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Chemise and Slips

Chemises and slips are short lingerie dresses on thin straps, cut to around mid thigh. Chemises follow the body, with cups and a defined waist held by a ribbon tie or a lace-up, and no boning. Slips run straight with no waist at all.

Pale lavender sheer mesh and floral lace chemise with underwire cups, criss-cross satin ribbon lace-up at the empire waist, scalloped lace skirt edge, and removable garter clip straps.Seven Til Midnight lavender mystic floral lace chemise

Lavender Mystic Floral Chemise

40.00 USD

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What is a chemise?

A chemise is a short lingerie dress on straps that follows the body, cut to around mid thigh. It is close-fitting but it has no boning in it, so the shape comes from the cups, the seams and the waist rather than from hardware. Underwire or molded cups, a defined waist pulled in with a ribbon tie or a lace-up, and sometimes garter clips at the hem.

That is what separates it from the shapes it gets mixed up with. A slip dress is straight and unstructured with no waist. A babydoll flares out loose from under the bust instead of following you down. A bustier or a corset does the same shaping with boning built in. A nightgown is the same idea but long.

Two reasons people buy one. It is lingerie you can put on and be done with, no set to match and nothing to fasten. And it is the only thing in lingerie that is comfortable enough to still be on in the morning. Size by the bust, because that is the part that has to fit.

Types of chemise and slips

Where the neighboring shapes live, if this is not quite the cut you are after.

  • Babydolls: flared from an empire waist rather than falling straight, and shorter. More volume, less line.
  • Bodystockings: sheer and one piece from the shoulders down, when you want the whole body covered rather than draped.
  • Teddies: fitted and fastened between the legs. The opposite approach, holding a shape instead of skimming one.
  • Dresses and rompers: where a slip crosses over into something you would leave the house in.
  • Robes: what goes over the top of any of it.
  • Plus size lingerie: extended sizing on its own page so the fits are easier to find.
  • All lingerie: the full range, if none of these shapes is the one.

How to choose the right one

If you have never bought lingerie for yourself: start here. There is no fastening to work out, no cup to fit and nothing that has to sit in exactly the right place. It is the most forgiving thing in the category and the easiest to actually wear.

On sizing: go by the bust and let the rest hang. The straps and the bust are the only parts doing any fitting. Everything below is supposed to be loose, so a measurement that is slightly off disappears into the drape.

If you want to wear it out: satin, under a blazer or a cardigan. Satin reads as a slip dress the moment there is a layer over it. Sheer mesh and lace do not, however you style them.

If you want to sleep in it: check the straps before anything else. Thin spaghetti straps dig and slide off overnight. A wider strap or an adjustable one is the difference between a piece you wear once and one you reach for.

On care: hand wash cold, hang to dry. Satin marks and lace pulls, and both go out of shape in a machine. See all lingerie for the rest of the range.