The word lingerie is derived from a French word for linen. That's hard to fathom nowadays with so many fabrics available in lingerie production (as a premier provider of wholesale lingerie, Carnival has always used the best quality fabrics to produce the best in our wholesale lingerie line). Whether sheer, transparent or opaque, lingerie appeals to an eye for fashion. Sensual and sexy or practical and functional, lingerie is a world of possibilities in comfort and contour. It has become a feel in fashion too that can be lacy, satiny, dainty and divine. Practicality still exists for support and purpose with durability and elasticity of fiber and fabric considered. Although defined simply as "women's underwear", lingerie connotes much more in feminine fashion today. It's a look, a feel, and a fashion.

Lingerie is the very foundation of modern fashion. It's difficult to imagine women getting properly dressed without underwear or foundation garments like bras, panties or even corsets; yet, historically, lingerie is pretty new. Ancient civilizations wore clothing but not necessarily anything beneath their costumes. Think of togas, kilts and loincloths; early dress provided outer coverage but lacked undersupport.Only the past few centuries reflect the total concept of modern dress which begins with lingerie.

Perhaps a fig leaf can be called the earliest lingerie, but we have never offered the fig leaf in our wholesale lingerie line :). Well, maybe not that early, but ancient Greeks and Romans realized the need for material coverage and athletic support. Young women bound their breasts with a single, tied strip of cloth when competing in sports. These were the forerunners of the brassiere and remained simple binding devices for centuries even when they were later worn under garments. As one-piece breast supporters they were often constricting and uncomfortable. Through the ages such underwear was influenced by culture and fashion.The Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Victorian, Puritanical – whatever era, affected exposure or constraint of the female form but realized the need for functional design. Brassiere is French for bodice, and a bodice could be an entire vest-like undergarment. The modern brassiere evolved in the Twentieth Century with the concept of separate cup construction in the 1920's; use of padding, elastic, and adjustable straps in the 1930's when coeds began calling them bras ;requiring comfort and durability for industrial-working women in the 1940's; needing more maternity and nursing bras in the 1950's; minimizing design in the Counter-cultural 1960's; exploding with variety and flexibility in size, color, fabric and design from the 1970's into this Twenty-first Century. Lingerie is an intrinsic part of fashion and Carnival wholesale lingerie has been a leader in the field.