Lipstick contains waxes, emollients, pigments and various oils. The wax holds its shape. Beeswax is still in use – it being taken from the honeycomb of bees. Other types of waxes are obtained from leaves of certain palm trees that grow in Brazil. Candelilla wax is taken from the plant of the same name that is found in Mexico. The plants are soaked in boiling water and sulfuric acid. The wax that rises to the surface is then skimmed off. Other ingredients are olive, mineral and castor oil, cocoa butter, petrolatum and lanolin. Recently other moisturizers like Vitamin E, aloe vera, amino acids, sunscreens and collagen are being used. These soften and moisten the lips while keeping it sheltered from the elements. The colour comes from many types of pigments and dyes.
Lipstick making involves heating, mixing and stirring. The finely ground mixture is heated and then poured into metal moulds. Then it is chilled again. The formed lipstick is now subjected to heat again for about half a second to give it the smooth glossy touch. Lipstick lasts longer if kept in the refrigerator. The lipstick tube consists of the base and cover. The base twists and slides as it pushes up the lipstick. The cover on top protects it from getting squashed and chewed off by the unwary toddler.
The shelves contain an array of lipsticks – matted, frosted, sheer and stained.. Glossy or sheer lipsticks need to be applied more frequently. Matte ones are not shiny but last longer although the lips do not remain moisturized and tend to crack.
The lip-gloss is sold in bottles – it has the same ingredients as lipsticks but less wax and more of oil to make the pout more shiny and glittering.

The making of lipstick is a science but its application is an art. Just like a painter of walls first uses a primer so too it is the rule with lips. Use a lip pencil, which will be a sort of fixative. The general practice to choose a lipstick is rubbing it on back of the hand but the fingertip is more akin to the colour of the human lips. Check on the label and pick one that has not been involved in animal slaughter. The chemical ingredients should also be carefully studied. It is surmised that in a lifetime a woman ingests about 4 to 6 pounds of lipstick. So it is better to know ahead that the stuff is not harmful for the health. Try and obtain samples. Usually manufacturers supply the shops with any number to push sales. The best shade is the one that tunes in with the individual’s complexion and the colour of the clothes of the wearer. The rule of thumb is natural colours are for the daytime and more bold shades for the night. When youth begins to wane then lipsticks with more oils and creams are preferable.
Everything has its red signal of warning. Lipsticks can be harmful. Avoid ones with parabens as these are suspected villains inducing cancer of the reproductive system.  Lipstick sometimes contains lead. Its use makes the stuff cheap. Try the test of rubbing a gold ring on the lipstick. If the colour changed from red to black then shy off from the purchase – it is dangerous.
Some hot red facts about lipstick will be of trivia interest. In 1959 Connie Francis added the touch of culture to lipstick with her hit song “Lipstick on Your Collar’. Shisedo Cosmetics of Tokyo conducted a survey in 1996 in which most of the American women (87%) admitted to leaving lipstick traces on places where they should not be!

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2. Compact Disc
3. COMBS
4. WAX
5. HAIR STYLING

