Why lingerie?

[TxRad]

Gilding the Lilly. Lingerie, not Sean's flannel.

 

[HeyAll]

1) If a woman is willing to wear it, it says a lot about her mood.

2) It can be seen as an enhancment of her figure.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Who was it who said, "Women dress to impress women, and undress to impress men"?

 

[ChloeTzang]

I wear flannel, blue jeans and work boots. Does that count?

Oh yeah, it's all contextual within the culture when you think about it. Display behavior is display behavior, but unlike every other species, we make our own displays rather than growing pink stripes on our fur or whatever so the underlying behavioral pattern is to display and attract. Cultural context determines how effective that display is. In Manhattan or London it might be a bespoke suit. Where I live it'd be flannel, blue jeans, boots and an F150 or Dodge Ram, depending. LOL. A suit would get you laughed at, but that's the cultural context. My dad now, he does the suit stuff really well, but he does the jeans and boots too. Now me, I love lingerie. It's fun.

All the genetic research on this is fascinating when you start reading. I've just blown a couple of hours on this.

 

[Seadog777]

Oh yeah, it's all contextual within the culture when you think about it. Display behavior is display behavior, but unlike every other species, we make our own displays rather than growing pink stripes on our fur or whatever so the underlying behavioral pattern is to display and attract. Cultural context determines how effective that display is. In Manhattan or London it might be a bespoke suit. Where I live it'd be flannel, blue jeans, boots and an F150 or Dodge Ram, depending. LOL. A suit would get you laughed at, but that's the cultural context. My dad now, he does the suit stuff really well, but he does the jeans and boots too. Now me, I love lingerie. It's fun.

All the genetic research on this is fascinating when you start reading. I've just blown a couple of hours on this.

LOL. I'm always dressed that way, since I'm on-call 24/7/365.

 

[HordHolm]

My tastes have changed over time. I used to love the whole lingerie thing but I find it something of a bore these days - but with an important qualification; once my wife is in the bedroom it's a distraction and I prefer to cut straight to the nudity, but out there on the street, on the metro or on the tram in the morning, well-dressed women go straight to my brain's PGF2a receptor (thank you, Chloe) and if that includes a breeze wafting some fabric in the right direction to reveal a stocking top then that makes my day. I've pondered this and come to the conclusion that (in my case) it's about the signalling of availability discussed upthread. Of course, I'm not suggesting that a woman in this situation is signalling her availability to me, but there's a good chance that she's signalling her availability to some lucky bleeder out there. I hope he appreciates it.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Those silly strings are meant to obscure body imperfections. If you have a pair of perfect breasts, you don't need accessories to lift them or make them stand out. If you have perfect hips, you don't need thongs to emphasize their contours, and so on...

But your definition of perfection isn't mine.

It's never wise to dismiss the things that arouse others - the implication is that you think your erotic sensibility is the only one with validity, and I'll call that out as narcissistic bullshit, right now.

Sure, you write to your own erotic sensibility, but don't dismiss mine. I adore lingerie, and my readers don't mind it at all.

 

[Handley_Page]

Your PGF2α receptor is now hard at work if you're a male.....

View attachment 2192591

This might work if you're not retired. . . .

 

[Demiurging]

I would point to Alfred Hitchcock's "Bomb under the dinner table" speech.

As for myself, total nudity too often feels almost medical to me, rather than sensual. Like looking at the photos from a patient's record couldn't be less sexy, much less than a paper gown.

 

[TxRad]

Try going to a true nudist resort if you want to see people with imperfections who could care less. Being you in your natural body is a state of mind.

 

[TxRad]

They may not be excited by it but they still dress sexy and revealing. I've been around nudists most of my life and I still find them fascinating.

 

[colddiesel]

I'm so ancient that I remember when women wore suspender belts for their nylons (stockings). Younger girls tended to call them 'roll ons' The best thing about them was that taking them off was a pretty un-equivocal message that even dummies like the younger me understood.

