A couple of decades back, if an actress in any Indian movie was shown in a two-piece, it would create sort of furore back home, but not any longer. Its common today even for the leading ladies to shoot in their inner garments.
And although men love to see their favorite Bollywood actresses in skimpy outfits, coming out of the pool or see them dancing to a seductive song, most of them are really not sure if the lady is wearing a bikini or a lingerie.
In fact, most are quite confused about what encompasses lingerie.
The French word ‘lingerie’ actually means underwear, but in most other countries, the term is used to define attractive or sensual underwear.
Do you understand the difference between a bikini and lingerie? If not, here are some more explanations.
Technically, all lingerie is underwear, but not all underwear is lingerie. And while underwear is worn for practicality and comfort (by both genders), lingerie is typically worn by women because they look more attractive.
Lingerie is More Fashionable
Although lingerie is an inner-wear and usually meant to be worn beneath the clothes, the purpose is NOT practicality or comfort. Rather, lingerie is chosen because it is fashionable or enticing. Most women wear lingerie because they believe its more enticing & attractive to their partners/lovers.
For most women, lingerie is a fancy underwear worn with the sole purpose of looking attractive to their partner.
Lingerie is also more expensive compared to regular women’s underwear. While underwear is typically made from inexpensive cotton, Lingerie is usually made from more expensive material, such as silk or lace, and they have intricate designs.
Because they are usually made of lace or synthetic materials, they can get uncomfortable to wear for longer hours, compared to the normal cotton underwear.
Bikini is Outerwear / Beachwear
A bikini is a two-piece swimming costume for women. Its more of an outerwear; its a style of underpant that can either be panties or swim bottoms.
The next time you see your favorite Bollywood actress in innerwear, on a beach or coming out of the pool, you can be sure that she’s wearing a bikini.
So to summarize:
- A bikini is “outerwear” that you wear when in a pool or on the beach, and lingerie is “underwear” for women.
- A bikini is swimwear, its a two piece swimming suit and lingerie is bras/panties/bustiers/baby-dolls/teddies etc. A silk slip with a lace collar would be considered lingerie.
- Basically, both look like undergarments but bikinis are used in water or on the beach-side, whereas lingerie encompasses a variety of different undergarments and sleepwear (usually silky) and is used for “other reasons” (including kinky time in the bedroom).
- Underwear is an undergarment whose purpose is practicality and comfort and is a type of garment that is worn next to the skin, while lingerie is underwear worn to be fashionable, alluring or enticing (so not all underwear is lingerie).
Although they might look very similar to each other, perhaps because of social conditioning, women generally don’t mind barely practically all for swimwear but have issues if other people see them in their underwear. One is socially acceptable whereas the other isn’t, even though some underwear show less skin than the average bikini.