In the jet set age when one has to match looks with time constraints the best option to keep the long tresses glossy and bouncing is to go for a hair dryer. It is also known as a blow dryer and is a tool, which is electromechanical. It blows hot air over hair that is damp or wet to speed up the process of evaporation.
Towards the end of the 19th century hair dryers made its debut. In order to work it relied on generation of heat and mechanized flow of air. Alexander Godefroy invented the first model for his French salon. The convenient domestic hand held dryer popped up in 1920. Coils of wire run through the gadget which when heated produced hot air.
Hair dryers help but cannot by itself style the hair. For it brushes, combs and other aids are required. Since the 1920’s different hair dryer designs have been granted patents. But that is only concerned with the exterior facelift. The basic skeletal framework of the inside has remained the same, except for addition of some safety points.
Hair dryers have become indispensable. There is a general idea that sitting around with wet hair might lead to colds and sniffles. Whatever the reason the hair dryer has come to stay and the only way it is going to be dislodged is the way mankind is more prone to hair loss than never before. To suit the change new bald fashions have come into vogue and this might well spell the end of the road for the electromechanical hair dryer.
The principle underlying the mechanism of the hair dryer is the speeding up of the process of evaporation from the hair. The hot air emitted from the gadget envelops the head with an umbrella of warmth, which is hotter than the room temperature. Air that is warm can hold more moisture than what the air in the rest of the room can, at that point of time. The molecules in water droplets, no longer being attracted to each other, move onto the gas stage from the liquid one.
To produce the hot air only two things are required – a fan operated by a motor and a coil for the purpose of heating. Heating energy is turned into convective heat. When the tool is plugged in and switched on currents begins to run through it. Power is supplied to the coiled wire that becomes heated. In the next phase the current causes the small motor to start spinning which in turn whirls the fan. It generates an airflow. This flow is now directed down the hairdryer’s barrel over and into the heated elements. Heat rises and the air becomes hot by the process of forced convection. The warm and hot air now streams out from the nozzle of the barrel.
The small fan looks like a water wheel or hydraulic turbine.  But instead of gathering in the potential energy from flowing water the trick inside a hair dryer is done by electrical energy to produce the hot flow of air. The tiny fan is fixed to the nose of the motor. When power is fed in both the fan and the motor start to spin. The movements of the blades of the fan are centrifugal and hence it draws air in by way of small circular inlets in the sides of the object. A screen that stops protects these holes from other items like strands of hair getting sucked in also. The heated air is then pushed through the barrel of the tool. Most of the latest models can be set at high or low airflow requirements. A controlling switch modulates the speed of the motor by altering the rate of current flow.
The material from which the wire is made is known as nichrome. This is an alloy of nickel and chromium. It is used for common household appliances like curling irons and toasters. Nichrome wires are good producers of heat. Compared to copper it is a poor conductor of electricity. The resistance allows it to heat to satisfactory required levels. On the other hand the use of iron is not practical because it rusts quickly at the temperature used for hair dryers, toasters and the like. The fan generates the airflow. It passes through the heated elements and out through the nozzle. Cool air is now taken in and the cycle continues. The temperature of the air coming out depends on the wattage being used. Some models use 1875 watts.
Some hair specialists are worried that this much of heat can cause damage not only to the hair but also to the scalp. Here arises the question of safety measures when mass production of hair dryers has become an industry and the device has invaded nearly each and every home. There must be a cut-off switch for safety because the scalp can get torched if the temperature shoots up to more than 140 degrees Fahrenheit. For this heat sensors can be used for tripping the errant current flow. A simple bimetallic strip can do the job. It consists of two metal sheets, which expand when heated but each at different rates. This causes the one which has grown larger, to bend and trigger off a switch-off. For more enhanced safety a thermal fuse can be fixed. It will prevent fires and aggressively break the circuit if the temperature rises abnormally. The outside the hair dryer has to be properly insulated otherwise it will become too hot to handle. Usually an insulated sheet lines the plastic exterior.
There is one hair dryer that is safe and free. It is the Sun. Hairstyling is as old as the hills. In the morning after a bath wet hair was coaxed into waves with the help of pencils. By the end of the day the Sun had done its part and bouncy waves made my lady prettier than ever before. But hair is fast joining the endangered list!

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2. Fan
3. COMBS
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5. CONDOMS

