Lingerie Terminology

The term lingerie comes from the old French word "linge" which means linen. The term lingerie came into the English vocabulary as a euphemism for scandalous clothing unbecoming of a lady.

Well things have come a long way from linen to the amazing, sexy and cute lingerie for the lady of the 21st century! But we believe that part of the excitement and sex appeal of lingerie is the flirting with impropriety.

A corset is a garment worn to mold and shape the torso into a desired shape. The most common and well known use of corsets is to slim the body and make it conform to a fashionable silhouette. For women this means emphasizing a curvy figure, by reducing the waist, and thereby exaggerating the bust and hips. The word corset is derived from the old french word "cors", the diminutive of body, which itself derives from corpus, Latin for body. The word corset came into general use in the English language in 1785 and remains.

There are basically two types of modern corsets. An overbust corset encloses the torso, extending from just under the arms to the hips. An underbust corset begins just under the breasts and extends down to the hips. Some corsets extend over the hips. A shorter kind of corset, which covers the waist area is called a waist cincher. A corset may also include garters to hold up stockings or alternatively a separate garter belt may be worn for that.

So what is the difference between a bustier and a corset? Well a bustier is shorter than a corset and does not attempt to shape the waist at all. Remember a bustier is designed to shape the bust. That's pretty much it. But the corset is more about the hips and waist. Another way to make sense of it is to remember that a bustier shows off the tummy and the corset hides it.

A bustier is a style of lingerie, which is form fitting and whose primary purpose is to show off the bust. True bustiers consist of bra cups and a panel which reaches down to the bottom of the ribs. The basic function of the bustier is to tighten up around the midriff and push the breasts together and upward thus emphasizing the breasts (cleavage).

A chemise is a knee length (or sometimes shorter), loose fitting, sleeveless undergarment which resembles a slip with a camisole top. Many nightgowns look just like a chemise. Our chemises are very sheer and see through allowing you to match with any of our bra and panty sets.

Camisoles are light loose fitting sleeveless tops typically made with soft cotton, delicate lace trim around the chest and held up by thin spaghetti straps. Always shorter than a chemise, the camisole typically rests on the hips but may show off the tummy too. Nowadays the camisole is a staple of any girl's fashion and may even be worn as outerwear. Our camisoles are beautiful and feminine with a lot of class!

A baby doll is a short night gown that extends to the mid thigh. The name comes from the style of very short dress on children's dolls. It is usually constructed of soft satin or silk and worn as sleepwear, but she can wear it anytime she's feeling girly. Our sexy baby dolls are the perfect compliment to a matching bra and panty set. We have sheer and semi-sheer baby dolls in reds, whites and black.

A Teddy is lingerie which combines both a camisole top and a panty into a single piece. A teddy can have many variations but most are made of light, delicate fabrics that fit smoothly and comfortably over the torso. Our sexy teddies will emphasize your beautiful silhouette and show off your curves!

A garter belt in its simplest form is a fancy little strip of fabric which fits around the waist and whose sole purpose is to hold the wearer's loose stockings in place. Nowadays garters adorn many styles of lingerie including corsets, teddies and garter belts. Garters might be a bit old fashioned, but we still think they're super sexy.