Beneath It All by Farid Chenoune (1999, Hardcover)

If you’re looking for hot chicks in skimpy underwear, don't buy this book. If you’re looking for an arty overview of the history of lingerie over the last century, then this is the book for you. This is a large book with lots of photographs of lingerie-clad models and reproductions of old-time corset ads. Some of the photos are straight out of catalogs; others are shots of famous actress in their unmentionables. Sexy without being salacious, you could leave this on your coffee table for your next party and it would spark lots of interesting talk without getting you in trouble with your mother-in-law. What is interesting is how sexy and titillating the old lingerie was. We did not discover sex in the sixties; we just brought it out of our closets, which were apparently stuffed with all manner of naughty nighties and eye-catching undies.