It's amazing how far you can get by showing a bit of skin. One of the oldest truths in the world (although I'm sure they put it somewhat differently 3000 years ago) is 'sex sells'. Or really, I suppose, more accurately, the suggestion of sex is what sells. Show too much, or the wrong bit of flesh, and you become prime gossip magazine fodder, and that's really not the most flattering form of publicity. Of course, there's a wide discrepancy between sexy, and just plain tarty. UK tabloid favourite Jodie Marsh falls squarely into the tarty category, and has done very well for herself out of it (I saw her house on MTV Cribs once during a bout of insomnia, surprisingly tasteful). The best example I can think of for working sexy in a classy way in order to further your career is Elizabeth Hurley. In 1994, the then largely unknown actress accompanied her then-boyfriend, Hugh Grant, to the London premiere of his file Four Weddings and a Funeral, and was wearing 'That Dress' as it came to be known.

In my spare time (such as it is) in Second Life, I like to go play at an 'immersive' Victorian steampunk RP sim. For reasons probably best kept to myself, I recently went in search of some Victorian underwear to wear there, which was rather less fruitful than one would perhaps imagine. I eventually found a place which had a fine selection of nice vintage undies, in my excitement bought altogether more than I needed, and proceeded never to actually publicly wear any of it. It got me thinking, though, two things: Firstly, for all the lingerie stores out there in Second Life, very little of it caters towards historical roleplayers, and for all the historical dresses to be found out there, there's little consideration for what could possibly be worn underneath them.