Curvy bottom and hips, wasp waist or gym-honed figure: the image of the ideal body has changed a lot over the centuries. Underwear helps people get as close as possible to that perfect image. At the same time, it is inseparably associated with sensuality and sex. Our relationship with garments worn so close to the skin is very intimate. Underwear can be stuffed to create curves where we want them or can correct parts of the body we would like to appear slimmer. All sorts of ingenious items have been designed over the centuries to help us achieve the right look. Calf pads for men and bottom pads for women in the 18th century, for instance. Or tight-fitting corsets (for men as well as women) and hooped crinolines in the 19th century. All the way through to push-up bras and corrective pantyhose today. Since the late 19th century, there has also been a growing desire – often driven by health considerations – to alter the body itself. When sports such as aerobics with Jane Fonda and bodybuilding in the style of Arnold Schwarzenegger began to reach the general public in the 1970s, training our physique became more popular. The physically fit, trained or slender body remains the ideal for many people today.