I did not have much grasp of English until I had been at school a few years and when I was eight or nine I asked, in complete innocence, my otherwise all female family, "what are these roll on things." Whatever, it earned me boxed ears from both elder sisters and mum. Later I learned to appreciate whatever came into view and not ask too many questions.

 

[TxRad]

Ah yes, garter belts. Not only the stockings but what they framed so nicely. Also whether the panties were over or under the belt told a lot.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm a big fan of high heels. High heels and pearls, and nothing else, are a great combination. Or add just sheer black thigh high stockings.

I like the extra dimension that lingerie gives. I'm drawn to contrast and complexity, teasing, and the unexpected. The promise of nudity can be every bit as erotic as the nudity itself. Or when you add something to the nudity, it gives it a fun, unexpected twist.

 

[firmbutgentle]

Yes, men are Visual creatures, factory setting, so to speak. That doesn’t explain the fascination of g-strings, negligées and such. Why isn’t nude tops?

Well lots of things are better with an adornment or a garnish, from holiday trees to a latte. Men do this with clothing as well (else, why ties?). There’s also more allure when there’s something to take off.

For me, lingerie is also a reminder for her that whatever else we’re doing, she’s sexually available and dressed for me. That doesn’t need to be extreme/BDSM gear, just the knowledge that her ass is bare under her jeans because she’s wearing a thong I picked out for her.

 

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

I'm so ancient that I remember when women wore suspender belts for their nylons (stockings). Younger girls tended to call them 'roll ons' The best thing about them was that taking them off was a pretty un-equivocal message that even dummies like the younger me understood.

I did not have much grasp of English until I had been at school a few years and when I was eight or nine I asked, in complete innocence, my otherwise all female family, "what are these roll on things." Whatever, it earned me boxed ears from both elder sisters and mum. Later I learned to appreciate whatever came into view and not ask too many questions.

Let’s see if I can provide some geezer perspective, along the lines of what colddiesel posted. In the U.S., before the mid-fifties, a man’s opportunity to see a woman’s undraped skin might have been limited to the marriage bed or a burlesque show (which often was limited by blue laws). In day-to-day life, he might get (as immortalized in song) a glimpse of stocking, and this might have established this man’s excitement level (even with the legs of Betty Grable, among others, freely revealed).

Then, again in the U.S. (and maybe elsewhere),‘men’s’ magazines showed bared female breasts, and butts. I suggest that this created an age-group divide between guys who salivated at the sight of a stocking top, and those who yearned for female nudity. There might have been yet another divide once the magazines went full-frontal.

This may be why I’m more amped by nudity than lingerie. In my past, if a partner liked lingerie, I didn’t object. I made it clear to her, however, that my attraction to her wasn’t affected by the lingerie. By the time our encounter had reached that stage, we were thinking more about having fun together, and avoiding impediments to the fun.

 

[Cindy027]

So you read all this bullshit about women not dressing to attract men and the like, but at its heart, it's designed to visually appeal to the male of the species and incentivize him to get it up, get it on, and make babies!!!!! And THAT is deep-rooted in our genes.

Not all of us Most of my nice lingerie is worn where it will never be seen, work. Depending what I am wearing will decide my underwear choices, its all about eliminating vpl. Under jeans I have freedom of choice. I am less concerned with my bras and sometimes I will wear a white collared shirt with a white crochet lace longline bra underneath that is very slightly visible in the right light. None of this is done for the attention of men, I promise, although I do work with a bunch of primates (traders) so it can be difficult.

 

[Emotional]

Why do people put nice rims on a car?

Why do people decorate the Christmas tree?

Why plant flowers and keep a well manicured lawn around your house?

Because if you have something nice, you like to dress it up and make it even nicer. Everyone loves to show off what they have, and enjoy the positive reactions they receive for their efforts.

 

[Athalia]

A piece of art might be dazzling in itself, but the right frame can elevate it. I think of lingerie as a frame. And that's not to objectify women; it's to point out that a woman appearing in lingerie is seeking visual impact, just as an artist is.

Plus, putting that shit on takes time and effort. That's time and effort a lover can appreciate a woman spending. Lastly, I know that many women in lingerie feel like men when they put on a proper suit: it makes you carry yourself differently, more confidently.

