Explores the image of underwear in the UK and the range of realities that lie behind it. Everything is revealed, from the embarrassing but necessary items that are kept hidden from public view to the very British titillation of the Anne Summers party, from the "uplift" of the Wonderbra to the high-fashion glamour of Agent Provocateur. The book celebrates contemporary fashion, technology and culture as refracted through the underwear industry and paints a portrait of the constant tension between inspiration and constraint, fantasy and reality, industry specialists and the mass market. Angela Carter, Judith Clark, Karen Kay, India Knight, James Pretlove, Mary Quant and Serena Rees offer texts on the subject.