Even though we've been wearing underwear for as long as we've had clothes to wear over it, the forms they've taken vary depending on the periods. Today, as in the early 19th century, the essential function of underwear is to shape the female form for a better “look” in our clothing; however, there are many key differences. There are secondary differences in purposes, differences in how they support our breasts, vast changes in the area of ​​"underpants" and finally, differences in how we perceive the subject in general. In the early 1800s, underwear was worn to help keep outer clothing clean before machine washing and regular bathing. The layer closest to the body would be a plain white petticoat that could withstand regular washing. (“Petticoat” 37) Hand washing often involved boiling clothes as well as applying harsh laundry soaps, so the clothes washed most regularly had to be simple and of fairly sturdy material. (Harrison 11) One only needs to look at the nearest mall to see that underwear is now far from simple and is designed and worn for sex appeal. Your typical American mall has a sizable lingerie store like Victoria's Secret and/or Frederick's of Hollywood where you can see on a poster the frilly, lacy, colorful underwear worn by a perfectly smooth, fat-free woman nor imperfection. A quick internet search for advertising campaigns from either store will yield the same results. The subtext of these advertisements is that the consumer will look as sexy as the woman in the photo if they buy the underwear. The fame of these two companies lies in their sexy and high-quality bras and panties. The only form of upper body support...... middle of paper ......this Library. Internet. February 20, 2014. Gau, Colleen. "Bra." Encyclopedia of clothing and fashion. Ed. Valerie Steele. Flight. 1. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 188-192. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Internet. February 21, 2014. Harrison, Rosina. Rose: My life in the service of Lady Astor. London: Penguin Books, 1975. Print.Rogers, Abby and Aimee Groth. “13 brands that use sex to sell their products.” Business internal. Business Insider, Inc., 2014. Web. February 27, 2014. .Sanborn, Vic. “Dames Underdrawers in Regency Times.” The world of Jane Austen. WordPress, November 6, 2010. Web. February 27, 2014. Steele, Valérie and Colleen Gau. "Corset." Encyclopedia of clothing and fashion. Ed. Valerie Steele. Flight. 1. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 290-292. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Internet. February 20. 2014.