Clothing and the Nude

It is preferable that underwear be hinted at, by having it "peek out from beneath an outer layer, such as the cuffs of sleeves," by having "the ribbons or the edges of the bra" show, or by ensuring that "the outline of the underwear" appears "through semi-transparent fabric, or its relief may show through a tight-fitting dress."

Until recently, Beyst points out, women's underwear consisted of a modest, one-piece chemise, but this single garment has since been replaced by "specialized" undergarments of "many parts: underpants, garter belts, corsets, and bras," allowing a piece-by-piece unveiling of the feminine form so that "undressing develops into a continuous metamorphosis. In every stage of its unfolding, a new erotic appearance with its own merits is revealed." This specialization of female underwear has also led to a "new kind of intermediary stage between clad and nude: the body clad in a swimsuit or lingerie." This "intermediate stage" has also made it possible to interpose a "shortcut" between the fully clothed and the nude body in which, for example, a shirt can be worn "without a slip underneath" or a woman may appear "completely naked underneath a thick fur coat."

The interplay of clothing and nudity allows artists to combine the two in suggestive fashions, Beyst declares, by showing wind blowing "against his body," having "water make the fabric cling to it . . . cutting up the fabric so that it comes to court more intimately the shape of the body, " or depicting "additional elasticity" that "makes the dress perfectly court the undulations of the body that was supposed to conceal, as with tight-knitted dresses, nylon stockings and latex," and, he notes, "The covering is shortcut altogether when the fabric itself is transparent."

Although "make-up, epilating and shaving, cosmetic