The Complete Handbook of Underwear Slips

Chapter 1: Understanding Underwear Slips

An underwear slip is a separate garment worn between the skin and an outer garment, usually a skirt, dress, or sheer or light-colored trousers. Its purpose is not decorative, although many slips carry lace or trim. Its functional purposes are to prevent the outer garment from clinging to the wearer's legs or undergarments, to prevent the outer fabric from becoming translucent, to provide a smooth surface that allows the outer garment to drape and move independently of the body, and to absorb perspiration so the outer garment stays cleaner and lasts longer. Those functions define the product. When a garment fails to perform those tasks—when it rides up, when it creates visible lines, when it causes static cling rather than preventing it—it is failing as a slip, regardless of how it looks.

To understand how a slip works, you need to understand its interaction with the outer garment. Consider a common scenario: a woman wearing a rayon skirt. Rayon is a woven or knit cellulosic fabric with a smooth surface and a tendency to stick to other smooth surfaces, particularly when there is friction or static electricity. Without a slip, the skirt can cling to the back of the wearer's thighs, creating a bunching effect, or it can ride up and expose the brief line. A slip, made of nylon taffeta or a polyester knit, provides a low-friction intermediate layer. The slip itself stays close to the body, and the outer garment slides over the