Underwear


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 bodily excretions, 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 T-shirts 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 males and females. Undergarments commonly worn by males today include boxer briefs or boxer shorts, while females often wear bras and panties. Items worn by both sexes include T-shirts, sleeveless shirts, classic briefs, bikini
briefs, thongs, G-strings and T-fronts.

Terminology

Undergarments are known by a number of terms. Underclothes, underclothing and underwear are formal terms, while undergarments may be more casually called, in Australia, Reg Grundys and Reginalds, and, in the United Kingdom, smalls and unmentionables.
An undershirt is a piece of underwear covering most or all of the torso, while underpants, drawers, and undershorts cover the genitals and often buttocks.
Women's undergarments collectively are also called lingerie. They also are called intimate clothing and intimates. In the United States, women's underwear bottoms may be commonly referred to as panties; they may also be known as delicates due to the recommended washing machine cycle or because they are, simply put, delicate.
Terms for specific undergarments are shown in the table below.

Function

Underwear is worn for a variety of reasons. They keep outer garments from being soiled by perspiration, urine, semen, pre-seminal fluid, feces, vaginal discharge, and menstrual blood. Women's brassieres provide support for the breasts, and men's briefs, boxer briefs, and other similar underpants serve the same function for the male genitalia. A corset may be worn as a foundation garment to provide support for the breasts and torso, as well as to alter a woman's body shape. For additional support and protection when playing sports, men often wear more tightly fitting underwear, including jockstraps and jockstraps with cup pocket and protective cup. Male dancers sometimes wear dance belts for support and modesty while wearing tights. Women may wear sports bras which provide greater support, thus increasing comfort and reducing the chance of damage to the ligaments of the chest during high-impact exercises such as jogging.
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 camisoles 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 space suits and dry suits. 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.
Some items of clothing are designed exclusively as underwear, while others such as T-shirts 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 swimsuits.

Religious functions

Undergarments are used by some religious adherents for religious or traditional reasons:
  • Judaism. The tallit katan is worn beneath the shirt by some.
  • Mormonism. Following their endowment in a temple, Mormons wear special temple garments intended to help them to remember the teachings of the temple.
  • Sikhism. One of the five articles of faith worn by Sikh men and women is a certain style of underpants similar to boxer shorts and known as the kacchera.
  • Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrians wear an undershirt called a Sedreh that is fastened with a sacred girdle around the waist known as a Kushti.

    History

Ancient history

The loincloth is the simplest form of underwear; it was probably the first undergarment worn by human beings. In warmer climates, the loincloth was often the only clothing worn, as was doubtless its origin, but in colder regions, the loincloth often formed the basis of a person's clothing and was covered by other garments. In most ancient civilizations, this was the only undergarment available.
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. Egyptian king Tutankhamun 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 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. Mosaics of the Roman period indicate that women sometimes wore strophiae or brassieres made of soft leather, along with subligacula 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.

Middle Ages and Renaissance

In the Middle Ages, western men's underwear became looser fitting. The loincloth was replaced by loose, trouser-like clothing called braies, which the wearer stepped into and then laced or tied around the waist and legs at about mid-calf. Wealthier men often wore chausses as well, which only covered the legs. Braies were a type of trouser worn by Celtic and Germanic tribes in antiquity and by Europeans subsequently into the Middle Ages. In the later Middle Ages they were used exclusively as undergarments.
File:Tizian 081.jpg|thumb|upright|A 1532–1533 portrait by Titian of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, in a codpiece
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 urinate without having to remove the braies completely. Codpieces were also worn with hose when very short doublets – vest- /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.
File:Elizabeth Vernon big.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A lady in her private boudoir wearing an informal embroidered jacket over her rose-pink corset or simple bodice and decorated petticoat, 1600
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 gowns or robes, sometimes with petticoats over the chemise. Elaborately quilted 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 reed 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, whalebone or other materials. These were not the small-waisted, curved corsets used in 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 The Ass in the School by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, in the
Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry by Limbourg Brothers, or in the Grimani Breviary: The Month of February 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 earlier than had been thought.