It has long been a frowned upon decision to wear underwear as outerwear, as not only has it been looked upon to be ‘tarty’ - but it looks awful and is very hard to pull off without looking like someone who has stumbled out of a late night brothel. However, this year underwear has been set to be a big trend. Bra’s, knickers and stockings rocked the S/S 2010 Catwalks this year and we are already seeing them worn by celebrities, and a 'brief' few daring diva’s on occasional nights out.
Underwear has been a big thing since the sixteenth century when women would wear bodices, corsets and farthingale hoops to shape the body and overdresses.
Although they didn’t display much underwear as part of their outfit, they did used to occasionally wear linen chemises with large collars and ruffles as underwear that was visible to see. However it didn’t really become popular as a fashion in itself until the 1920’s.
Women have always liked to play with sexual desire in putting parts of underwear on show as part of an outfit. But has it always been successful? It is no word of lie that there has always been predijuice towards women who chose to have their knickers on show, as society will put them into a certain social class - and obviously, I am not talking about the type of people who would wine and dine with the queen - more like those who would wine and dine with the likes of belle de jour and her call girl friends. So maybe it just hasn’t been successful because of society, snide comments about the dress choice (mainly made by the older generation and the upper class) and the fact that it has always just been deemed inappropriate and offensive to do so.
So why is it that all of a sudden there seems to be bras, knickers, thongs, stockings and corsets being thrown about all over the fashion industry? I personally think that it has become more fashionable recently as women are confident in showing off their dominance in sexuality. But fear not, we are not talking about dominance in sexuality to the extent that there will be bondage bras on show everywhere, instead, the catwalks will be seducing high street shoppers and fashionistas world wide by seductively layering underwear to create a sexy yet sweet and feminine finished look. Marc Jacobs decided to layer a baby blue silk bra over a dusky pink blouse, managing to create the look which didn’t scream out ‘I want sex’ – which is good as nobody wants to be screaming that out to the world. Go for pastels and nude numbers to steer clear of setting off the wrong impression.
The best thing about this look? Anyone can do it. It doesn’t have to be expensive. All you need is to stick to the right colours and spend some time down in vintage shops and markets to gather up some retro shapes and sultry styled garments. If you do however feel a little daring try layering the look with light blouses, long sleeved t-shirts and blazers or try accessorizing the look with the statement of bold jewellery. Either way you’re bound to hit this new trend right where it’s at.
