From Black Venus to Blonde Venus: the meaning of black lingerie

A Bird in the Hand: Hunting, Fashion and Colonial Culture

“…When these workers returned from holidays or sick leave they would find stacks of black undergarments next to their machines 'left for them by their largely immigrant co-workers because sewing black thread on black fabric was more difficult'. 11 The meanings of feathers and furs, as we shall see, also had different meanings for those who worked with the materials rather than wore them.…”

Sex and the city: Branding, gender and the commodification of sex consumption in contemporary retailing

“…Of an analysis of 1565 lingerie items sold in eight case study stores, black was found to be the dominant colour of lingerie, making up 69% of the total lingerie in sex shops and 47% in erotic boutiques (see figure 2). Black lingerie has been theorised as eroticised and sexualised (Lurie, 1981;Fields, 2006) and as a sign of 'female sexual sophistication' (Fields, 2006: 611), elegance and glamour (McCulloch, 2010). It is therefore classically associated with both sex and sophistication.…”

“…These are spaces for wealthy women. The use of the dominant colour black has long been associated with elegance, glamour, sophistication, style, mystery, wealth and power (Fields, 2006;Gaimster, 2011;McCulloch, 2010) with the 'little black dress' seen as the 'epitome of sophistication' (McCulloch, 2010: 24) and 'black tie' as the dress code for formal evening events and social occasions. The colour black therefore lends the gentrified erotic boutique an air of sophistication and glamour and contributes to the upmarket branding strategies of shop space.…”