Sunday, November 22, 2009

A peek into the world of Undergarments

Following is an essay on Undergarments, extracted from Web pages.  My intention of posting this now is to highlight the importance of the undergarments on many aspects, including religious. As you you could see,  undergarments are : Protective systems, Body shapers, Erotic, and also have a Religious significance.
This is true with Kerala undergarments too. Each of the undergarments we inherited from our earlier generations, have all these parameters at its root.  That's how a Nair or Nampoothiri  think of  an Onnara or Konakam !  They all are deep rooted in our culture and minds .  Ofcourse, in this essay, I've what the West have. I am not touching upon the Keralite ! That's all on the way ... Please put your comments and come back  for more.

Undergarments or underwear are cloths worn under other clothes, often next to the skin. They keep outer garments from being soiled by perspiration, urine, semen, feces, and other discharges; shape the body; and provide support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear sometimes is worn to provide additional warmth. Some undergarments are intended for erotic effect. Special types of undergarments have religious significance. Some items of clothing are designed as underwear, while others, such as T-shirts and certain types of shorts, are appropriate both as undergarments and as outer clothing. If made of suitable material, some undergarments can serve as nightwear or swimsuits.
Undergarments commonly worn by women today include Brassieres and panties (also known as knickers), while men often wear briefs, boxer shorts, and boxer briefs. Items commonly worn by both sexes include T-shirts, sleeveless shirts (also called singlets), bikini underwear, thongs, and G-strings.
There are several other terms for undergarments. Undercloths, underclothing and underwear are formal terms, while undergarments may be more casually called,  undies) and Reginalds, and, in the UK smalls (from the earlier smallclothes).
Women's undergarments collectively are called lingerie. They also are called intimate clothing and intimates.
An undershirt is a piece of underwear covering the torso, while underpants (often pants in the UK), drawers, and shorts cover the genitals and often the buttocks. Terms for specific undergarments are in following table.

Why Underwear ?
Underwear is worn for a variety of reasons. They keep outer garments from being soiled by perspiration, urine, semen, and feces. Women's brassieres provide support for their breasts, and men's briefs serve the same function for the male genitalia.; a corset may be worn as a foundation garment to alter a woman's body shape.. For additional support and protection when playing sports, men often wear more tightly fitting underwear, including jockstraps and trunks. Women may wear sports bras which provide greater support, thus increasing comfort and reducing the chance of damage to the ligaments of the chest during high-impact exercises such as jogging.
In cold climates, underwear may be an additional layer of clothing that helps the wearer keep warm. Underwear can be used to preserve the wearer's modesty – for instance, some women wear camisoles and slips (petticoats) under clothes that are sheer. Conversely, underwear can also be worn for erotic effect. It is possible to purchase underwear made specifically for sexual titillation, such as edible underwear and crotchless panties.
Some items of clothing are designed as underwear, while others such as T-shirts and certain types of shorts are suitable both as underwear and as outer clothing. The suitability of underwear as outer clothing is, apart from the indoor or outdoor climate, largely dependent on societal norms, fashion and the requirements of the law. If made of suitable material, some underwear can serve as nightwear or swimsuits.
Undergarments can also have religious significance.
Eg.   Male Orthodox Jews wear a four-cornered prayer shawl called a tallit katan.
        Most members of the The church of Jesus Christ ( Mormons) wear special temple garments.
        Sikh men wear  a type of underpants called the Kaccha, which are similar to boxer trunks.
{ Our 'Thantri'  and 'Poojari's  must wear 'thattu' while doing their religious functions. Hindu women are to wear thattu (onnara)  while at temples and other religious ceremonies }


Types of Underwear
Worn by both sexes Whole body
Long Underwear

 

Long johns,  long handles A two-piece undergarment worn during cold weather consisting of a shirt with sleeves extending to the wrists and trousers with pant legs reaching down to the ankles.