The history of the footwear goes as back as 15000 years! The drawings from the Spanish cave reveal human wearing footwear in the form of animal skins or furs wrapping around their feet. The “ice-man” whose body is well preserved since 3300 BC has leather foot coverings. The material used for footwear includes plastic, leather, textiles, rubber and wood.
Whatever the material used in, the footwear have been existing since thousands of years. In some oldest Hindu scriptures dating back to 5000 years like in “Mahabharata” and “Ramayana”, the shoes were respected for their protection and footwear, belonging to some great divine personalities was even worshipped by their followers and disciples.
There were innumerable experiments done on the footwear to make them durable and stylish. Initially, for the new soles for the track shoes, rubber was poured into a standard waffle iron. This was probably the first ‘waffle’ tread pattern, which is considered to be one of the major milestones for tracking shoes.
THE REVOLUTION
From the wooden footwear with slapdash work to the most dynamic present-day athletic shoes are the marvels of the engineering. The footwear, which was made once upon a time just to walk, is now becoming newer attraction by getting an important part of the dressing for personal display. Many of the people in society their personal style begins primarily with shoes.
It was quite dream to think about metal in shoes but the technology has reached its peak. You have now steel toed boots, designed especially for construction workers who are at risk of having heavy objects dropped. Companies are manufacturing numerous types of shoes for different types of occasions like Flip Flops, Running Shoes, Sport Sandals, Hiking Boots, Casual Wear, Party Wear, Trail Running Shoes, Water Shoes, Clogs and Slides.
In many parts of Asia, especially western side of India, the hand-made footwear is still the tough competitor of stylish machine made footwear. Various functions and festivals have different types of footwear to wear on. Many of them are made up of clothes having beautiful art with knitted pearls, mirror-buttons and other famous material like ‘Abha’. These types of footwear are called as ‘Mojari’ and don’t require socks to wear.
The days are no more when the lady had to choose from the selected designs with plain heels and flat-platform footwear. Today she has varieties to choose right from the uniquely designed pencil-heel to eye-catching knee high black boot with lace that holds all the way up to the top!

FOOTWEAR – INDUSTRY FOR FASHION AND PROFESSION
It is not surprising that Footwear Industry is now one of the profit-making businesses. According to one survey, the outlook for the Footwear & Leather Industry in India is magnificent with a marginal share of 2.44 % in global trade worth US$ 97.606 billion. China, the largest retailer of ladies’ footwear is likely to rise as much as 1.1 Billion USD. United States, the house of fashion footwear is blooming with 44.4 Billion USD business in footwear industry.
The trend is changing. Many giant multinational companies are now blooming in the world with their footwear. The market is full of different styled footwear like Cowboy-boot, Ankle boot, Soft brown leather shoes, Devil Boot with skull buckle, heavy men’s biker style calf length boots etc.
The youth is enamored by shoes and different styles of footwear. The metal plating with tough leather shoes had a great impact on the market once upon a time. No wonder anymore that, people have different footwear for different occasions. Ladies, the target customers are pleased with different colors of footwear matching to their apparel. Don’t get surprised if you find shoes for your brown dress made from the real crocodile skin in Bristol Zoo, England!

On the other hand, certain footwear have become dress-code for certain professions. They are made accordingly.  Like as in sports, the sport shoes are made up with tough leather which is able to absorb the shock and can withstand to any of the jerks felt during the play. In parties and ramp walking, the footwear is made with more style and less durability. No wonder they are adorned with diamonds and gold strips!
FOOTWEAR – FOR HEALTH!
Yes, this could be new to you but equally true. Nowadays you find shoes sole with special design having some magnetic tablets with holes or tiny elevated pyramids. These types of soles are to be put into the normal shoes. This gives benefit by pressing certain “acupressure points” located on your soles which are basic theory for reflexology.
For chronic disease like diabetes, there is diabetic footwear which will help you preventing some dangerous complication like diabetic-foot. The “diabetic-footwear” is spacious allowing enough blood circulation in the feet which is not there in diabetic patient with tight-fitted shoe. If you are having pain, there are “pain relief footwear” named as Z-coil footwear that reduces the various pains occurring by walking, jogging and running.

Overall, the footwear are little bit more than just a wearing. They are now becoming important part of our daily dressings, whether you wear them to increase your height or to make your style or wear as dress-code with your ‘dull’ face. They have traveled from our feet to our heart in a very short time.

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The history of panties starts with the story of bloomers. The original purpose was modesty – covering up as much of the female form as possible. As hens are to the eggs so to bloomers are to panties. Typically it is a divided garment to cover the lower part of women. The first ones were the brainchild of Elizabeth Miller but Amelia Bloomer made it popular during the 1850’s. These were long baggy pants ending at the ankles. It was largely influenced by the East and often came to be called the ‘Syrian’ style. In the late 18th century the bloomers got two other nametags – knickers and knickerbockers. Women wore it during sports events during those days of Victorian modesty. From the 1920’s bloomers began to get short. For a classic visual of bloomers the best bet is to watch the bloomer-dance in the Hollywood classic ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ where the delightful brides prance around bloomers, the ancestors of panties!

