[Kabul, December 8. Image via AP]

A woman buys slips at a shop in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

Fred is really fashion-forward this season, with metallics and retro-looking bra and panty sets. (We're ignoring that lace monstrosity inset, mmkay?

So much silver! Pretty classy, considering.

The color here is called "Moonbeam." Heh. Moon. We haven't even gotten to the ass-centric part yet.

This would be a good outfit to wash dishes or pay bills in. I mean, it's going to lift your spirits! And your tits.

Has it ever occurred to you that "babydoll" is kind of a weird word to use when talking about lingerie? Empire waists and fluttery, ruffled chemises are fun, but let's leave Lolita, Baby Spice, Caroll Baker and other thoughts of sexualization of children out of it.

Am I turning into a prude? The more see-through it is, the less I like it.

Wait! I think I can get behind that flirty half-slip on the far right. Heh. Get behind.

If you're going to be riding in a one-horse open sleigh, you're going to need a bit more coverage. Especially with H, the teddy on the bottom left. A person could get frostbite in places you really don't want frostbite.

Mean Girls flashbacks, anyone? I enjoyed KG and the Power of 3.

Dear Santa,
If someone brings me a maribou-nipple thingie with "Jingle Bell Crotchless Boy Shorts," I will be sad…

…And I don't want a bow on my business, either.
Love,
Me.

Re: That woman on the far left. You'd be laughing, too, if you had a Fraggle in your cleavage.

This panty supposedly has a "low back." But isn't it so much more than that? Seems like you could go to the doctor's office and get a Malaria shot without even taking your undies off.

Here we go: Butt bows, butt laces, butt butterflies.

And! Special for 2009! Limited Edition! Rhinestones! In your butt!

No, really: Right up in there. Ouch.

Still, I can't hate on this catalog, because they carry plus sizes, some of the bras are quite lovely, and the retro -ish stuff is actually pretty! And some bras come in sizes up to 42F.

Just stay away from the cheeky crack charms. You'd better watch out. You'd better not try.

Earlier: Frederick's Of Hollywood's Marketing Techniques Haven't Changed Much In 45 Years
Frederick's Of Hollywood Has A Heart-On For Valentine's Day
Frederick's Of Hollywood: Not As Slutty As You Might Think! (But Still Pretty Slutty)

Click here for all previous catalog posts.

Okay, there's used undies and used undies. There's "I'm not wearing panties" and then there's "period underwear." Anyone who has worked sorting donations at a thrift store has particularly strong feelings on the subject of used underwear. Especially dirty used underwear. (And while we're at it, how about not throwing in dirty disposable diapers? Whoever succeeded me at Help the Aged, Camden Town will thank you.) Even clean old underthings though are a relative proposition: grayed and frayed, with stained gossets and stretched elastics. Someone can use them, the thinking might go - but how about taking that generous impulse and translating it into the minimal expense of a three-pack of new jockeys?

We've all held onto undies past their prime. In my case, I find it very hard to throw out something that was at one time expensive and still feels "special" - especially if the matching bra is still operational. Throwing such things out can be hard (a few drinks helps) and donation may seem a viable alternative, but understand what was for you a romantic splurge, a compendium of daintiness and all things pretty and adult, is in fact a ratty scrap of synthetic lace now missing its bow. Launder and save those sets with maximum sentimental value and let the rest go. Into the trash. Then dump coffee grounds on them just in case you're tempted come laundry day.

There's the other side of the question: do people buy them? That's what Pleticha set out to discover. And she was on the other side of the dirty-drawers divide: Think less saggy jockeys than Sam Baker-Anthony-Michael-Hall in Sixteen Candles (recently reprised on Glee): a sexy lady's used undies are the stuff of fetish, right?

One of the girls [a friend] met at that party sold her panties on the site for $200 a pair. I'd heard rumors about this kind of thing for years, but here was proof it was possible. Two-hundred bucks for underwear? I wasn't up for posing in my panties, but I could totally do that! Unlike sex for money, selling used underwear didn't feel inherently sleazy or immoral. And sure, a guy buying panties online might seem a little off, but in the words of my friend the Craigslist gigolo, "Just because a guy's a panty-sniffer doesn't make him a bad person." After years of flirting with the idea, it was time for me to find out: can a girl make easy money off her dirty laundry? And how much money are we talking?

So she posts a Craigslist ad.

"I'm a college girl who just started school in the city and really need some cash for books and stuff. I have a bunch of panties I don't need any more - some are super-cute, some are kind of old! It's $25 for the not-so-nice pairs, but I have some more expensive lacy stuff too. Serious inquiries only please!"

Instead, dudes want head-shots and extras. Not shocking, maybe.

