National Underwear Day 2016

I’ve seen quite a few underwear brands and lingerie bloggers posting on social media today for National Underwear Day. Call me cynical, but my first thought was… when they say ‘national’ do they actually mean American?

I did a bit of digging and found out that this ‘national holiday’ was indeed from the US, started by New York based online underwear retailer Freshpair back in 2003. They ran an event every year on 5th August for a decade, but now it seems to have taken on a life of its own. Brands use it to promote their wares, newspapers use it as an excuse to print pictures of models or celebrities in their undies, and New Orleans is having a parade! Of course, it’s now reached the UK too – with The Sun sharing some underwear fashion advice and The Telegraph speaking to the curator of the V&A’s Undressed exhibition for a piece on underwear advertising – so I’ve placated my inner cynic and have decided to jump on the bandwagon too.

As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve written a fair few articles on underwear in the last five years, so here’s a list of my favourite pieces (from this site and others), just in case you want something to read to ‘celebrate’ National Underwear Day.

• How to Find Your Perfect Bra Size (Rarely Wears Lipstick)
• Mentioning the ‘Unmentionables’ (written for francescorner.com)
• A Brief History of the Bra (Rarely Wears Lipstick)
• ‘The Only Garment That Could Kill”: Corsets and the Great British Sewing Bee (written for [In]Tangible)
• How to Advertise Bras to Grown-Ups (Rarely Wears Lipstick)
• Fashion, Freedom and Feminism: How technology saved us from burning our bras (written for FWSA blog)
• 2014 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (Rarely Wears Lipstick)
• Fashion Theory: Researching the Liberty NuBack (Rarely Wears Lipstick)
• The Best Ethical Lingerie Collections (written for MsWanda’s Wardrobe)
• How Do You Make Lingerie? (Rarely Wears Lipstick)
• Review: Bra Fitting at Bravissimo (written for BitchBuzz.com)

Image of lipsticklori wearing a Bravissimo ‘Alana’ set (teal colour now discontinued). Photography by Faby and Carlo London Boudoir Photography in 2011, when the service was reviewed for BitchBuzz.com