1000 Dessous
Book Review
This beautiful little doorstop of a book is like a "Best Of" for lingerie
buffs. There are thousands of photos and illustrations depicting scandalous
scanties, curvaceous corsets, naughty nylons and bust-boosting bras. It's
not exactly a history, as the title implies, but more of a visual compendium.
You wouldn't be able to use this as a research source for a thesis on undergarments,
but you'd have a blast selecting shots to use as clip art.
An introduction
by Gilles Néret explains why panties are like Venus Fly Traps, with,
as you might expect, loads of "Oui-oui, Frenchie" references. He presents
Lingerie Through the Ages, in Film, in Advertising and Eroticism, but the
delineations are unnecessary. The "bottom" line is that, in the words of Montaigne,
"There are things best displayed by concealment." Absolutement! Every page
is sexy as hell, even when it's a line drawing of a woman's corseted rib cage.
There's Liza Minelli in Cabaret, stills of Madonna in assorted video costumes,
Wonder Woman's glittering superheroine garb, Victorian nudes and Betty Page
pin-ups. There are silky ribbons, stretchy stockings, delicate garter belts
and shape-shifting girdles. There are also plenty of fetishy pictures, many
of which were lifted directly from other Taschen offerings. Photographers
Elmer Batters, Eric Kroll and Robert Chouraqui make expected appearances,
along with Hustler, Playboy and Penthouse. Victoria's Secret and Frederick's
of Hollywood, however, are conspicuously absent.
1000 Dessous
makes me happy. It makes me giggle. It makes me want to shop! It makes me
want to slather it with sickly-sweet frosting and eat it like a tasty piece
of cake! And if you're an underwear afficionado, it'll make you wish you could
be magically transformed into a tiny Lilliputian and spend the rest of your
days rolling around in lingerie drawers! I just wish the pages were bigger!
1000 Dessous: A History of Lingerie
by Gilles Néret, from Taschen
ISBN 3-8228-7629-1
www.taschen.com
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