Infra-Apparel

This intriguing if superficial catalogue for an exhibit at the Metropolitan's Costume Institute investigates the cultural meaning of undergarments as ``intimate signifiers'' and illustrates its themes with photographs and paintings. Brief chapters cover the movement of lingerie from the private to the public arena, a change that dates back to a 1783 painting of Marie Antoinette in a cotton shift; the use of undergarments such as corsets to manipulate body shape; the growing popularity of decorative lingerie; and ``deconstruction in contemporary costume,'' such as slashed T-shirts and visible briefs (as illustrated by Marky Mark's familiar Calvin Klein elastic waistband peeking over the top of his jeans). Other illustrations include Christian Francis Roth's 1991 ``hobo suit'' with its oversized, colorful patches and Edouard Manet's painting of Nana in her slip. At times an academic tone obscures rather than enlightens with phrases like ``the greenhouse-forced cultivation of the decorative'' to describe the 19th-century taste for fancy clothing, and there is little discussion of men's underwear. Martin and Koda are curator and associate curator, respectively, of the Costume Institute. (Sept.)