Lingerie is a term for women's fashion undergarments, It derives from the French word 'lin' for linen. While the term in the French Language applies to all undergarments for either gender, in English it is applied only to those women's undergarments designed to be visually appealing or erotic, typically incorporating materials such as lycra, nylon(nylon tricot), polyester, satin, lace and/or silk and not applied to functional cotton undergarments.The concept of lingerie being visually appealing is relatively recent. Up through the first half of the 20th century women selected underwear for three major purposes: to alter their shape (first with corsets and later with girdles or bras), for reasons of hygiene, or for modesty. Women's underwear was often very large and bulky. As the 20th century progressed underwear became smaller and more form fitting. In the 1960s 'controversial' lingerie manufacturers such as Fredericks of Hollywood begin to glamorize lingerie and the idea of lingerie having a sexual appeal slowly developed.The lingerie industry has expanded in the 21st century with designs that double as outerwear. The French refer to this as 'dessous-dessus' which basically means innerwear as outerwear. The boutique Faire Frou Frou, which is an antiquated phrase meaning "show it off", heralds this philosophy by categorizing lingerie as an accessory with details such as straps and lace trim that should be layered and shown as part of one's outerwear.
THE HISTORY OF THE G-STRING
ITS LIKE A PRESENT FINELY WRAPPED IN LACE,IT MAKES THE WEARER MORE ALLURING,MORE SEDUCTIVE AND VERY SEXY,WITH JUST A HINT OF WHATS UNDERNEATH.
Amazingly way before the turn of the 20th century Women of Virtue were wearing very little underneath there layers upon layers of cloths, petticoats, corsets, etc…The original crothless knickers were two seperate bloomer legs tied together around the waist with a piece of string this was the choice for all standards in the community not just your sexy variety, but your useful variety , especially when nature calls.
Bloomers came back into popularity when the Victorians discovered that thay needed a lighter variety for exercise, for easier movement for a healther lifestyle.This only resulted in much larger bloomers for ease of movement.
Female strippers and erotic dancers in the west have been wearing G-strings and thongs during their routines since the mid-1920s. The Strippers in New York City caused the g-string to emerge. In 1939 The World Trade Fair caught the worlds attention when the Strippers were asked to cover up by Mayor Fiorelli LaGaurdia and being strippers thay crafted the tiniest g-strings.The population however clung to their huge underwear ( or rather there underwear clung to them).
As the years roll into the fifties, the emergence of tight form fitting perfect body, beautiful hollywood women squashed into girdles further squashs the g-string revolution .
Enter the sixties,what can you say. Free love, Peace and nature was what it was about and cotton knickers won out.
Enter the surge of Women into the business sector in the eighties,wearing these tight form fitting uniforms, and tailered business suits, there was no place for panty lines, hence re-emergence of the thong. And later obviously that evolved into the g-string .
Enter 2000 with the naughties and thay are very popular with a huge fan base, with a lot of men wearing them in normal everyday situations.
Australia has a backless g-string. Amazingly the g-string has evolved into the c-string, hardly visable at all just to cover your bare necessities, great for tanning, no tan lines from strings.
Origin
G-string or thong is probably the earliest form of clothing known to mankind; having originated in the warmer climates of sub-Saharan Africa where clothing was first worn nearly 75,000 years ago. Many tribal peoples, such as some of the Khoisan people of southern Africa wore thongs for many centuries. Much like the 2000-plus-year-old Japanese fundoshi, these early garments were made with the male genitalia in mind.Although developed for the male anatomy by primitive peoples, in the modern West G-strings are more often worn by females. They first gained mainstream popularity as swimwear in South America ,particularly in Brazil in the 1970s. In Brazil, where the buttocks are especially admired and emphasized; it was originally a style of thong swimsuit whose rear area became so narrow that it would disappear between the wearer's buttocks.
The origin of the term "G-string" is obscure. The term is first attested in writings by Americans in the late 1800s describing the lioncloth of Philippines natives. In the "Philippines Islands" entry in the 1911 edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica the term "geestring" is used. Others say the term is derived from the G-string on a musical instrument, but it may just be an abbreviation of "grion-string"There are a number of intermediate styles between full rear coverage and a string rear. Like the tanga, the G-string is essentially a bottom covering that covers the pubis and leaves the buttocks bared; The term G-string is generally used when the vertical strap in the rear of a G-string is no wider than a string. Other similar styles include the brazilian, rio, and T-back (T-string). The naming of the intermediate cuts is debatable, and different vendors use the words somewhat interchangeably.
Popularization in the Western culture
Attitudes to wearing G-strings vary, as is usual with highly revealing clothing. By the late 1980s, the design (for females) had made its way into most of the Western World thong and G-string underwear became more and more popular through the 1990s. As of 2002 G-string underwear was one of the fastest-selling styles among women. One advantage attributed to the wearing of G-string underwear is that no visible panty line can be seen even under a thin, light-colored or skin-tight garment. Although the popularity of wearing G-string underwear in America has taken off only in the last decade, in Europe it has been commonplace for many more years.
C-string
There are several variations on the G-string. An example of one variation is the C-string; as narrow as a G-string but without the band around the waist, leaving just a "c-shaped" piece between the legs held in place firmly by a flexible internal frame. Since there is no material around the waist, the C-string completely eliminates the panty lines which thongs and other underwear create. C-strings are also designed for use as beachwear, which reduces the tan lines that would have been left by the side straps of even a G-string. Removing the side straps also eases donning and removal.
Hope you have found this article on the history of Lingerie most informative, thank you for reading.
