Sexy Lingerie: Cool Lingerie is HOT...and sexy!

Have you heard of lingerie parties? No, we are not talking about a Playboy DVD, featuring playmates running around in thongs. We mean a theme party you can organize for a Bachelorette Night, a Bridal Shower or just for the fun of it. There are basically three ways to go:

* Invite a sales person from a lingerie boutique to host it for you.
* Hire a party consultant.
* Do it yourself!

See the site below for information about how to host a sexy lingerie party

If you have ever organized a lingerie party yourself, please leave a comment about it in the box at the bottom of this page.

Sexy lingerie as we know it, is a relatively recent concept. For most women, it is important that they look and feel great in their lingerie. But until 50 years ago women wore underwear purely for practical reasons rather than aesthetic purposes. Your grandmother would probably never combine the word sexy and lingerie in the same sentence; in her day no one bought underwear to be seen in it. Until 1960s, women's underwear served three main purposes:

shape

modesty

cleanliness

Corsets and Girdles
Shape was achieved by compressing the waist and moving flesh to the breasts and hips. From the 16th to the 19th century this was accomplished by the corset, which was made to squeeze a woman's waist to as little as 16 or 17 inches (40 - 43 cm). Some people would practice "tight lacing", or training their body to accept progressively narrower binding and achieve an extremely exaggerated, hourglass shape. For many, however, the corset was painful and impractical. During the 1920s, the corset was slowly replaced by the girdle. The girdle also shaped the body, but more comfortable materials were used and the effect was much less extreme. The girdle would smooth a woman's body, and give it a more appealing line. The girdle was either fullbody style, starting at the shoulders or simply started at the waist. It was closed by either hook and eye type closures (such as in modern day brassiers) or by zippers. At the bottom of the girdle were usually fasteners to clip to stockings and keep them in place. By the 1960s was replaced by the panty girdle and eventually control top pantyhose.

Bras
There is much controversy about who first invented the brassiere. While many credit Mary P. Jacob with the invention, this is because she used the name 'Brassiere' in her patent application, though her invention looked nothing like a modern day bra. Further it was designed to be worn with and cover a corset. Olivia Flynt in 1876 envisioned and invented the modern day brassiere.

Panties and Thongs
Until 1970s, women's underpants served one main purpose: cleanliness of the outerwear. Neither sexy nor attractive, they were originally designed to be functional. Known as 'drawers' in the 1800's some were full body outfits; others just came to the waist. Usually the longer type had convenient flaps in the backs so that the wearer did not have to get undressed when using the toilet. Drawers usually extended down to cover a part of the thigh. As time went on, ladies underwear became smaller and smaller. First, the thigh covering became shorter and shorter until by the 1950s they completely disappeared and the panty was born. But even then panties were large, baggy and unattractive. By the 1960s, companies like Frederick's of Hollywood started to glamorize lingerie and even featured a 'glamour string' in an early catalog, which looked alot like the present day thong. Though not a common place item for many decades to come the string, g-string or thong is proof that lady's underwear have gone from full body covering to the barest of essentials.

Pantyhose

The miracle of the pantyhose is that it combined the panty and stockings into one garment. Until the late 1950's the girdle got smaller and lighter, but stockings were usually put on separately, by clipping them to a garter belt or the bottom of the girdle. Glen Raven changed this in 1959 by combining the panty and stockings and the pantyhose was born.

There are six styles or categories of lingerie generally recognized: Sport, Natural, Elegant, Designer, Sexy and Bridal Lingerie. There are no definate boundaries, bridal or sexy lingerie can be made by a designer, sporty lingerie can also be natural. Below is an overiew of the six styles of lingerie.

Natural Lingerie, is functional and less obvious. Quality and comfort tend are reasons to buy them. Darjeeling lingerie brand is an example of natural lingerie.

Sporty lingerie should support without restricting. They should not be obvious under tight clothing and yet they should be functional. Prada and Sloggi are well known for their sport lingerie.

Elegant lingerie is designed to give the woman a look of subtle sensuality without being too obviously erotic. Elegant lingerie often cross over with designer wear. Chantelle's Riviera lingerie is one example of elegant lingerie.

Designer lingerie gives a woman the feeling of being special. The woman who spends the money on designer lingerie is spending it mostly for herself. The recently popular Agent Provocateur is becoming a very important designer of lingerie.

Sexy lingerie is a large category, many different types of lingerie can be included here. Thongs or g-strings, teddy, corsets, garters, body stockings, sheer lingerie etc.

Bridal Lingerie is made especially for the wedding day AND night. Usually it combines an elegant and sexy style. Comfort or durability is hardly an issue here, but style and sensuality are a must.

Ok, lingerie is sexy packaging to show off your body and skin. But how do you keep your skin sexy looking so that you have something nice to show off for a very long time? For answers to this important question, check out
Beauty Salon, a cool website devoted to skin care, with great advice for women of all ages.

Oprah Winfrey is very interested in many things including lingerie. She often makes very practical and interesting suggestions concerning bras, lingerie and other things. If you are interested in Oprah's suggestions for yourself or as a gift idea follow these links to Oprah's favorite bras OR Oprah's favorite things.

Click below to discover the most famous brands of lingerie from around the world:

French Lingerie: Chantelle Lingerie

French Lingerie: Aubade

Italian Lingerie: La Perla Lingerie

Australian Lingerie: Elle Macpherson Intimates

German Lingerie: Triumph Lingerie

Canadian Lingerie: La Senza Lingerie

UK Lingerie: Agent Provocateur

US Lingerie: Victoria's Secret

Plus Size Lingerie

See our New Lens about the Popular TV series E! Channels: "Girls Next Door"

See our lens featuring discount lingerie

Visit our site about Footed Pajamas for Adults and Teens.