Underwear

Underwear (下着, Shitagi), also known as Undergarments, are clothing items designed to be worn under other clothes to keep garments from being soiled by bodily secretions and discharges as well as to provide additional privacy and/or support for the wearer. Underwear can also aid in shaping and supporting the body.

Some items of clothing are designed as underwear, while others such as T-shirts and certain types of shorts are suitable both as underwear and as outer clothing. The suitability of underwear as outer clothing is, apart from the indoor or outdoor climate, largely dependent on societal norms, fashion and the requirements of the law. If made of suitable material, some underwear can serve as nightwear or swimsuits.

Brassiere (Bra)
Women's brassieres provide support for the breasts. The first bras were simple breastbands from ancient Rome but the original actual ones were patented by Mary Phelps-Jacobs in 1914, who was aided by her French maid in sewing two silk handkerchiefs together, with baby ribbon sewn on to make straps and a seam set in the front.

Women may wear sports bras which provide greater support, thus increasing comfort and reducing the chance of damage to the ligaments of the chest during high-impact exercises such as jogging.

A number of them such as the padded or underwire bra are designed to enhance the sexuality of women's breasts by accentuating their cleavages.

Panties/Briefs
Panties evolved from the ; a female-centric undergarment designed to cover the wearer's crotch in the mid-19th century. In the 1920's, women's underwear shortened to accomodate for shorter skirts and outergarments, gradually evolving into the modern "Briefs" design.

Briefs are a type of short, tight underwear that covers the genital region of men and women. First sold on January 19, 1935 by Coopers, Inc., in Chicago, Illinois, the male Brief was designed to support the male genitalia more effectively than Boxer shorts. This made Briefs a popular underwear choice for men who were participating in athletic activities.

Boxer Shorts
Boxer Shorts are a type of loose shorts typically worn by men.

Boxer Shorts were originally designed in 1925, by Jacob Golomb who designed elastic-waist trunks to replace the leather-belted trunks then worn by boxers. These trunks immediately became famous, but were later eclipsed by Briefs beginning in the late 1930s until around 1947, when boxer shorts started to gain in popularity again.

Corset
A corset may be worn as a foundation garment to alter a woman's body shape.

Camisole/Slip
Underwear may also be used to preserve the wearer's modesty – for instance, some women wear camisoles and slips under clothes that are sheer.

Trivia

 * Special types of undergarments have religious significance.
 * Women's undergarments collectively are called lingerie. They also are called intimate clothing and intimates.
 * The perverse attraction to underwear in erotica is possibly due to the garments' natures of not being seen; as such, seeing another individual's undergarment would be considered social taboo.
 * Generally, amongst woman, panties that are decorated with various imagery prints are considered childish and are used as an example of a character's maturity. On the other end of the scale, risqué lingerie such as silk G-strings or thongs are considered incredibly mature.
 * For various reasons, ranging from personal preference to practicality, Centorea Shianus, Meroune Lorelei, Rachnera Arachnera and Suu do not wear panties. Because of the nature of their bodies, Papi, Lala and the members of the Monster Ops: Neutralization team (except Doppel, who hates wearing clothes) are the only regular non-human characters to wear panties.
 * Miia does wear panties in the form of a decorated, adhesive triangular covering and is often greatly embarrassed when others find it laying around.
 * Much of the main female cast members wear bras due to their body types, though certain traits of their species makes it difficult for some (Mero's body secrets a slippery mucus that makes hers slip off, while Papi's childlike body limits her to smaller sizes. Centorea and Tionishia's large bust sizes mean that their bras have to be custom-made to fit them [the former's insecurities mean that she rarely admits her exact size, which typically results in her wearing one that's too small], while, despite not needing one due to having a small bust size, Manako insists one wearing one anyway in an attempt to make her breasts grow. Doppel and Suu don't wear any due to the former's dislike for clothing and the latter's physiology making wearing non-waterproof fabrics difficult, which depresses her to a significant degree).
 * The act of not wearing underwear is sometimes referred to as "Going Commando"; referring to elite soldiers trained to be ready to fight at a moment’s notice. So when you are not wearing any underwear, you are ready to have sex at any moment. Another term used to refer to wearing no underwear is "Freeballing"; referring to the male genitalia (balls) being no longer restricted or contained by undergarments.
 * Certain types of clothes have built-in underwear that minus the need to wear one. For example, some evening gowns have bra cups in them as wearing a bra with them will be impractical.
 * In countries such as Thailand, going commando is considered illegal.
 * Despite Pans as a whole being renowned for being protective of their chastity, Sappho of the Black Lily Ranch has a penchant for wearing lingerie. This combined with her species' reputation means that she gets mortified when Kimihito finds a pair of crotchless panties that belong to her.
 * A common erotic ensemble for women is to wear a bra that exposes the nipples even when worn properly. These are different from nursing bras in that the openings cannot be covered up and typically feature lace trim for added appeal. This is often accompanied by a set of crotchless panties, which likewise leave the genitals exposed.
 * A long enough sarashi can be worn like a bra by binding the breasts.
 * Loincloths which were worn since prehistoric times can be considered the predecessors of briefs and panties.