1) If a woman is willing to wear it, it says a lot about her mood.

2) It can be seen as an enhancment of her figure.

These two posts come closest to what I would have said. Lingerie selection says a lot about what parts of a woman she wants to emphasize and show off, and how she wants to display it. Most of my date-bait stuff, or "gift-wrap" as one partner put it, has been selected with great care.. a difference in a half an inch in where the top of front panel is in a pair of panties, the degree of sheerness in a bra, a particular shade of red or blue, are all factors in whether I buy that particular article or wear it at that particular time. And it's not just for how men react. If I want to feel good about myself, a well-chosen set of undergarments helps a lot.

 

[lovecraft68]

What I'm about to say is a bit controversial, but that's what I'm here for.
I am completely blind to lingerie (as well as any extracorporeal appendages such as jewelry and tattoos). Those silly strings are meant to obscure body imperfections. If you have a pair of perfect breasts, you don't need accessories to lift them or make them stand out. If you have perfect hips, you don't need thongs to emphasize their contours, and so on...
I'm not judging, I can understand where it's coming from, but as someone who has a sharp discernment when I come across those things, it's hard not to feel pity. The visual stimulus may be relevant for the beginning of seduction, but from the moment we are “into it” no additions will help. If there is no intimacy, closeness, and real attraction—nothing will help.
Lingerie is somehow tolerable, but high heels by no means! There is nothing more ridiculous and strange to me than this madness. If an alien were to watch women walking on crutches for no reason other than to stick out their butt, he would burst out laughing. Any woman who imposes this torture on herself is not a real woman as far as I'm concerned.

Women wear lingerie to cover up imperfections.
Say you're a sexist without saying you're a sexist.
Credit where its due, you type a lot of words with those hooves.
Here's a clue there, Scoob, being an asshole isn't controversial, its being an asshole.

 

[DanDraper]

I've had the same thoughts about lingerie too. I love seeing a woman in sexy underwear but I know its only temporary before the underwear is taken off and we get down to business. I think it has to do with teasing ritual of sex. They're garments that covers up what you want to see, but the design of them makes the man more excited about what it's covering up. It's all to make the man want the woman a lot more. What we really want is to see the woman naked, but the lingerie makes the idea of seeing them naked and wanting to have sex with them a lot more alluring.

And it's not just for men, women love wearing it also. Many women feel sexy wearing it for themselves and some say it gives them more confidence. Also, many women like to wear it for their men. Yhey like to tease men with it and like that it makes them desirable to them.



.....

 

[KelvinBlack]

Lingerie for me every time...

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Lingerie selection says a lot about what parts of a woman she wants to emphasize and show off, and how she wants to display it. Most of my date-bait stuff, or "gift-wrap" as one partner put it, has been selected with great care.. a difference in a half an inch in where the top of front panel is in a pair of panties, the degree of sheerness in a bra, a particular shade of red or blue, are all factors in whether I buy that particular article or wear it at that particular time. And it's not just for how men react. If I want to feel good about myself, a well-chosen set of undergarments helps a lot.

Meanwhile, men: “Let’s see. I shaved yesterday… Oh, jeez! I wonder if I have to wear a tie?”

 

[Duleigh]

Is it that women wearing such feel sexier and that mood carries over? Mystery? Gift-wrapping? Is it that, by donning such, women are openly acknowledging their sexuality?

In chapter 11 of We're a Wonderful Wife Tam buys some lingerie to wear for her husband on a special occasion, but her husband is blind. There will be more discussion of it in Chapter 12, but Tam explains that although he can't see with his eyes, he can see with his fingers and the different textures are a big turn on to him, and his "looking her over" is quite exciting for her. She also says that it's a turn on for her getting dressed up for him in something that he loves and she likes that he never asks to do it with the lights on.

 

[Trionyx]

“Your PGF2α receptor is now hard at work if you're a male.....”

Heterosexual male, perhaps, Chloe. Which brings up a whole subset of questions: What sort of visual cues turn on gay men? Nudity? Partially clothed and if so, what clothing?