Upper body Sleeveless shirt



Tank top, wife beater, singlet A sleeveless garment similar to a T-shirt.
A-shirt (guinea tee, muscle shirt, singlet, wifebeater, vest (UK), Banian (India) – tight-fitting with large armholes and a neckline that can extend as far as mid-chest.







T-shirt

 

Tee A garment covering a person's torso which is usually without buttons, pockets or a collar, and has long or (mostly) short sleeves. It is worn by pulling it over the head.
Round-neck T-shirt   and  V-neck T-shirt





Lower body Bikini Underwear




Usually worn with the waistband lower than the wearer's waist, and often at the hips, with the leg bands ending at the groin.  Men's bikini briefs normally have no fly..
High-sided bikini underwear   and  Low-sided bikini underwear
String bikini – consists of two triangular pieces connected at the groin but not at the sides, with a thin "string" around the waist connecting the pieces.

G-String



Gee-string, gee string A type of thong consisting of a narrow piece of material that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips.




Tanga

 

A type of thong which has no material around the sides other than the waistband.




Thong



Has a narrow strip of material along the centre of the garment's rear which sits between the wearer's buttocks and connects the front or pouch to the waistband behind the wearer. Thongs are sometimes worn to reduce panty lines  when wearing tightly-fitting trousers..




Worn by women Upper body
Brassiere ( Bra)



Bra : Usually consists of two cups for the breasts, a centre panel (gore), a band running around the torso under the bust, and a shoulder strap for each side.
  • Demi bra (balconette bra)
  • Padded bra
  • Push-up bra
  • Sports bra
  • Strapless bra
  • T-shirt bra
Lower body Boy Shorts Booty shorts, boyleg briefs, boy short panties, boys' cut shorts, boyshorts, shorties A type of panties with sides that extend lower down the hips, rather like men's briefs.

Panties

 

UK: Knickers  These usually have an elastic waistband, a crotch to cover the genital area which is usually lined with absorbent material such as cotton, and a pair of leg openings which are often also elasticized. They either have very short or no leg sections.
Control panties – usually made of strechable material such as Spandex and extending above the waist, these are designed to provide support and create a slimmer appearance.
High cut (French cut) panties.
Hipsters – worn lower with the waistband around the hips.

Worn by men Lower body

Boxer briefs
 


Trunks These are similar in style to boxer shorts, but are generally shorter and form-fitting like briefs.
  • Athletic-style boxer briefs – similar to cycling shorts, these are skin-tight and usually have no fly.
  • Pouch boxer briefs – these have a pouch for the genitals instead of a fly.


Boxer shorts

 

Boxers These have an elasticized waistband that is at or near the wearer's waist, while the leg sections are fairly loose and extend to the mid-thigh. There is usually a fly, either with or without buttons. The waistbands of boxer shorts are usually wider than those of briefs, and often bear the brand name of the manufacturer.
Boxer shorts with colourful patterns, pictures of cartoon characters, sports team logos and slogans are readily available.
Knit boxers                 Woven boxers

Briefs



UK:  Slip, Y-fronts
US: Jockey shorts, tightie-whities
These have an elasticized waistband at or near the wearer's waist, and leg sections that end at or near the groin.
  • Traditional briefs – these have a Y-shaped fly.
  • Diagonal-flap briefs.
  • Double-seat or double-back briefs.
  • Low-cut or low-rise briefs
  • Pouch briefs.

Jockstrap



Athletic supporter, jock, strap, supporter Consists of an elastic waistband with a support pouch for the genitalia and two elastic straps affixed to the base of the pouch and to the left and right sides of the waistband at the hip. In some varieties, the pouch may be fitted with a pocket to hold an impact-resistant cup to protect the genitals from injury.
  • Strapless pouch – consists of a support pouch for the genitals and a waistband, with no securing straps.

