Negligee

It was introduced in France in the 18th century, where it mimicked the heavy head-to-toe style of women's day dresses of the time.

The term "negligee" was used on a Royal Doulton run of ceramic figurines in 1927, showing women wearing what appears to be a one-piece knee-length slip made of silk or rayon, trimmed with lace.

Although the evening-dress style of nightwear made moves towards the modern negligee style—translucent bodices, lace trimming, bows, exemplified in 1941 by a photo[2][3][4] of Rita Hayworth[5][6] in Life—it was only after World War II that nightwear changed from being primarily utilitarian to being primarily sensual or even erotic; the negligee emerged strongly as a form of lingerie.

Modern negligees are often much looser, made of sheer and diaphanous fabrics, and trimmed with lace or other fine material and bows.

It spread to a mass market, benefiting from the introduction of cheap synthetic fabrics such as nylon and its finer successors.