Slip
Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A slip is a woman's undergarment worn beneath a dress or skirt to help it hang smoothly and to prevent chafing of the skin from coarse fabrics such as wool. Slips are also worn for warmth, and to protect fine fabrics from perspiration. A full slip hangs from the shoulders, usually by narrow straps, and extends from the breast to the fashionable skirt length. A half slip hangs from the waist, and may also be called a petticoat. Slips are usually made of a smooth, slippery fabric such as silk, satin, polyester or nylon, and may be decorated with lace at the edges.
A slip is a woman's undergarment worn beneath a dress or skirt to help it hang smoothly and to prevent chafing of the skin from coarse fabrics such as wool. Slips are also worn for warmth, and to protect fine fabrics from perspiration.
A full slip hangs from the shoulders, usually by means of narrow straps, and extends from the breast to the fashionable skirt length. A half slip hangs from the waist, and may also be called a petticoat.
Slips are also worn for modesty under translucent outer garments.
Slips are usually made of a smooth and slippery fabric such as silk, satin, polyester or nylon and may be decorated with lace at the edges. They are typically worn over more intimate undergarments.
A half slip may be worn with a matching camisole as an alternative to a full slip.
A slip dress is a dress for street wear styled like a slip, fitting close to the body and having narrow shoulder straps.
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The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/slip_%28clothing%29). 1/5/06 |
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Fabrics and Construction
A slip's fabric is chosen for smoothness above all, because the garment's work is done by its surface. Silk and satin give the slickest hang and are used in better slips; polyester and nylon give the same smoothness at lower cost and wash more easily. Seams are finished flat so nothing ridges through the dress above them, straps are narrow and adjustable, and lace at the hem and neckline is decorative as well as a soft edge against the skin. Lengths follow skirt fashion: a slip is made to end just above the hem it serves, so slips are sold in several lengths and a wardrobe that spans short and long dresses needs more than one.
Choosing and Caring for Slips
The right slip is invisible in use. Its colour should disappear under the dress, white under pale fabrics, skin tones under sheer ones, black under dark dresses. Its length should stay above the hem and below the waistband of a skirt, and its fit should be close enough not to bunch yet loose enough to slide. Static is the slip's one common nuisance, making a dress cling instead of hang; anti-static fabrics and sprays exist for exactly this problem, and a nylon slip under a wool dress in dry winter air is where cling is worst.
Care is gentle washing, since slips are light garments of fine fabric. Silk slips are washed by hand or on a delicate cycle and kept from harsh wringing; synthetic slips machine-wash well and dry quickly. Slips are typically worn over more intimate undergarments and under everything else, so they take the friction and perspiration that would otherwise reach the dress, and they earn their place by being far easier to launder than the garments they protect. Negligees, nightgowns and other nightwear sit beside the slip in the undergarment family, and the slip's own history runs from a purely practical layer to the slip dress, where the layer became the look.
Common Questions
What is the difference between a full slip and a half slip?
A full slip hangs from the shoulders on narrow straps and covers the body from the breast to the skirt hem, suiting dresses. A half slip hangs from an elastic waist and covers only the lower body, suiting skirts, and may also be called a petticoat. A half slip can be worn with a matching camisole as an alternative to a full slip.
Why wear a slip under a dress?
For four practical reasons: the smooth fabric lets the dress hang and move without catching on the body or on other undergarments; it prevents chafing from coarse outer fabrics such as wool; it adds modesty under translucent garments; and it protects fine dress fabrics from perspiration, extending the life of clothing that is harder to clean than the slip itself.
What is a slip dress?
A dress for street wear styled like a slip: close-fitting, with narrow shoulder straps, usually in a smooth fabric with lace trim at the neckline or hem. The slip dress borrows the undergarment's cut and simplicity and wears it as outerwear.