Our lingerie glossary gets updated often! Watch for this section to grow. Thanks for Shopping with LBB!
Adhesive bras have medical grade adhesive on the inside of the cup. They are strapless and backless, and offer less than medium support and are best used for women who are less than a 38D in a regular bra. They can be reusable or disposable.
Applique refers to intricate design placed on a fabric. Embellishments and decorations of one material are placed on the garment.
Babydoll lingerie refers to a short nightgown often times having lace, bows, ribbons or ruffles. Shoulder straps are optional. Sometimes made of sheer fabric or chiffon. Typically babydoll lingerie has built in cups for breast enhancement.
Body Stockings and body suits, or cat suits, are usually made of nylon and spandex, but also can be made with lace or Lycra. This style of lingerie is like hosiery for your entire body, typically covering from shoulder to foot. Body stockings are usually sheer and some are crotchless.
Butterfly Slide Closure has two pieces that first slide together and then snap into place so that it closes a bra or swimsuit.
Boning can be made of steel, metal spirals, and various types of plastic. Boning is typically vertical and meant to offer more support and garment contouring. Found in corsets and some bras.
Bra Sets indicates a matching pantie is available or comes with the bra.
Bra Solutions refers to self adhesive bras or bra accessories, like bra straps that can be changed or bra extenders.
Bra is short for brassiere and is a womans undergarment, or foundation garment, that supports and enhances the breast.
Bridal Lingerie indicates white or cream colored nightwear for a newly wed woman.
Bustier is a bust to hip corset style garment that has lavish details. Similar to a corset, most bustiers have garters and lace up backs, flexible boning, and optional shoulder straps.
Camisole is a corset-styled garment that may include garters, flexible boning,and a lace-up back.
Cami Top is a camisole-type shapewear that gives you light control and can reveal the least amount of lines when wearing sheer and tightly-fitted tops.
Charmeuse is a lightweight fabric; the outside is lustrous and silky while the inside, the side that goes next to your skin, has a dull finish. Charmeuse, sometimes called charmeuse satin, flows well on the body and catches light in stunning patterns. Charmeuse is softer and more lightweight than satin.
Catsuit is another name for a full-body stocking that usually has long sleeves.
Center Panel is the fabric that connects the bra cups in the front. Sometimes this is called the bridge, center connector, center gore, or centerpiece.
Chemise lingerie is a one piece nightgown that is loose fitting and generally does not have built in cups for breast support. Can be short or mid-length, with straps. Originally the chemise was meant to be worn under a corset as the first layer of clothing next to a womans skin.
Cleavage is the the area between a woman’s breasts, especially when revealed by a low-cut neckline.
Comfort Straps have a wide strap to help more evenly distribute the weight of your breasts. This gives increased comfort. Comfort straps help relieve shoulder pain caused by bra straps.
Compression refers to how a bra cup is made. Compression cups evenly distributes your breasts against your chest and helps to limit motion or bounciness.
Contour Bra is a tee shirt bra. Cups are mad of foam and are seamless, molded, and hold their shape even when not being worn. Contour bras are a perfect choice for women wanting a smooth silhouette because contour cups provide definition and proportion especially when one breast is larger. Contour bras are also an excellent choice for women who are between bra sizes.
Control Brief is a panty shaped like a brief but designed to flatten the tummy and give support while providing a smoothing effect.
Cookie is a padded insert in the cup of a bra. Though usually made of fiberfill, a cookie can also be made with water, oil or a gel. Many women uses cookies when one breast is smaller than the other. Placing a cookie in the bra cup makes your breasts look more even.
Corset lingerie was once the only support garment available to women. Boning, hook closure, and a tie up back are most always present. Corsets can begin over or under the bust, covers most of a womans waist, and can extend past the hips, usually finishing with garters, sometimes they are removable. Corsets give great breast support, pushing them up and over the neckline edge, and most always give an hourglass silhouette.
Costume dress up refers to themed dresses and garments worn in the bedroom for playtime or, in America, out for Halloween!
Crossover is a wire-free bra that creates an “X” in the center front for support and comfort.
Culotte is a wide-leg version of a boyshort. Also called a tap pant.
Décolleté is a bra style with a very low-cut front panel for a cleavage-enhancing look.
Demi Cup (also called half-cup) is a style of bra that has a contoured underwire design with a majority of the top half of the cup being cut away to expose the top of the breasts.
Enhancers create the illusion of a fuller bust line. Enhancers normally are built into the bras like the Wonderbra.
Fence net is a very large net design similar that is similar to a chain link fence and used for stockings, hold-ups, and pantyhose.
Foam Cup uses foam padding to shape the bra cup. Foams cups do not bunch up during washing and gives a nice and desired smooth look..
Foam Lined Cup does not allow the nipple to show through the garment. Foam lining is always thinner than a padded bra and thus adds little size. It does create a pleasant and natural silhouette.
Foundations are the first layer of clothing that you have against your skin.
French Cut is another name for high-cut brief
French Knicker is a boyshort-looking panty with no elastic in the legs. This prevents your cheeks from cupping.
Front Close bras do just that. They close in the front with either a hook and eye closure or a barrel closure. They are perfect for a plunging neckline.