This was the sketchiness I was hoping to avoid, but I was desperate for a sale. I had posted my first ad nearly a week ago, my asking price had dropped from $100 to $40, but still no takers. I didn't like this kind of bartering. Not only do I suck at negotiating, but it was making me feel like a whore after all. I'd envisioned a wallet full of Benjamins and a drawer of new panties. I hadn't envisioned myself - and I'm cringing as I write this - making extravagant promises about how "juicy" my panties were. I was selling myself. It felt gross. I got very close to forgetting the whole thing.

She ultimately sells a few pair, but isn't sure the hassle is worth the money.

I still don't have a problem with the idea of selling my panties - if it were just that. But it's not. It's teasing and marketing myself, and ignoring upsetting propositions in the name of a buck. The e-mails are still coming in as my last Craigslist post is set to expire, but they're going unanswered. From here on out, I'll just have to do my laundry.

Well, I guess we know who buys those old panties at the SalVa! And, when you think of it that way, maybe it sort of is an act of charity? It's also maybe why only the granny-panties are left. Ew.

I Did It For Science: Selling Panties On Craigslist

(Go ahead and check it out first, so you can see what we're discussing here. I'll wait.)

First of all, I think the ad is pretty effective: You know exactly what's being sold and what it looks like; the clip is memorable.

But is it "empowering to women," as Copyranter claims? That's debatable. You could view the woman in the commercial as confident and self-assured; or you could see her as the embodiment of a Western stereotype: The vixen under the veil. On AdFreak she's called an "exotic hottie."

In addition, some Muslims (or likewise modest people) would certainly be offended by the ad since the model appears bare-bottomed, briefly.

We don't know much about the woman in the commercial; she could live in anywhere. But since there is a campaign to lift the ban on women selling lingerie in Saudi Arabia, the commercial actually addresses a genuine issue (even if it wasn't intentional). But will viewers get that? Or do they just see an "exotic hottie" in a stylish undies ad?

Social Statement Via Unmentionables Ad [Animal]
Lingerie That Goes With Practically Any Outfit [AdFreak]

Earlier: Saudi Women Trained To Sell Underwear
Boy-Cott: Male Lingerie Salesmen Not Helping Modesty, Say Saudi Women

A velvet-trimmed cream cone bra, the Sun tells us, has "come to light" and is going to auction in the UK. A guy from the auction house actually says, "Marilyn is an icon of the 20th century and very much loved by many people - not least for her marvellous cleavage." Oh, and the bra might have been worn "under her iconic white dress, most famously pictured blowing up around her waist above a hot air vent, in the iconic film the Seven Year Itch." There does not appear to be any evidence to support this. But they're probably right, I'm sure she only owned one bra, and the studio wouldn't have provided costumes or anything.

If you, too, wish to be loved for your marvellous cleavage, here are the "cunning secrets:"

1. Reinforced extra straps "running in a triangle from the centre of the bra over Marilyn's shoulders lifting it similar to how a suspension bridge works."

2. Underwire. Yes, this is a "cunning secret."

3. "An extra pair of added cups" - read: padding - that added an inch.

Or you can just show up at the auction and shell out some two thousand pounds for your own piece of the "2-D Sexy Icon" industry!

Monroe Wonder Bra Is Revealed [SunUK]

As mentioned earlier, Saudi Arabia's strict segregation laws ban women from working in stores, which means that women have to buy underwear from male clerks. Three months ago, a group of Saudi women launched a campaign to boycott lingerie stores until the country allows them to employ women. Reem Asaad, the women who organized the boycott, says training women was the idea of Suhair al-Qurashi, who is also working on the campaign. The Associated Press reports:

"She wanted the training to be a part of the solution because the industry was complaining that there's a lack of qualified [women] in the market who can run and manage lingerie stores," said Asaad. "So we covered fitting and technical issues, we covered selling and handling customer complaints."

After hearing about the boycott online, an Australian women offered to teach the course and a group of Victoria's Secret employees sent a box of bras to be used during training. "It was a beautiful experience," said Faten Abdo, who works as a coordinator in the offices of a lingerie company. "The most shocking thing for me was the bra sizes. We didn't know how to get proper measurements before."

Yesterday, after completing the 10-day course in Jiddah, the women held a small graduation ceremony. British consul-general Kate Rudd attended to show support for the campaign. "It was a small step, but perhaps from this little drop there will be bigger ripples," said Rudd.

Saudi Women Learning To Sell Bras [The Associated Press]

Earlier: Boy-Cott: Male Lingerie Salesmen Not Helping Modesty Say Saudi Women

It's true that the coverage surrounding Secret Life of Syrian Lingerie: Intimacy and Design book has largely focused on this notion of lingerie as an expression of sexuality denied women in everyday life. The ability to - and more, to the point, desire to - buy racy underthings seems to the average Western reader like a sort of freedom, or at the very least a sense of self-expression or gratification. But, says MMW's Krista, this kind of thinking only serves to simplify the reality of the situation and, in some way, play into our notion of an exoticized temptress.

