Wearing underwear as outerwear is a

fashion trend History of fashion design refers specifically to the development of the purpose and intention behind garments, shoes an accessories, and their design and construction. The modern industry, based around firms or fashion houses run by individual de ...

popularized by celebrities, sports and media. It began as a practical and comfortable variation of clothing, such as the

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

and the

sleeveless shirt A sleeveless shirt is a shirt that is manufactured without sleeves or whose sleeves have been cut off. Depending on the style, they can be worn as undershirts, by athletes in sports such as track and field and triathlon, or as casual wear by bot ...

, but would later become fashion statements that would be controversial and accused of being provocative. 21st century versions include the display of

thong The thong is a garment generally used as either underwear or in some countries, as a swimsuit. It may also be worn for traditional ceremonies or competitions. Viewed from the front, the thong typically resembles a bikini bottom, but at the ...

s and

bra A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, or ; ), is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover breasts. It can serve a range of other practical and aesthetic purposes, including enhancing or reducing the appea ...

s in women's clothing, and the display of

underpants Underpants are underwear worn on the lower body. In British English the term is often shortened to pants and refers to men’s clothing only. Types of underpants Long underpants Long underpants are the bottom half of a style of two-piece unde ...

under low-slung pants in men. Wearing underwear as outerwear has historical antecedents in the display of undergarments in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

History

It is unclear when this officially began as a fashion trend, however, Chanel unveiled womenswear made from

jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

in the 1920s, a fabric that was usually used for

undergarment Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear 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 garments from being soiled o ...

s. Notoriously, another notable edition was the invention of the

, which became popular outerwear after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Short-sleeve shirts were originally intended to be a comfortable alternative to Victorian undergarments but teenagers began to wear them as outerwear, due in part to James Dean and Marlon Brando's characters frequently wearing them this way in the movies ''

Rebel Without a Cause ''Rebel Without a Cause'' is a 1955 American coming-of-age drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Filmed in the then recently introduced CinemaScope format and directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social com ...

'' and the ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pers ...

'' respectively. Swimwear, such as the

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coverin ...

, have a history in originally being used as underwear pre-

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

, and

slip dress A slip dress is a woman's dress that closely resembles an underslip or petticoat. It is traditionally cut on the bias, with spaghetti straps. The slip dress looked like an undergarment, but was intended to be seen, and through the use of lace a ...

es were first widely worn in the 1990s, made from layered chiffon, polyester

satin A satin weave is a type of fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves alongside plain weave ...

s and

charmeuse Charmeuse (), from the French word for female charmer, is a lightweight fabric woven with a satin weave, in which the warp threads cross over four or more of the backing (weft) threads. These float threads give the front of the fabric a smooth, ...

, and often trimmed with lace. In entertainment, underwear-like outfits are often the uniform for

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

s and

circus performer A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

s; former

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

editor

Julius Schwartz Julius "Julie" Schwartz (; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a comic book editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various ...

revealed that this was the reason why superheroes like Superman wore briefs on top of their tights. Madonna has been credited for making

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fash ...

a popular outfit for female music artists on stage (e.g. Beyonce,

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, Britney Spears, Katy Perry) when

Jean-Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an " enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corset ...

designed corsets ("an emblematic symbol of fashion in the early 90s"), a cone bra and

girdle A belt, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle if it is worn as part of Christian liturgical vestments, or in certain historical, literary or sports contexts. Girdles are used to close a cassock in Christian denominations, including th ...

for her

Blonde Ambition Tour The Blond Ambition World Tour (billed as Blond Ambition World Tour 90) was the third concert tour by American singer Madonna. It supported her fourth studio album '' Like a Prayer'' (1989), and the soundtrack album to the 1990 film '' Dick Tra ...

costumes. Coloured and decorative nipple

pasties Pasties (singular pasty or pastie) are patches that cover a person's nipples and areolae, typically self-adhesive or affixed with adhesive. They originated as part of burlesque shows, providing a commercial form of bare-breasted entertainment. T ...

have been worn by

Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014. Delevingne sta ...

