The concept of lingerie is a visually appealing undergarment that was developed during the late nineteenth century. Lady Duff-Gordon of Lucile was a pioneer in developing lingerie that freed women from more restrictive corsets. Through the first half of the 20th century, women wore underwear for three primary reasons: to alter their outward shape (first with corsets and later with girdles or bras

Originally the chemise was a simple shirt or smock wo under the clothes. It was designed to keep sweat and body oils from staining and spreading to the outer garments. It developed from the Roman tunica in the medieval times. In the European Middle Ages chemise was popular in both men and women. Women wore chemises as shirts beneath their gowns while the men wore chemises with their trousers an