Thanks to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review Underneath It All by Amber J. Keyser. The target audience is ages 13-18, grades 9-12. The introduction, Beyond Frippery and Lace, shares a quick history of women’s undergarments and a picture of Madonna in her infamous cone bra. A touching personal story from Jae West about self-acceptance is also shared bolstering self-esteem. Underwear isn’t just a covering, it also speaks of “gender, sexuality, politics and body image. An organization helping girls and women in poor countries makes and donates free reusable sanitary kits. The website is DaysForGirls.org and anyone can get involved, just check their website for information. Thinx, a new product is also explained. I’d never heard of this, but it’s innovative and impressive. Thinx is period-proof underwear! What a concept. The book continues on through the history of undergarments and highlights new and innovative underwear companies like Naja and Yellowberry. Underneath It All is interesting, informative and eye-opening and I learned a great deal more than I thought I would! 5 stars for this humorous, historical and educational look at the history of undergarments!

Keyser ambitiously covers the history of undergarments for women and people identifying as women from ancient Egypt to today. With clear and concise language, Keyser explores not just underwear, but constructs of gender, male gaze and oppositional gaze, comfort, menstruation - and even the whaling industry. The book features full-color illustrations/photographs where applicable, source notes, bibliography and suggested reading in the form of books, films, and online resources. Further note: the information regarding nineteenth-century undergarments was quite spot-on.

A fantastic overview of the history of women's underwear from ancient to modern times. Keyser effortlessly flows through the history of not only the shape of the undergarments, but what they meant for women at the time. How society viewed the different types of underwear and what it said about women--their class, power, empowerment (or lack thereof).

There are insets with pictures and additional info that create a fast read good for both younger and older readers. The book itself is short, which makes these good for younger kids with an interest in this, along with those maybe reading at a lower level and reluctant readers. It would also be a great book for costumers and writers who want accurate details in their creations.

I really enjoyed reading this and there were a ton of facts I'd never heard before. When talking about the ancient times, the author noted that there isn't much known about women's underwear (or anything about women) because no one thought women's lives were worth knowing it and researchers focused on men's lives. It's a small, short sentence, but it was awesome to see something like that acknowledged.

Some fascinating facts about the history of covering the "naughty bits", but a bit unfocused and diffuse in trying to tie in modern connections. So much is covered in relatively little space that the text can feel jumpy and superficial. I was left with questions several times. For example, the author talks about how the girdle became popular, but we never hear when it effectively disappeared.

In the modern era, instead of talking about the garments, the author switches to covering economic and political factors, such as "bra-burning" and the rise of Victoria's Secret and other lingerie companies. I wanted to know more about the items themselves. Spanx, and similar modern shapewear, isn't even mentioned, although it fits in with the author's thesis that underwear is as much about control as function.

More pictures or illustrations, particularly in the historical sections, would have been beneficial. One of the author's points is that not enough attention has been paid to this layer of clothing, so it should be assumed that readers could use all the help they could get in understanding the history and construction of the garments.

This tries to smash two or three book topics under one binding, leaving all of them covered in less detail than I would have liked. It feels like an introduction or outline more than a satisfying read. The bits I learned, particularly in the historical sections, were interesting, though.

At 96 pages, this book was full of fascinating info about the history of women's undergarments. I really appreciated the angle that no matter the period in history, women's undergarments have been hand in hand to the ways that women have felt confined or empowered. What hasn't changed over our human history, is that men STILL have something to say about the way we dress. Many times, Keyser discusses how laws have often been enacted in order to put parameters on the fashion and the clever ways designers and women themselves have pushed back.

Being naked or nearly naked is a vulnerable state. The body is laid to society's expectations about physical beauty. We are exposed to judgement, both from others and from ourselves.

A really good resource for anyone wanting to learn a basis of women's fashion from a historical context.

Anyone interested in fashion, women's rights, history, or just wants a fun read about history this is the book for you. Ms. Keyser is brilliant at making history come to life. She peaks up the skirt of history, if you will pardon the analogy, and gives a rarely seen look at a world that is fundamental to the history of human life. She writes well, she informs without making it a dull list of details and she gives a fascinating perspective of fashion, the life of women and the relationship of how women live under patriarchy.

Plus she actually gives new information from archeology where new information about women's undergarments has been uncovered. For example did you know that chastity belts were used by women? The purpose though was not by men to lock up their females. To find out why you have to read the book.

This is a must read for anyone who enjoys a good non-fiction read.