What could be a more titillating image than that of a Muslim women (presumably veiled, of course) picking out something sexy to wear when in her private harem home? It might as well be proof of the Orientalist fantasy of the seductive, exotic temptress that exists within every Muslim woman, if only we could unveil her. (*shudder*)

What's more, she adds, the "sexiness" is not for the women's sense of selves, but rather, mandated and cast in terms of pleasing their husbands.

it soon becomes clear from the article that Muslim women apparently "value sexy" only in a patriarchal and heteronormative context in which "sexy" really refers to whatever their husbands want. Mohammad Habash, the (male) head of the Damascus Centre for Islamic Studies says, "Islam orders the woman to keep herself pretty for her husband, that's well-known," implying that female sexuality equals "pretty," and that this "pretty" is only important insofar as the husband acknowledges it. One woman interviewed for the article reinforces this perspective, stating that "Muslim wives must be desirable and pleasure their husbands so they don't stray," and that it is essentially the wife's responsibility to mould herself into the object of her husband's desire. If he goes elsewhere, it is probably because she did not "value sexy" enough.

I think she makes a really strong point, especially in regard to Western coverage of the phenomenon - and I count myself guilty in oversimplifying the issue. However, I also think, at least in my case, this arises not from wanting to perpetuate an "Arabian Nights" fantasy, as much as hoping that women in other parts of the world can take pleasure in an self-expression that's not a normal part of their public lives. Basically, lingerie's fun; I'm glad other people can enjoy it, too.

In some ways, I think Krista strips the women of too much agency: while she's absolutely right to point out the problematic cultural imperatives at work, by her argument, these women are denied any of the freedom which we were probably too quick to assume. I mean, I find it hard to believe that every single one of the women shopping for the rococo underthings in the described bazaar does so joylessly, or doesn't feel remotely sexy doing so. There are a range of people, of marriages, of dynamics, at work, as in everything. Perhaps we should not assume these women are doing this for themselves; but we also shouldn't do them the disservice of assuming they're not, surely?

Sexy Things: Women Or Lingerie? [Muslimah Media Watch]
Related: Undercover
Sugar & Spice

Vanity sizing, as anyone who's ever attempted to shop at Banana Republic knows, is nothing new. And, says the Times, "these days, many women - to their shock or glee - are finding that DD is becoming the new C." What this means is unclear. Either sizing is different, or we actually have bigger breasts on average - due to weight gain or surgical enhancement - or the population is aging, or maybe we're all just fitting our bras properly, thanks to Oprah and Stacey.

The piece acknowledges that a lot of women aren't thrilled to find out they're bigger busted than they imagined, which soothed my ruffled feathers somewhat after the irritating assumptions of that headline. For a lot of us, bra size is a very fraught issue. In my case, I'm the daughter of someone absolutely flat-chested...which became the feminine ideal in my house. When my boobs grew in - generous for my frame - I felt blowsy and trashy, consigned by my mother to a series of granny bras and "size Large" shirts. I took after my grandmother, who confided to me, not particularly helpfully, that her heavy chest was one of the great sadnesses of her life - a life, oddly, not short on genuine tragedies. Breasts never equaled "sexiness" to me - quite the contrary. They spelled unwelcome looks, buckling blouse plackets, hunched shoulders, and an unchosen sexuality that I felt misrepresented the serious young woman I wanted to become. When friends talked about wishing for bigger cup sizes, I was genuinely baffled: each advance through the alphabet felt to me like some kind of shame. The weird part was, I thought other people's curvaceous figures were amazing; it was just on me that the breasts became a sort of horrid alien imposition.

I got over this, to a degree, as one does: good bras, growing up, moving out and healthy relationships all helped me realize that my family was stark raving mad and that I had other things to worry about. But I still wonder when I see assumptions like that behind the Times headline. A friend of mine called me just the other day, downcast, having just been told that she was several bra sizes larger than she'd believed; the revelation, while it objectively contained no judgment, still affected how she thought of herself in relation to the world. In our lifetimes, our breasts and bra sizes change as much as anything in our bodies, and as in all things a degree of mental flexibility is necessary, but it's important for bra merchants and designers to understand that it's a sensitive subject and a bigger deal than it might seem. A little standardization might be nice. Or, as one plastic surgeon in the article says, "I wish they would get their act together and get their sizes straight."

Your Bra Size: The Truth May (Pleasantly) Surprise You [NY Times]