Underwear

Underwear (or undergarments) are clothes worn under other clothes, often next to the skin. They keep outer garments from being soiled by perspiration, shape the body and provide support for parts of it, and in cold climates help the wearer to keep warm. Undergarments can be used to preserve the wearer's modesty, as well as for erotic effect. Special types of undergarments have religious significance. Some items of clothing are designed as underwear, while others such as T-shirts and certain types of shorts are appropriate both as undergarments and as outer clothing. If made of suitable material, some undergarments can serve as nightwear or swimsuits.

Undergarments commonly worn by women today include brassieres and panties (also known as knickers), while men wear briefs, boxer shorts or boxer briefs. Items worn by both sexes include T-shirts, sleeveless shirts, bikini underwear, thongs and G-strings. In countries where the weather is cold, long underwear provides warmth.

Functions of underwear

Exposed undergarments

Underwear is sometimes partly exposed for fashion reasons or to titillate. A woman may, for instance, allow her the top of her brassiere to peek out from under her collar, or wear a see-through blouse over it. Some men wear T-shirts underneath partly- or fully-unbuttoned shirts.

A common style among young men is to allow their trousers to sag below their waists, thus revealing the waistband or a greater portion of their boxer shorts. A woman wearing low-rise trousers which expose the upper rear portion of her thong underwear is said to display a "whale tail".

Not wearing undergarments

Not wearing undergarments under one's outer clothing is known in American slang as "freeballing" for men or "freebuffing" for women; in addition, the term "going commando" is used for both sexes. People choose to forgo underwear for reasons of comfort, to enable their outer garments (particularly those which are form-fitting) to look more flattering, or because they find it sexually arousing. The practice is not without its risks, particularly for women, some of whom have been the victims of upskirt photographers.

Certain types of clothes, such as cycling shorts and kilts, are designed to be worn or are traditionally worn without underwear.

Religious functions

Undergarments can also have religious significance:

Judaism. Some Orthodox Jews wear a four-cornered prayer shawl called a tallit katan, which has tzitzit (fringes) attached to the corners, draped over their shoulders. To conform with societal dress codes, a tallit katan is often worn beneath one's shirt, but above an undershirt as it should not come into contact with the skin.

Mormonism. Most members of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) wear special temple garments after they have been endowed in a temple to help them remember the teachings of the temple.
Sikhism. One of the panj kakaar (five articles of faith) that Sikh men wear is a type of underpants called the kaccha, which are similar to boxer shorts.
- The Kaccha is a long underwear that comes to just above the knees and is supposed to give a feeling of dignity, modesty and honour to the person who wears it. The garment is usually made from white light-weight cotton material. It serves to cover the person's private parts as well as remind Sikhs of the Guru's message to think of the opposite sex as they would think of their other family members and not as objects. The Kaccha is secured and tied with a "nala" (drawstring). This serves as another reminder that when one is untying the drawstring one is given time to think about what one is about to do.

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