The post-war period saw an outburst or outrage of female modesty dominated by the bra-panty culture. Somehow freedom for women and women’s right became mixed up with exposure of the exquisite female form, leaving little to the imagination. Some interpreted it as a hidden fear and doubt about the natural appeal of the female towards the opposite sex, as Nature meant it to be. Hence the urgency to establish and advertise it aggressively! Another explanation is that the post-war period saw a boom in business and advertising. The least amount of material was turned into a costly piece of garment. The gullible public swallowed the bait and the undergarment made its dominating presence felt – often to the point of ridicule and invasion of human decency and privacy.
Today more than a piece of clothing that covers and comforts the panty has become an object of sexuality. But is the operation table, with the spread-eagled human form, the alpha of sensuality? Sex is something far more – deep and sensual – than mere exposure of the beast in the urban jungle.

From the 1920’s the hemline of skirts began to rise and importance came to be given from what peeped out from under it. The original panties were made from silk or artificial silk called rayon. After that nylon came to be use. Skin problems and other related headaches is causing a rethinking and going back to cotton. This is however turning out to be a costly affair.
The panty started its journey with the original purpose of covering the intimate part of a woman even she suddenly fell or jumped about. It spelt freedom from prowling eyes. The panty covers the mysterious deep junction between the legs. Eminent sociologist Margaret Mead says that the maleness and femaleness is inherent and woven into the fabric of our body as well as mind from childhood. It is genetically programmed. Mead points out that when a baby girl falls she spontaneously brings together her hands in front below the stomach. Whereas when a boy falls he spreads his arms across on both sides. Everything in woman is inside. Everything in man is outside.

Apart from the modesty factor the panty protects the woman from infections while she goes about her work in this modern world. The panty material should be able to breathe – otherwise it will itself be a source of trouble. Moreover the panty should be washed daily and should definitely not be shared on grounds of long-term health and hygiene.

The panty culture has developed a language of its own and one of the terms is panty-line or visible-panty-line (VPL). It is the provocative outline of the undergarment teasing through the outer clothing. The Panty-line also came to be known as the bikini-line. Of late there is very little difference between the bikini and the panty. Womankind is somehow holding onto a wisp of cloth to save her modesty and her civilization.

Pantyhose is another name in the panty business. These are sheers of extremely close fittings covering the body from the waist and reaching down to the feet. These resemble stockings and are made from nylon. It made its entry in USA during the 1960’s as an alternative to stockings. It is not necessary to wear any other undergarment below it. In UK these are termed ‘tights’ but with a variation in meaning. It need not be tight fighting but can be made from any stretchable material like spandex. Usually women wear it during physical exercises. In the tropical countries the entry of panties has been fairly recent. Overnight it has led to a market boom. But the panty does not go with the stifling humid sweaty climate of the tropics where the body needs to be aired as long as possible. It has led to a rise in hitherto unknown skin problems – this being a boon for pharmaceutical business.

A whole culture, for good or bad, has come to revolve round the panty. Much to the agony of health addict regular sales of second hand panties are becoming quite common. It is not unknown that even after vigorous washing; items of clothing do not become totally free from germs and vermin. There is a regular auction of panties and other items of undergarments worn by celebrities like Marylyn Monroe. It depends on one’s bent of mind whether to shudder or to cheer at such displays of civilized mankind.

In a recent online news it was reported that at Stansted Airport a 29 year old man hit the headlines as the panty-thief! He was the baggage handler at the airport and admitted to stealing panties. His colleagues saw him searching and removing these delightful items from passenger’s luggage. Three hundred pairs were carefully stored in his home. He was given an 18-month sentence with a fine. The sentence was relatively lenient as the motive was not greed but psychological. Society seems to be beginning to pay for allowing a free hand to greedy manufacturers and their partners – the media gangs.

