with colorful patterns, pictures of cartoon characters, sports team logos, and slogans are readily available.
Briefs classic briefs
UK:
These have an elasticized waistband at or near the wearer's waist, and leg bands that end at or near the groin.
Jockstrap athletic supporter, jock, nut cup (slang), strap, supporter Consists of an elastic waistband with a support pouch for the genitalia and two elastic straps affixed to the base of the pouch and to the left and right sides of the waistband at the hip. In some varieties, the pouch may be fitted with a pocket to hold an impact-resistant Protective cup to protect the genitals from injury. A jockstrap is different from a dance belt that a male dancer wears.
Religious Under Clothing Whole body This kind of underwear is worn by Mormons. Upper body Tallit katan Lower body Kacchera
Industry
Market
In January 2008 it was reported that, according to market research firm Mintel, the men's underwear market in the UK was worth Pound sterling674 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 favor of hipster trunks similar in design to the swimming trunks worn by actor Daniel Craig in the James Bond film Casino Royale (2006).
Designers and retailers
A number of major are renowned for their underwear collections, including Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, and La Perla. Likewise, specialist underwear brands are constantly emerging, such as Andrew Christian, 2(x)ist, Leonisa, and Papi.
Not wearing lower torso undergarments
Going without lower body undergarments has come to be known by the slang term going commando, as well as sometimes free-balling or free-buffing (referencing the scrotum and the Human vulva respectively).
See also
External links
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