Chemise Fashion Blog Posts

In this section you will find fashion blog posts about the chemise: a loose-fitting, sleeveless undergarment or nightdress that hangs straight from the shoulders and falls over the hips, longer than a camisole and historically the basic layer worn next to the skin under all other clothing. This page is the blog post index for the topic on Apparel Search — it collects the chemise posts from the fashion blog and links the chemise definition and the camisole-versus-chemise comparison at the top.

Chemise Fashion Blog Posts

About the Chemise

Two posts sit in this index. Difference between Cami & Chemise is the reference post: it sets out the distinction this whole category turns on — a camisole ends at the waist, a chemise continues over the hips — and it is the companion to the comparison page linked above. Pink Lingerie for October 2015 is the seasonal post, collecting pink lingerie for the breast cancer awareness month, in which chemises and slips appear as the sleepwear side of the pink product roundups that October brings every year.

The modern chemise is a short nightdress or slip, cut on the straight or the bias, in satin, silk, silk knit and cotton, often finished with lace at the neckline and hem. Bias cutting is what gives a satin chemise its fluid fall: the fabric is cut diagonally to the weave so it drapes and moves with the body without darts or shaping. As a slip, the chemise smooths a dress's line and keeps sheer fabrics modest; as sleepwear, it is the lightest structured nightdress. The guides in the topic block below cover satin, silk, silk knit and babydoll chemise styles, and — because the two garments are so often confused — the camisole definition, camisole guides and the related chemisette.

The word itself records the garment's age: the chemise was the medieval body linen, worn by everyone under everything, washed when outer garments could not be, and it remained the standard underlayer until the early twentieth century split it into the modern camisole, slip and nightdress. That history explains the chemise's plain construction — no fastenings, no shaping, nothing to chafe — carried straight into today's silk versions. Care follows fabric as with all silk sleepwear: cool water, gentle detergent, no wringing, and drying away from heat.