Finally get to work on my blog after taking some time for a festive season break, decided to post this on the last day of 2020 to mark my ongoing effort of keeping my blog alive. Anyway, going into Part Six of Portrait of a Lady, we are going to look at slip and half-slip. Technically speaking, slip and half-slip are internal wear and people generally do not see if as they are worn under normal clothes such as dress or skirts. However, I still considered them essential for a lady as they served multi purpose which we will look at in this post.
A slip is a woman's undergarment worn beneath a dress or skirt. There are two types of slips, the full slip and the half slip. A full slip hangs from the shoulders, usually by means of narrow straps, and extends from the breast to the fashionable skirt length. A half slip (or waist slip) hangs from the waist. The word "petticoat" may also be used for half or full slips.
Slips serve various functions. They help a dress or skirt hang properly. They protect the skin from chafing against coarse fabrics such as wool; conversely, if the outer garment is made of fine fabric, a slip protects it from perspiration. A slip may be worn for warmth, especially if the dress or skirt is lightweight and thin, whereas in very warm and/or humid climates, a slip made from 100% cotton may be desired. Slips are often worn to prevent the show through of intimate undergarments such as panties or a brassiere. A slip may also be used to prevent a silhouette of the legs showing through clothing when standing in front of a bright light source. Slip or half-slip is generally used as an internal wear to protect the modesty of a lady, which I think it is important for any decent lady.
Slips fall into two major categories. A full slip is hung from the shoulders by straps that extend down to the top of the breast area. Full slips come in a variety of lengths; some extend down to the upper thigh, some to just above the knees, or just below the knees, while others go down to just above the ankles. The other type is known as a waist slip, sometimes referred to as a "half slip", is held on to the body around the waist by means of an elastic waistband. The waist slip is also available in the same lengths as the aforementioned full slip. Waist slips that extend down to just above the ankle are often called "formal", or "maxi" slips. "Mini slips" are yet another size option for waist slips. They were first introduced in the 1960s to wear under a mini skirt. American Maid manufactured waist slips that had vents and a rear zipper in addition to the elastic waistband. These slips were made of 50% nylon and 50% dacron polyester. As an alternative to the full slip, a waist slip with a matching camisole can be worn. Depending on the length of skirts or dresses that you are wearing, you should choose a slip or half slip of appropriate length that is not too long or too short. The slip should offer enough protection from unintentional exposure and also protect the modesty of a lady.
There is also a type of "slip" designed to be worn under pants known as "pettipants". In addition to pants, a pettipant may also be worn under a dress or skirt, and like slips, they are mainly made of nylon. Slip or half slip can prevent visible panty lines (or VPL for short). Before thongs or boyleg briefs became popular, a lot of women wore half-slips to avoid VPL. With more modern choices now available, half-slips have significantly decreased in popularity, though. However, they do still work in some scenarios, like when you’re wearing a skirt with a thin material. In this case, you want extra coverage with no VPL, so the half-slip is your answer. You can get them in silk or other luxurious fabrics if you don’t want to feel frumpy or dowdy about wearing a half-slip under your clothes.
Many slips have floral lace at the hem and/or the "vents" or "sideslits". Some of the older slips have decorations, such as a butterfly or flowers sewn into the fabric of the slip, and a pillowtab was also added to the waistband of a waist slip. The vast majority of slips are made of 100% nylon, while others are made from polyester, rayon, acetate, silk or in some cases cotton. Nylon slips are often shiny in appearance, and are very smooth to the touch, while polyester slips can even be more shiny with a real slippery feel, especially charmeuse or "satin" slips. Although charmeuse slips have very attractive eye appeal, they are not as durable as nylon slips, and often tear very easily, especially when wet.
Most of the slips made today are very plain, and are lacking in detail. Intricate decorations and lace designs are almost completely absent from modern day slips. Slips are not worn nearly as much as a few decades ago. Most transparent skirts and dresses now come with a lining, thus rendering slips redundant. Since the late 20th century, dresses closely based on slips have become very popular.
With change in times, some slip and half-slip also changed their design and use of different material to incorporate some form of shapewear function to help shape the body of a woman while still providing the function that it was suppose to do, which is to offer some form of modesty and also protection of skin while helping the dress and skirt to hang loose.
