What Is the Purpose of a Slip Under a Dress?

A slip under the bodice of this dress kept Allison Williams covered from flash photography.
... Cindy Ord/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Undergarments have a come a long way since the age of girdles, but there are some items a girl still needs to have in her closet if she wants to get the most out of her wardrobe. You may not think you need a slip, but you’ll get way more use out of this “traditional” undergarment that you’d think.

1 Shining Through

Unless you can check a dress in direct sunlight before purchasing it -- something rarely possible in dressing rooms -- you’ll never truly know if it’s transparent until you wear it outside. Light colors like white and beige or thin fabrics like cotton jersey are notorious for revealing everything once they hit a ray of sun. Wearing a slip under your dress prevents any unintended exposure. A slip provides an extra layer of fabric, which increases the opacity. The thickness of a slip can also hide unwanted pantylines and tight or hose marks.

Sophie Southern has been a freelance writer since 2004. Her writing has been featured in "JPG" magazine and on Zlio.com. Southern holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography from the School of Visual Arts.

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