The Story of Lingerie: Modest to the Exotic!

Lingerie has come a long way from being a necessary evil to cover a woman's modesty to the super chic and high fashion. The grandma cotton-whites have given way to sexy satins and laces, with designers coming up with lingerie for women to suit every mood and occasion.

But do we really know about the evolution of women's underwear? It is as interesting as those shelves lined up with some of the most sensuous, colorful and imaginative lingerie designs.

• • Where it all started: Ancient Greeks have been credited with coming up with the prototype of a woman's undergarment to cover up one's breasts. And it happened over 3000 years ago. Yes, you heard it right! The Middle Ages saw the development of something similar to the modern bra with two distinct cloth cups held by a strap.

    Greeks are credited with the prototype of women underwear  

  • The Crazy Corsets: These were probably the most uncomfortable of the lot. Some were made of whale bones. These were designed to give the woman wearing it the shape of a pigeon. The pigeon form accentuated the breasts and made the posterior to protrude out.

    Early corsets were awfully uncomfortable  

• The Modern Bra: Mary Phelps Jacobs is credited with designing the modern bra when she sewed two handkerchiefs together with a ribbon. She soon patented her design. Although the fabric, accessories, cup-sizes etc have gone a sea-change, the design essentially remains the same.

  Mary Phelps Jacobs  

• Thing About Thongs: These everyday wear started off as a way to cover up exotic club dancers.

  Thongs can be both everyday wear and exotic  

• G-Strings: If you want to feel sexy, a G-String defines utter sexiness.

  G-strings  

• Iconic Bras: The bullet bra worn by Madonna in the 1990s was sensational. Brands like Victoria's Secret for decades now have come up with the sexiest bras, with every woman dying to own a pair.

  Madonna gave her cone-bra an iconic status  

• Bra Gets Sporty: These bras were nothing short of a milestone in the development of the modern bra. Sports Bra helped active women not to worry about spilling boobs in pursuit of their fitness goals.

  Bra gets sporty.  

• Bra Trivia: Isn't it funny that cup sizes were developed as late as the 1930s or red seems to be the color of choice for most women?

You just have to drop into your favorite lingerie store to get the perfect pair for yourself. With the mind-boggling designs on display, there's one made just for you!