Why are bows on lingerie
In the 1990s and 2000s bows on lingerie were rife, you had 3mm bows, 15mm bows, bows which undid at the sides of briefs, or even the rage back in 2002 with open back briefs with big bows at the back. I once did a design with seven (check) bows on the bra alone, then somewhere during 2010s bow mania died down, although in the high streets bows were still added to some designs, they weren’t the big bows of what was once the noughties. Now we are hurtling towards the thirties bows are making a bit of a come back, suppliers are noticing an increase in this as well.
But it still begs the question - why are there bows on lingerie. There are a couple of reasons, let’s start with the practical one - skeuomorphism.
What does skeuomorphism mean? It’s a design style that uses visual cues to imitate the appearance, shape, or function of physical objects. The one that most people are familiar is the sound of a camera shutter when you take a picture with your camera on your phone, the noise is mimicking what an actual camera makes. Honestly when you begin to look for these they are everywhere.
But back to bows on lingerie, back when underwear was first made, there was no elastic on them and they are what we refer to bloomers now-a-days and were held up by ribbon which went through eyelets and then tied with a bow at the front. So, years ago this bow wasn’t decorative but needed to be there. These days, it‘s definitely for aesthetic purposes.
A skeuomorphism.
But let’s not get into the fact though mens underwear doesn’t have bows on any more - so maybe a feminine decoration.
When I worked with the UK high streets, I worked with different buyers from different stores, and one buyer would love bows so much that when I designed something, we would joke that if in doubt ‘add a bow’ and she would buy it. Then there are people I know who’s first thing they do is chop off all bows. So are bows just a nod back to old times?
Depending on the brand and the quality of workman ship, I know some brands added bows to hide the flaws of the sewing. Not in a way that they are trying to con you, but in a way that perhaps they put bra making through production quickly and the bra straps attaching to the bra cup is done in a cheaper way so you can see the stitching, so what better way to put a bow on it to hide the stitching.
Whether you like a bow or not depending on the design it complete a look or make it look ‘way off’, now-a-days it’s all about personal choice with the design.