An undress code is a social norm which sets an upper limit on the amount of

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

that can or should be worn. Promoters of the entertainment industry, including sport, attempt to "sex-up" the entertainment by under-dressing the entertainers or sportspeople. For example, in 1999, the

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...

regulatory body, the

International Volleyball Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, set a limit on the amount of clothing allowed for the athletes to wear during competition. The women's uniform comprises a bikini with a width limit on the bottoms of on the sides, which has led to some controversy, and in 2012 these limits were relaxed. In July 2021, a beach handball team was fined because its women members wore shorts instead of bikini bottoms in a match, which requires no more than 10cm of their butts to be covered. Similarly, organisers of some

swimsuit competition A swimsuit competition, more commonly now called a bikini contest, is a beauty contest which is judged and ranked while contestants wear a swimsuit, typically a bikini. One of the judging criteria is the physical attractiveness of the contestants. ...

s set a low maximum threshold for swimwear for contestants. Some restaurants, sometimes called

breastaurant A breastaurant is a restaurant that requires female waiting staff to be skimpily-dressed. The term dates from the early 1990s, after restaurant chain Hooters opened in the United States. The format has since been adopted by other restaurants, in ...

s, require female

waiting staff Waiting staff (British English), waitstaff (North American English), waiters (male) / waitresses (female), or servers (North American English), are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attendin ...

to be skimpily-dressed. The social norm in some countries is to wear considerably less or briefer clothing than in others.The undress code that’s the height of teen fashion
From The Times August 26, 2006. Fashions since the mid-20th century has been towards briefer, more

form-fitting A form-fitting garment is an article of clothing that tightly follows the contours of the part of the body being covered. A feature of Western societies is the popularity of form-fitting clothing worn by women, compared to equivalent male garment ...

styles, as well as thinner and sheer materials. In some cultures, including some in Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia/Oceania, traditional dress consists of less clothing than those of the West. Some religious traditions or rituals require the members to be nude, as was the case with the ancient Indian

gymnosophists Gymnosophists ( grc, γυμνοσοφισταί, ''gymnosophistaí'', i.e. "naked philosophers" or "naked wise men" (from Greek γυμνός ''gymnós'' "naked" and σοφία ''sophía'' "wisdom")) is the name given by the Greeks to certain anc ...

or the Christian sect of the

Adamites The Adamites, or Adamians, were adherents of an Early Christian group in North Africa in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th centuries. They wore no clothing during their religious services. There were later reports of similar sects in Central Europe during ...

(the custom is still practised by

ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

s of certain

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...

, as in

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

). (See also

Christian naturism Christian naturism is the practise of naturism or nudism by Christians. Naturism is a lifestyle of non-sexual social nudity; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. It is not certain that Chri ...

.) Laws in many countries require a person to undress in some circumstances when requested by a customs or police officer in a

strip search A strip search is a practice of searching a person for weapons or other contraband suspected of being hidden on their body or inside their clothing, and not found by performing a frisk search, but by requiring the person to remove some or al ...

References

{{Clothing Nudity Dress codes Casual wear