Pink Silk Camisole
Many years ago I was told about a young woman who, having no money for a party frock, decided to wear a nightdress to the party instead. It was summer time and a short cotton nightdress was both practical and pretty. When and where did this happen? 1965 in Chichester in Southern England. A quiet and conservative cathedral city not noted for cutting edge design trends our outrageous exhibitionism.
Recently, there has been chatter about a growing trend to wear lingerie as outer garments and top designer Christina Dior has in the 2009 collection made much of combining corsets and bras with skirts. But as the example of the 1965 girl in the nightie shows, wearing your more intimate garments in public is not really a new trend, just a fashion statement that has found its time again.
Leading the way this time were corsets. As in recent years corsets became more beautiful the desire to show them off was quite frankly overwhelming. Twinned with a long satin or silk or velvet skirt a fully boned corset makes the best and most flattering of tops for a formal occasion or for the bride on her wedding day. But soon the corset broke out of the formal occasion and found itself partnered with casual wear... jeans and a corset...a great look for a summer night out. So perhaps this time the celebrities and great fashion houses are following a trend rather than setting it.
But what about other intimate garments, can the nightdress still be a dual purpose garment and what about other lingerie styles such as the camisole and the nightshirt - do they have a place in the outside world?
We think that the 1965 girl was not stupid in making the most use of her clothes. A cotton nightdress can still be a summer frock and a silk camisole, (such as this one http://www.ever-
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