Fashions and trends

Exposed underwear ( Sagging )

Underwear is sometimes partly exposed for fashion reasons or to titillate. A woman may, for instance, allow the top of her brassiere to be visible from under her collar, or wear a see-through blouse over it. Some men wear T-shirts underneath partly- or fully-unbuttoned shirts.
A common style among young men is to allow their trousers to sag below their waists, thus revealing the waistband or a greater portion of their boxer shorts. A woman wearing low-rise trousers which expose the upper rear portion of her thong underwear is said to display a " whale tail".

Not wearing undergarments ( Going Commando )

Not wearing underwear under one's outer clothing is known in American slang as freeballing for men or freebuffing for women; in addition, the term going commando is used for both sexes. People choose to forgo underwear for reasons of comfort, to enable their outer garments (particularly those which are form-fitting) to look more flattering, or because they find it sexually arousing. The practice is not without its risks, particularly for women, some of whom have been the victims of upskirt photographers.
Certain types of clothes, such as cycling shorts and  kilts, are designed to be worn or are traditionally worn without underwear. This also applies for most clothes worn as nightwear.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Neelathaamara Video

There's a song (video) from "Neelathaamara" available at :
 
 
I suggest you listen and watch !  It's great !!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Onnara & Thaar in Wikipedia.

Web presence of Onnara and Thaar is being researched. As I had hinted earlier, it already has a Wikipedia presence. Please try here :


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onnara

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Comments explained

Thank you 'anonymous lady' for your comments (posted last). Your appreciation of the tips and pictures should be a guideline for other readers too. Hoever, I have a few more comments :
 

Do not use pins at all. It's not safe and secure.
Wearing thaar while sleeping ... well... I think you should wear it a bit loose. Don't be too tight while on the bed, for physical reasons.
 

While at work, it's good to have it tight. The knot would prevent any loosening or coming off. I know ladies wearing this while doing Yoga, which involves a lot of stretching out.
Venturing to office ... Yes it's best suited. Many ladies hesitate to wear it, on fear of loosening or the vaal coming off. The two knots guards them all.

As you rightly said, the pin could spoil the mundu. It's a bit inconvienient to open. The knot, though difficult to remove in normal standing posture, is easy to open with your legs a bit spread and a bit kneeling.


"The naughtiest problem" is solved thro' a simple knot ? ! Yes Madam, ther's a simple solution to every tough problem. It's upto the individual, to think... ask others.. share the knowledge .. and that's it.

In this context, I remember how my Grand Mother was doing with knots (4 , if remember right !) on her bodice for comfort and to trim the shape of her boobs. None of the modern day bra could do that !!

" I wonder how many women are aware of this! " - Not many now. Yeah...but many women knew it.. and they were doing this way. At the same time, I've seen many women taking the trouble of tightening up their thaar frequently ... seeking corners of the house or elsewhere they go.

"How many are wearing this wonderful apparel these days! " ... not many. It's still there in central and north Kerala, atleast in some families. But the practice is dying down !
 

"Onnara-wearers to be slowly extinct like the lion-tailed monkeys of silent valley." ... that's an interesting comment.

Nair community is losing all their wealth... including the valuable traditions. I know Nair girls who are totally ignorant about Onnara. No one taught them and they all went behind the western culture (as we all do in most of our matters).
 

"Tomorrow's fashion is yesterday's Tradition"... Yes this idea would work out. But ... I have my doubts ! However, I wish Onnara become fashionable tomorrow, also taking into account its invaluable benefits.

"Search Assist ON, the moment I type ONNAR in the Yahoo search, it reveals so much topic in this subject including "how to wear onnaramundu".  That's  a surprise to me ...  I don't find much material about Thaar/ Onnara, when tried through Google searches ! Please send me those links, if you can. Let me retry.

"Who knows, one day, some western woman can take fascination on this attire and popularise it; perhaps, they will even grab a patent for this and sell the idea to us as it happens always. Or some tennis champions like WILLIAMS sisters may wear this under their short skirt and then it may catch like wild-fire even among our fashion-conscious ladies." ... 

