Undergarments for women have long been costume-like, and were often meant to dramatically alter female silhouettes. (Whalebone corsets, giant hoops worn under crinoline skirts, a bustle.) Bloomers and petticoats might look dowdy and utilitarian, but eroticizing lingerie isn’t a new trend. Lingerie really started becoming more decorative and luxurious in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In1898, after noting a “mania” for colourful, decorative and seductive lingerie throughout Europe, the French journalist Octave Uzanne wrote, “the last remains of feminine modesty sunk out of sight.”

But underwear as a costume is a newer phenomenon. It might be linked with the provocative “underwear as outerwear” period of the 1980s and 90s. At the end of the 20th century, seeing visible underwear became more shocking than the nude body. An example is Madonna’s “Blonde Ambition” cone bra.

That’s the culture that led up to the “fast fashion” lingerie that was so popular in the early 2000s. And the inexpensive “Halloween Slutty” and “Santa Baby” costumes multiplied.

Santa may be a wholesome concept, but he is asking people to sit on his lap, he’s keeping a naughty and nice list, there are songs about Santa kissing women when he comes to visit, people are getting cozy with fur and sitting by a fire, and let’s not forget the unknown quantity of Ms. Santa Claus.   Perhaps people who buy Santa lingerie are buying into the commercialized, sexualized lens of those forces~