Bella Hadid Isabella Khairiah Hadid (born October 9, 1996) is an American model. In 2016, she was voted "Model of the Year" by industry professionals for Models.com. Over the span of four years, Hadid has made twenty-seven appearances on international '' ...

and

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat ( ), is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song ...

as part of fashion outfits. For men, sagging is often credited to have began from rap and hip hop artists in the 1990s, as well as skateboarders. The

sexual liberation The sexual revolution, also known as the sexual liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the United States and the developed world from the ...

movement of 1968 began the re-appropriation of the corset as a symbol of rebellion and "sexual perversity" by young women associated with London’s

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

Goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

subcultures. This re-appropriation allowed a symbol historically associated with female oppression, to become reconceived as a symbol of sexual empowerment in fashion. Outside of underwear fetishism, the corset made an appearance in evening gowns and wedding dresses.

Sportswear

The T-shirt would eventually become a part of sportswear fashion with unique designs from many fashion brands.

Sports bra A sports bra is a bra that provides support to the breasts during physical exercise. Sturdier than typical bras, they minimize breast movement and alleviate discomfort. Many women wear sports bras to reduce pain and physical discomfort caused ...

s were first invented in 1975, and women have been wearing them under other clothing since then, but in 1999, Brandi Chastain scored the fifth kick in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

to give the United States the win over China in the final game of the

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final The final of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was an association football match that took place on July 10, 1999, to determine the winner of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. The host United States and China played to a scoreless draw following dou ...

, and she spontaneously whipped off her jersey in celebration, exposing her sports bra. Her act is regarded by some as a historical event that boosted the wearing sports bras on their own. From that point forward, sports bras have increasingly been worn as outerwear.

Cultural reception

Society often portrays the public in underwear as surrealist and comedic:

No Pants Day The No Pants Day is an annual event in various countries. It is held on the first Friday in May. It requires publicly wearing just undergarments on the lower part of the body. History A small campus club at University of Texas at Austin known ...

is an annual event held in various Western countries, where people publicly wear only underwear and leave their legs exposed. No Pants Subway Ride is a similar event to promote public wearing of underwear on subway trains. Another such event is Undie Run, where people run on the street wearing only their underwear. The popularity of low-rise pants in the 21st century led to the unintentional trend of the " whale tail" among young women who aspired to wear something "rump-flattering", whereas sagging among young men and teenage boys became extremely controversial to the point of American towns demanding that it should be banned for indecency. However, the whale tail trend ended by the end of the 2000s and led to a rise in high-waisted clothing. Menswear never experienced a similar fashion turnaround, and men who wore high-waisted were ridiculed for wearing "

Dad jeans Mom jeans is an informal term for high-waisted women's jeans that were first fashionable in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the late 1990s and 2000s they were mainly worn by adult American women and considered "old" by younger women. Hig ...

". Underwear companies took note on men's preference of wearing their trousers at the hips because low-rise pants sat lower than underwear and caused non-sagging men to expose their underpants

waistband A waistband is a strip of material that is either elastic or some other confining fabric that encircles the waist, usually as a component of clothing such as skirts, trousers, shorts, swimsuits, and undergarments. A waistband can be a complete un ...

, so they exploited it through designing waistbands with bright colors and larger logos. Calvin Klein Underwear chief creative designer Bob Mazzoli explained in 2009, "Instead of a functional component, the waistband is a marketing platform and a canvas for real design ..Seeing somebody with jeans that fall just below the waist to the point where the underwear shows is part of our cultural vernacular ndit's something we consider in the design process." 2(x)ist's creative director Jason Scarlatti added: "It’s bragging rights for the customer. It says, ‘I paid good money for this.’" Jockey underwear, credited as one of the first underwear brands to print its logo on waistbands, unveiled an advertizing campaign in 2013 that featured models holding up their shirts to show the Jockey waistband exposed above their jeans and shorts.

References

External links

* {{cite web, url=http://threadforthought.net/2009/09/01/innerwear-as-outerwear-pt-1/, title=Innerwear as Outerwear, author=Tove Hermanson, date=September 1, 2009, publisher=Thread for Thought blog, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090928072118/http://threadforthought.net/2009/09/01/innerwear-as-outerwear-pt-1/, archive-date=28 September 2009, url-status=dead 1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion History of clothing (Western fashion) *

History

Sportswear

Cultural reception

See also

References

External links