NYLON - March 2008 - (Page 122) THIS SPRING, UNDERWEARINSPIRED LOOKS COME OUT ON TOP. I SEE LONDON, I SEE FRANCE… BY MARISSA PATLINGRAO COOLEY. PHOTOGRAPHED BY GLYNIS SELINA ARBAN stylist: jenny ricker at the wall group. hair: travis speck at bumble and bumble. makeup: kristin gallegos at bryan bantry. model: alex p at ford. top and skirt by marc jacobs, bandeau top by 3.1 phillip lim, bikini bottom by agent provocateur, rings by broken english, bracelets by allison daniel, belt by chanel. opposite page: tank by raquel weiss, bra top by stella mccartney, slip by vena cava, vintage knee highs. Some day, just for fun, try Google-ing the terms “celebrity whale tail.” Not only do the resulting 140,000 some-odd hits turn up plenty of lurid shots of actresses, singers and socialites, they also succinctly illustrate just how unattractive exposed underwear can be—and how ubiquitous it is. So-called unmentionables are not only mentionable, they’re part of our visual culture, our water-cooler gossip, and our time-killing strategies while bored at work. In fact, thanks to the pervasiveness of visible skivvies, bra straps, lace trim, and even the occasional crotch-flash, there’s even a new lockerroom lexicon for trash-talking those who commit these fashion no-nos: “milk-and-cookies” (white top, black bra), “quadraboob” (when a bra is so tight it creates additional, not-hot cleavage), and, of course, the “whale tail” (a thong breeching over the back of a low-rise pant waist). And yet, despite how lowbrow these fauxpas come off—or even perhaps partly because of it— boudoir attire suddenly has a starring role. Contrary to the sage advice to keep your bra straps tucked away and your underwear out of sight, this spring, designers are doing exactly what mom always told you not to: Letting it all hang out. Marc Jacobs’ spring collection includes trousers, dresses, and skirts wittily emblazoned with trompe l’oeil underwear, and bralettes that brazenly peek out from beneath jackets and shifts. Negligees double as dresses in both Christian Dior’s and Nina Ricci’s spring lineups, a few of Derek Lam’s slinky dresses bear a striking resemblance to Hefner’s silk robes, and sheer voile pants and tops made appearances at Prada and Alessandro dell’Acqua’s runway shows, barely concealing breasts and belly-buttons, and putting boyshorts and bras on display. And though these looks are technically distant cousins of fashion blunders like the exposed thong and obvious, in-your-face panty lines, it’s safe to say that they don’t carry the same sort of stigma as, say, that cresting G-string that caused mom to screech, “You’re going out looking like that?” Lingerie has a universe of connotations in itself, with its own matrix of demure-to-pussycat and utilitarian-tosexy scales—even when it doesn’t leave the privacy of the bedroom. High-end loungewear lines from the likes of Kiki De Montparnasse, Agent Provocateur, and Coco de Mer, to name a few, have made items such as garters and cupless bras posh and frisky rather than slutty, and such luxurious stores have women who previously might never have set foot in a Frederick’s of
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