What’s sexier than a beautiful naked woman? A beautiful half-naked woman wearing sexy clothes! Lacey, silk fabrics, tantalizing lingerie… it makes the very nature of clothing seem like such a paradox. Dating as far back as 100,000-35,000 BC, the primary function of clothing has been to cover up genitals and excretory organs. But the very act of covering “private parts”, contrary to its intent, seems to fuel sexual curiosity and desire, rather than shield it. Just think about how repressed and prudish Victorian societies seemed, meanwhile, Marquis de Sade books which depicted explicit scenarios of sadomasochism, rape and necrophilia were being circulated throughout the country in secret. Society is full of contradictions, but its contradictions about sexuality illustrate how sexy fashions have evolved through time…
The Beginning of Sexy Fashion
More than a fictional detail added in depictions of Adam and Eve, the fig leaf is the first article of clothing in fashion history. Though not exactly worn for style, this tropical costume was actually meant to hide pubic hair and separate humans from the animal world. Source
From Fig Leaf To Cloth
By 20,000 BC sewing needles and thread were perfected, and around 8,000 BC, the invention of the loom enabled cloth to be woven. Ancient societies that lived in tropical climates eventually dropped the fig leaf and switched to loincloth, a piece of material, leather or cloth, passed between the legs covering the genitals- with the buttocks usually exposed. Long before lrg jeans, loincloths were mostly worn by men and segregated classes and genders. Those who wore cloths were considered god-like, whereas slaves were kept naked. This is all long before jewelry items like stud earrings differentiated haves from have nots. When Westerners first came into contact with loincloths, they were considered indecent and shameful. Being highly religious- nakedness was believed to be the original sin.
The Corset
During the fourteenth century, women were wearing an outer bodice known as a cotte which flattened the breast. This was the earliest form of the corset. By the sixteenth century, the corset had become a woman’s undergarment. The corset was also referred to as a ‘stay’, its implication being that a woman’s body was weak and needed support, “a surrogate for the body itself” Source. The corset is definitely one of the most controversial garments in fashion history. Erotically appealing not only in how long it physically took to remove the garment, but also the way it accentuated a woman’s curves, making the breasts and hips protrude in an exaggerated hourglass shape. Corsets are less beauty secrets and more beauty obvious and in your face. Some theorists also argue that the lacing of the corset was symbolic of sexual intercourse.
Off With Her Corset
During the French revolution, French aristocratic women revolted against the corset, opting for camisoles and looser undergarments. But the Victorian Age made sure this trend fade out quick.
The Victorian Age: Back To Corsets
The Victorian Age introduced some terribly unsexy undergarments such as knickers and drawers. Being so prim and modest, Victorians were actually great innovators of underwear- hence the adoption of the name ‘Victoria’s Secret’ by today’s famous lingerie line. But despite all their efforts to constrict and cover up, it was during the Victorian era that the first striptease shows took place. And if there is one sexy fashion that Victorians can definitely take credit for- it’s garters. Garters that hooked to a woman’s stockings were pretty riling for the time. Popular among French dancers, they would often teasingly lift up their skirts to give a little peek at their garters.
The Gibson Girl
The Gibson Girl is said to have set the first national standard for a “feminine beauty ideal”. “The Gibson Girl was tall, slender yet with ample bosom, hips and bottom in the S-curve torso shape achieved by wearing a swan-bill corset” Source. She was also well-educated. The quintessential Gibson Girl was Belgian-American stage actress, Camille Clifford (pictured above).
Bye-bye Gibson Girl, Hello Flapper
With the outbreak of World War I, Flappers emerged and pretty well adopted the complete opposite values to those of the Gibson Girl. Flappers were cutting their hair short, getting Bob cuts, Eton crops, and Shingle bobs. Their dress lines got significantly shorter; they wore long necklaces, bright colors, feathers, fur, head scarves… Flappers openly rejected prohibition laws. They hung out in jazz clubs and speakeasies; they drank, they smoked, snorted cocaine (as it was legal at the time) and a good number of them had probably already attended a petting party. It was the first time since the French Revolution where women were defining their ideal of ‘sexy’, and that definition factored in comfort.
The 50’s: Lana, Marilyn, and the Notorious Bettie Paige
Lana Turner was known as the “Sweater Girl” because of her famous cone-shaped brassieres.
December 1953: Marilyn Monroe appears on the first issue of Playboy Magazine. It was the first time in magazine history that a model would appear nude.
Known as the “Queen of Bondage”, Bettie Paige began her notorious career when photographer Irving Klaw, who specialized in S&M photography, took her under his wing. Bettie’s often sadomasochistic poses were sold on a lucrative subscription basis in which customers made specific requests as to the scenes taking place in the pictures.
The 60s: Return of the Androgen
In the 1960s the young, free, androgynous figure of the 1920s came back in full force. The Women’s Lib Movement was also a predominant part of the 60’s. During the famous 1968 protest of the Miss America contest women were tossing their bras, girdles, nylons and other articles of constricting clothing into the trash can. There is some debate as to whether or not they actually burned their bras though.
The 70’s: A New Kind of Sexy
Pam Grier a.k.a. “the baddest one-chick hit-squad that ever hit town!” helped change white America’s ideas of sex appeal to include Black women as well. She was a staple of early 1970s Blaxploitation movies, always playing bold, assertive roles and looking damn fine with a gun in her hand.
The 80’s: T’was The Worst of Fashion Times…
I would elaborate, if I could only find the words.
Sexy Fashion Today
The Skong
The roots of fashion revisited, “the skong” (i.e. skirt/thong) is the newest thong trend, inspired by the loincloth
Conclusion
Today’s sexy fashions tend to encompass a blend of all the sexy styles through time. Walk into any lingerie store or sex shop and you will be surrounded by fashions which poke fun at traditional beliefs and ideals. As our views about clothing, sex and sexuality are in constant evolution and change, it will be interesting to see what revolutionary fashions will come next.
