Since its origins when Eve first donned an undergarment, lingerie has functioned as the ultimate tease in ladies' attire, a sartorial statement of style, elegance, provocation — even malice. This incisive and colorful volume presents the history of lingerie in vintage prints and advertisements as well as babe-alicious photos of the most beautiful models and actresses from Marilyn Monroe to Angelina Jolie. The story of how the conception and fashion of lingerie evolved is traced pictorially as well as through the changes in commercial messages. Culminating in a special chapter on Victoria's Secret, the book shows how women shed the girdle, 'symbol of enslavement', and liberated themselves through roomier yet still form-fitting and ever sexier garnishes for their flesh.