National Lingerie Day is a holiday observed on April 25th every year. It’s a holiday celebrating women’s underwear and nightclothes in all forms. This includes body suits and bras, corsets and garters, robes and rompers, bustiers, bras, bralettes, bikini underwear, camisoles tanks, chemise babydoll lingerie, and thongs.

But we’re sure that everyone gets the point. This is a day for women to wear articles of clothing that makes them feel sophisticated, classy, and/or sexy, and it’s a day for their partners to buy them lingerie that they will love. It’s also a day that celebrates these articles of clothing and the transformative effect that they’ve had on the lives of women around the world.

The History Of National Lingerie Day

The word lingerie comes from French and means undergarments. The concept of a lightweight female undergarment would come into existence during the late 19th century and the leading British fashion designer Lady Duff-Gordon was one of the pioneers of lingerie in the beginning.

She saw lingerie as a way to free women from restrictive corsets that were popular at the time. This would set up the evolution of lingerie through the end of the 19th century as corsets became smaller and less bulky. By the beginning of the 20th century, corsets were gradually being replaced with the brassiere.

The first brassiere patented was by Caresse Crosby in 1914. When World War I began, women found themselves needed to fill the job gap created by the large number of men heading to war. As a result, women needed undergarments that were breathable, lighter, and easier to wear while working.

Over the years, lingerie would transform according to the day’s fashion. In the 1930s, brassieres were altered with padded cups to accommodate women with small breasts and the underwire bra was developed. During the 40s, bras were slightly pointed and during the 1960s, lingerie was made for women with slimmer profiles.

By the end of the 20th century, the lingerie industry exploded and has continued to be on the upswing throughout the 21st century. In 2003, the global lingerie market was estimated at almost $30 billion, and in 2023, it’s an almost $90 billion market.

Unfortunately, while we were able to uncover the history of lingerie quite easily, we haven’t been able to uncover the history of National Lingerie Day. We’re unsure who invented it, why they invented it, or when they invented it. As always, we’ll continue to search for the answers to these questions, but at this point in time, it doesn’t look like we’re going to find the answers we’re looking for.

Observing National Lingerie Day

This holiday is easy enough for just about anyone to observe. People can buy lingerie on this day for their significant others, or for themselves. People can also learn more about the history of lingerie and the fashion designers who are responsible for modern lingerie. And, of course, people can spread the news about this holiday using the hashtag #NationalLingerieDay on social media.