For this week’s #LIFE I’m modelling a black lace underwear set & pondering past takes on what was sexy

The lace  of this bralet is so sheer, I needed to use gaffer tape to disguise my nipples, which (oddly) made me think of the flapper style of the 1920/30s. In that era my figure would not have been in fashion, although my bobbed hair would. Back then, the girls with flat chests were a la mode. Long strings of jet and pearl beads hung better against a flat chest.

The fashionable lingerie at this time was very flimsy, like this pretty lace set. Part of their rebellion was to eschew the tight and constricting corsets and bodices women had been trussed up in and hampered by up til then.

Ladies wore silk stockings, but instead of them being held up by garters, they rolled them down to dance and rouged their knees. This was considered racy! For the first time skirts were short enough to show girls’ knees when they were dancing.

Like the song “All That Jazz” suggests, “I’m going to rouge my knees and roll my stockings down”.

Why a rosy knee would be sexy escapes me! It was more a statement of “look at me!” Make-up was often to make women look post orgasmic (a rosy glow to the cheeks: blusher, lips stained red: lipstick) so this trend leaves me puzzled. Other (scandalous) sexy trends in history have been the rouging of nipples, and soaking white muslin dresses so that breasts were visible through the opaque fabric.

One of my favourite features of the lace knickers I’m modelling is the lace-up feature at their front. A fine black ribbon is threaded from one side to the other and can be used to loosen or tighten the front of the garment. I love how it teases! Also because it reminds me of a tightly laced bodice, it makes me feel sexy.

Check out what others are sharing in Violet’s fun, inclusive meme #LIFE