Full Busted women have larger breasts and smaller band sizes like 34DDD.
Full Cup refers to a bra that covers most of the breast and will not cause a crease at the top of the breast.
Full Figure women are normally classified as wearing bra sizes of 32-36DD and 38-42C-DD or larger.
Full Support refers to a bra that has banding under the cups and features two or more hooks.
Garters can hang down from a belt, or other lingerie, and are used to hold up stockings (not pantyhose) and help keep them in place. Garters are best used with lace top stockings or open top stockings that have no silicone grippers or elastic.
Gore refers to the triangle or diamond shape of a piece of fabric placed in the seams of a garment offering more shape. Most often used in the center of a bra.
G-String panties are like thongs, but they leave your behind completely exposed. The back of the G-String has only a simple string coming off the waistband. These can be worn to prevent panty lines under garments.
Half Cup is another way to describe a demi cup. It is a contoured underwire cup with shoulder straps that sit wide or farther apart offering a more revealing look.
Hipster refers to a pantie style that sits lower on the hip. It’s perfect to wear under low cut pants.
Inner Sling also means support panels that are found in a bra cup. The inner sling is a more rigid piece of fabric sewn inside of the cup for extra support. The inner sling may encompass the entire cup or just the sides.
Leotard Back refers to how the back of a bra is made. A leotard back has a U shape, versus the more traditional camisole back that is cut straight across. The leotard back tends to stay in place better after bending and reaching making for less adjustments.
LIght Support is a bra style with wings that have little or no banding under the cups.
Lined Cup is a bra with lining in the cup that gives extra support and add helps to decrease nipple show through.
Long Leg is a type of shapewear with a brief top and half legs that give you support and control down the thighs.
Long Line helps shape you like a corset. It’s a midriff-slimming bra with to-the-waist panels for extra smoothing.
Low Rise panty means the measurement between the waistband and the first horizontal seam of a panty – normally where the crotch begins – is less than five inches. The average brief or panty has a six-inch rise.
M Frame is like a sports bra where there are side support panels that restrict horizontal movement of the breasts and a center front panel that restricts vertical breast movement.
A Maternity Bra is designed for pregnant women and offers extra support with wider sides and a band under the bust. The non-elastic straps help to reduce bouncing of the breasts.
Memory Foam – just like the kind in your some mattresses – is being used in bras that help shape the breast to the body better. The cup will always retain its original shape and can not be crushed. It will also not develop those hard to remove creases.
A Merrywidow is a type of corset that is often straples and comes to a point in the front. Sometimes it also comes with detachable garters which can be worn with stockings.
Microfiber garments have fibers that are very, very fine – even finer than silk. They allow air flow, but prevent moisture from passing through. Microfibers are very light, smooth, soft, and breathable.
Minimizer bras help give the appearance of breast reduction. This allows the woman to easier wear front-button shirts and blouses with gaping. Minimizer bras work by distributing the flesh more towards underneath the arm and the center of your body.
Molded bras are seamless which help create a smooth silhouette. They are molded by a machine from one piece of fabric. They come usually unlined and may be either a soft cup or underwire.
Muffin Top is the term used to describe the roll of flesh that falls over the top of pants or when shapewear is too tight.
A Negligee is French for a lace-trimmed night gown.
A Nightgown is worn in bed and feels like a loose dress. Also called a nightie.
A No-Wire (soft cup) Bra has no underwires. For comfortable for everyday wear. These bras can be padded or lined.
A Nursing Bra has openings in the front that allows for breast feeding.
Nylon is a synthetic fiber known for its tremendous flexibility and resilience. The quick-drying nylon fabric resists shrinkage and wrinkling. It was created in the 1930s by scientists at the company DuPont. Nylon fibers have the luster of silk and their tensile strength is higher than that of wool, silk, rayon or cotton. Nylon washes easily, dries quickly, needs little pressing, and holds its shape well since it neither shrinks nor stretches.
Opera Hose are very long stockings with short garters attached to a small band at the top which give a long look to the leg. They were popular in the 1950s and 1960s.
Padded bras have cups filled with fiber. The padding gives definition to the breast, adds size, and gives a full look to smaller busts.
Padded straps rest on the top of the shoulder and have wide padding for comfort.
Pajamas are loose-fitting night clothes which normally have a top and bottom.
Pantliners are any undergarments that begin waist high and go down past the middle of the calf. Also called and underliner.
Pantyhose are one piece hosiery garments that consist of two sheer legs that are connected to a panty and waistband.
A Peignor is the French word for “to comb.” This is a very sheer robe. This was the robe women would wear in France while they combed their hair in the evenings.
Picot is a small, embroidered loop that forms and edge on a ribbor on peice of lace.
Plunge bras are designed for a sexy look that reveals more breasts. They give the appearance of bigger cleavage. Plunge bras are not heavily padded like push-up bras.
A Pointed Heel is a reinforcement on the back of seamed hosiery. Also known as a “French or European” heel.
Panties are short underpants for women and can also mean hipster, thong, G-string, bikini.
Stockings refers to thigh high legwear that need to have garters to stay up and in place.