# Negligee

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{{short description|Sheer or heavily trimmed woman's nightgown or dressing gown}}
thumb|A ''négligée'' on a mannequin.
The '''negligee''' or '''''négligée''''' ({{langx|fr|négligé}} {{IPA|fr|negliʒe|}}; {{literal translation|neglected}}), also known in French as {{lang|fr|'''déshabillé'''}} ({{IPA|fr|dezabije|}}; {{literal translation|undressed}}), is a form of [see-through clothing](/source/see-through_clothing) for women consisting of a sheer, usually long, dressing gown.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/negligee |title=négligée | publisher= Merriam-Webster Dictionary |date=2010-08-13 |access-date=2012-05-25}}</ref> It is a form of [nightgown](/source/nightgown) intended to be worn in the bedroom. It was introduced in [France](/source/France) in the 18th century, where it mimicked the heavy head-to-toe style of women's day dresses of the time.

By the 1920s, the negligee began to mimic women's [satin](/source/satin) single-layer [evening dress](/source/evening_gown) of the period. The term "negligee" was used on a [Royal Doulton](/source/Royal_Doulton) run of ceramic figurines in 1927, showing women wearing what appears to be a one-piece knee-length [slip](/source/Slip_(clothing)) made of [silk](/source/silk) or [rayon](/source/rayon), trimmed with [lace](/source/lace). Although the evening-dress style of [nightwear](/source/nightwear) made moves towards the modern negligee style—translucent [bodice](/source/bodice)s, lace trimming, bows, exemplified in 1941 by a photo<ref>[https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZPpF1mX35Cc/UWCwPCojTTI/AAAAAAAALTk/HC-OTL7R_wM/s1600/rita6.jpg Image] blogspot.com</ref><ref>[http://www.americainwwii.com/images/fromhollywoodlunch.jpg From Hollywood lunch] americainwwii.com</ref><ref>[https://time.com/3881042/rita-hayworth-photos-of-a-movie-legend-and-all-american-pinup-girl/ Rita Hayworth: Photos of a Movie Legend and All-American Pinup Girl] "a photo made by Bob Landry that ran in LIFE magazine 11 August 1941"</ref> of [Rita Hayworth](/source/Rita_Hayworth)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://onthisdayinfashion.com/?p=4020|title=On This Day In Fashion|website=onthisdayinfashion.com|access-date=5 April 2018|archive-date=6 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406040519/http://onthisdayinfashion.com/?p=4020|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/search?q=source:life+Rita+Hayworth&safe=off&hl=en&tbm=isch&gbv=2|title=source:life Rita Hayworth - Google Search|website=www.google.com|access-date=5 April 2018}}</ref> in [''Life''](/source/Life_magazine)—it was only after [World War II](/source/World_War_II) that nightwear changed from being primarily utilitarian to being primarily sensual or even [erotic](/source/erotic); the negligee emerged strongly as a form of [lingerie](/source/lingerie).

Modern negligees are often much looser, made of sheer and diaphanous fabrics, and trimmed with [lace](/source/lace) or other fine material and bows. Multiple layers of fabric are often used. The modern negligee thus perhaps owes more to women's fine [bedjacket](/source/bedjacket)s or bed-capes, and up-market slips than to the [nightgown](/source/nightgown). It spread to a mass market, benefiting from the introduction of cheap [synthetic](/source/Synthetic_fibre) [fabric](/source/textile)s such as [nylon](/source/nylon) and its finer successors. From the 1940s to the 1970s, the trend was for negligees to become shorter in length (e.g. the [babydoll](/source/babydoll) of the 1970s). Negligees made from the 1940s to the 1970s are now collectible [vintage](/source/vintage_clothing) items.

In the [UK](/source/United_Kingdom) in 2004, negligees accounted for only four percent of women's [nightwear](/source/nightwear) sales, women's [pyjamas](/source/pyjamas) having dominated since the mid-1980s. However, UK negligee sales are said to have been the fastest increasing sector of the market since 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4076433.stm |title=Negligees on rise in UK bedrooms |publisher=BBC News |date=2004-12-09 |access-date=2012-05-25}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Negligees}}

{{lingerie}}
{{Clothing}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Negligee}}
Category:Nightwear
Category:Gowns
Category:Lingerie
Category:Women's clothing

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Negligee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negligee) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negligee?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.