Intimate Lingerie - The Beginning

It's during the Renaissance (around the 14th century) that women started wearing what we currently refer to as panties, and more generally, intimate lingerie. But only at the end of the following century did the word underwear actually replace that of "body linen.

It was only a matter of time before lingerie entered the wardrobe as a clothing item, therefore carrying its own social meaning. It asserted a more liberated behaviour, a healthier relationship with one's body, a way to nonchalantly display what was formerly very intimate. This was a new role for underwear.

As years went by, elegance was replaced with seduction, which has, in turn, been replaced with a sensuality that shows itself with no taboo whatsoever.  Intimate Lingerie is a flagship product of the fashion industry, and as such it boasts a number of attributes desired by every woman: seduction, embellishment, imagination, pleasure, and beauty.

As previously mentioned, today's intimate lingerie plays a double role: functional and seductive. By the end of the 90's, the obsession was discretion. Showing a panty line or, to a lesser extent, the outline of a bra, was out of the question. Thus Lycra was introduced, bringing its elasticity to the plate, allowing for increased seamlessness. On the seduction side, intimate, sexy lingerie goes the opposite direction and displays itself to the world.

Women tend to belong to one of two categories: the ones that like lace, embroidered fabrics, sensitive to the sexy, seductive aspect of intimate lingerie, and the ones that only care for absolute discretion under the skin-tight clothes, with no regard for the fabric itself.

Lingerie has come a long way and its uses have changed. It is very popular amongst women and men, and will be for a long time to come.