A garment worn by the lady to impress and arouse her partner and feel comfortable and sexy herself is a one-piece garment worn to cover both the crotch and the torso. Being sheerer and typically looser fitting it resembles and styled similarly to the more well known one-piece swimsuit and the lesser-known bodysuit at the time of hitting the markets in the 1920s.
This garment was called the teddy or cami-knickers but became better known all over the world and the fashion industry as Teddy Lingerie. Some of the Teddy Lingerie differed a bit from each other in styling as some would cover the arms and some not, some covered the whole torso and other only partially but they all had to be put on the same by stepping in the leg holes first and then pulling the rest of the garment up to cover the torso.
Going to “the ladies” wasn’t a major problem as the crotch was made to open so there was no need to remove any other clothing. As a part of the lingerie family and worn by many women who preferred not t have a visible panty line it is still considered an undergarment as it both functions as a combined camisole and panty, and also worn without an over the garment in the boudoir.
Although many women wore it during world war two and became very popular as trousers were worn by the woman that served in the military and not skirts as most auxiliary’s did, by the late 1940s this garment for no clear reason just lost all popularity but later reappeared with a slight difference as it now featured a bra top and attached slip which was now worn under short shift dresses and also replaced the half slip.
As the entire new look Teddy Lingerie garment that came back in the 1960s was similar to the original, the entire garment was now sized by the bra which now was often styled as an underwired bra top and though retained the name teddy was now also called a bra slip and because it still came in traditional lingerie colors it became very famous and liked by the younger, stylish and outgoing woman of the era.
A new version with brighter colors known as a leotard that went under brief reconstruction now combining the features of the bra and panties and made out of a new material called spandex when a new revival began in the late 1980s and early 1990,s and still retained the names teddy or bodysuit as was known before but later renamed a leotard as more and more women started wearing them as gym or exercise wear over spandex leggings.
