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can be practical, decorative, private, expressive, supportive, playful, quiet, or dramatic. Sometimes it is chosen because it needs to disappear beneath clothing. Sometimes it is meant to be seen. Sometimes its most important role is simply how it makes getting dressed feel.
This Book is not a catalogue of things to buy. It is a guide to understanding them.
The lingerie families
Different pieces. Different roles.
Bras
Cups, bands and ways of creating support.
Bottoms
Rise, leg cut and rear coverage.
One-pieces
A continuous design through the torso.
A family, rather than a single style
Construction study
The word lingerie covers a broad family of garments worn close to the body. Bras and briefs are part of that family, but so are bodysuits, teddies, corsets, chemises, slips, garter belts, , robes and babydolls. Some sit beneath clothing. Others are worn as private layers, or as part of an outfit in their own right.
A plain can be primarily functional. An embroidered brief cut from sheer may perform the same basic task while also being designed around texture, colour, proportion and presentation. Neither is more legitimate. They simply place emphasis in different places.
Practical and beautiful are not opposites
An underwired bra may be beautifully embroidered. A may function as intimate wear one evening and be layered beneath a blazer another. A can belong beneath a dress or be styled as a visible layer, depending on its construction and .
The useful question is not whether a piece is sufficiently decorative to count as lingerie. It is what the garment is designed to do, and whether that purpose matches what you need.
How this Book approaches the subject
We look closely at the pieces themselves: how they are shaped, why they are constructed differently, and how familiar names relate to one another. You can read in sequence or open the contents and move directly to a question.
There is no requirement to own every kind of lingerie to understand it. Learning the language can make the pieces you already have more interesting, and make a future choice less confusing.
The right piece does not need to transform you. It should help you feel more at home in yourself.
Continue through the Book