Oh... that may happen... it's a great idea Ma'm...

I can see Serena fighting Venus at Wimbledon... Oh... their skirt flying up ... yeah... it's thaar.. inside... the greatest of all greatest garments...!


Monday, November 9, 2009

Anonymous knots

A comment from 'Anonymous lady' on "Knot technique".

I am reproducing her comment, for my readers to note and comment. This is  what she says.
"
Thank you for Your tip on the knot technique which was indeed a revelation to me. Though, I had some initial confusion on where to put the knots, the photos of this page on Knots made everything clear and I decided to give it a try. Normally, whenever I use Onnara under my nighty during sleep in the night, it used to come off easily at the slightest movement in the bed (I avoid putting pin at home). But yesterday, the result was fantastic and as I woke up in the morning, I was really astonished to find my onnara perfectly intact in its place and as tight as I worn in the night. Even when I did some stretching exercises, the tail never came out. That gave me enough confidence to venture out to office without the habitual safety pin. It was really a wonderful feeling to have the onnara holding together tightly through out the day without any need of slightest adjustment. Also, it has other advantages compared to pin technique. Pin serves as a nuisance while going to the toilet as it is difficult sometimes to remove it. Another problem is, the pin holes spoils the cloth and will get torn easily. Isn't it wonderful that the most naughtiest problem of ONNara surrounding its Tail is solved thro' a simple knot? So as far as I am concerned, it is bye-bye to pins. I wonder how many women are aware of this! For that matter, how many are wearing this wonderful apparel these days! After the 70's, pantice culture has so much dominated among all class of women forcing the Onnara-wearers to be slowly extinct like the lion-tailed monkeys of silent valley. I often ask some of my Nair friends about (Onnara was supposed to be a symbol and hallmark of this community) how they lost the habit of wearing this wonderful inner-wear;most of them have not worn this in their life. It seems, their mothers never taught them and wanted them to be fashionable and in the process their mothers themsleves shifted to pantice culture. But my feeling is, today's youngsters are not the fixed type and are very adaptable. If they are convinced that something is good for them, they will have no problem in changing it. Of course, they want to be fashionable and they know that "Tomorrows's fashion is yesterday's Tradition". That is how the "Kadukkans" and "Kudumas" of yester-years became the in-thing among even our boys. So who knows our Onnaras won't be fashionable tomorrow, also taking into account its invaluable benefits. The internet culture will also definitely help in propagating the right messsage. In fact, I never thought there will be so much of info. on items like ONNARA/Thaar on the web pages; with the Search Assist ON. the moment I type ONNAR in the Yahoo search, it reveals so much topic in this subject including "how to wear onnaramundu". This was a surprise to me and that is how I came to your web pages. But I find so much HOT TOPICS on your pages which, I believe, most women won't enjoy like males and this will cause loss of traffic to your site. Hence my adivise is, devote a serious blog on this subject - something like "1 1/2 lovers forum" or "1 1/2 users forum" and dedicate to some serious discussion on the subject. I think, you have some solid content. The other site onnara.blogspot.com is not professional enough. May be, who knows, one day, some western woman can take fascination on this attire and popularise it; perhaps, they will even grab a patent for this and sell the idea to us as it happens always. Or some tennis champions like wILLIAMS sisters may wear this under their short skirt and then it may catch like wild-fire even among our fashion-conscious ladies.

Enough of it now and once again thanks for the tip.
"

The message is crystal clear ! and interesting ! I leave this here to you now. Kindly respond with your comments.

Thank you madam for the fantastic narration and your sincere suggestions.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Paleri manka

Malayalam classic movies of the yester years ! Remember "Guruvayyor Kesavan" ?. The great actress 'Jayabharathi' , in the true traditional malayali manka attire !

Scenes from "Paleri maanikyam" reminds those. Malayaali manka in the true malayaali attire.