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2. BRA
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Generally speaking a vest is an undergarment covering the upper part of the male body. There are innumerable styles and vary from one region to another. Broadly vests can be divided into two groups – the undergarment variety and the sleeveless coat or jacket kind resembling waistcoats that are worn on top.
The word comes from French veste, Italian vesta, veste and Latin vestis.  All refer to an item of clothing. It made its debut in England during the reign of Charles II. One Samuel Pepys had entered in his diary that the King made an official statement that he would be starting off a new fashion – the vest! It was supposed to teach the nobles thrift.
The vest is ‘undershirt’ in USA, ‘vest’ in UK and her colonies and ‘singlet’ in Australia. It is a kind of T-shirt without sleeves generally worn under the shirt but not always. Sometimes it is used as an outer garment. The vest may be termed a cousin of the waistcoat.  What is ‘waistcoat’ in UK is ‘vest’ in USA. It is often the third piece in a formal suit attire. The sports vest is worn as an outer item of clothing. Hunters wear padded vests and fishers put on the fishing-vest that comes with a plethora of external pockets for carrying fishing gear and tackle.
Another common name making the rounds in connection with vests is ‘banyan’. During the 18th century men took to this fashion influenced by the East. It is still commonly used in India as an undershirt. It also refers to a morning gown or nightgown being a loose T-shaped kimono made from cotton, linen or silk.
The latest in hot demand is the ballistic vest or the bulletproof variety that is a sort of armour which absorbs the impact from gunfire targeting the torso. These vests are soft and made from tightly woven fibres. The police and private security guards wear the soft variety. Combat troops or armed policemen facing danger at home sport the hard vests which are reinforced by plates. A helmet usually accompanies the bulletproof vest.
Most of the bulletproof types of vest do not give protection against ice picks, arrows or stabs from knives. Special kinds have been manufactured and mostly used by guards in prisons. A material known as Dyneema provides a lot of protection against attacks from blades.
The first fabric that was used as a bullet resistant was from silk. Layers and layers of silk (18/30) were used to manufacture it. In 1881 a certain Goodfellow watching a gunfight in Arizona between two contestants noticed that one escaped serious injury because of the person’s silk handkerchief. Based on the findings of Goodfellow and few other similar incidents Zeglen of Chicago went on to manufacture a bulletproof vest made from silk towards the end of the 19th century. Undoubtedly the vests were very costly. The World War I started when the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was shot on 28th June 1918. He was wearing a bulletproof silk vest but it could not save him as he was shot in the neck.  During the late 1920’s and 30’s USA gunmen gangs started wearing less expensive protective vests made from layers of cotton padding. During World War II the USA army designed many vests but most of them were too heavy. Flak jackets were made for aircraft crew. These were from nylon material and could check penetration of shrapnel and flak but not bullets.
In India the vest has become an essential part of clothing because of the hot humid climate. Generally the vests are not coloured but white.  The banian, made from a special type of fabric, absorbs the sweat and grime giving the wearer comfort. It also saves the outer shirt, which without the protective vest below, would have soon got worn out eroded by body fluids and the heat. Previously when men did not wear shirts the vest was not at all in use. Men usually went bare bodied with a loose robe thrown across rippling muscles. The rich covered their chests with bejeweled necklaces. For the humble the piece of cloth thrown across the shoulders also served as a sort of towel and doubled up as a shopping bag. The introduction of shirts and vests has complicated matters. A whole new industry centering round the hosiery market has sprung up with vested interests in the production of vests.

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A comb is a solid tool, usually flat and always with teeth. It is used for caring for human hair and cleaning other fluffy stuff like fiber. The etymology goes back to ancient Greece and Sanskrit meaning tooth or to bite. Among tools perhaps it is the oldest. Exquisite combs have been found digging up the ancient Persian Empire going back about 5000 years and at the time of the first Indo-European migrations. Many of the historical combs can be seen in museums. In the Hermitage Museum there is an exquisitely carved comb belonging to the Scythian period ca 400 BC termed the Salokha comb. On the head are depicted three human figures, one being on horseback, about to kill an animal.
Combs were not always used for cosmetic purpose. It was used to comb out hair parasites like lice that took shelter in human hair. The fact is that as yet, no traditional civilization has yet been found that did not use combs! If you share combs then you have to share parasites also. Parasites love traveling from scalp to scalp via the comb route. Parasites travel in groups with families and eggs. Thus a comb is extremely popular with lice, fleas, mites and fungus. Sometimes the matter becomes serious because the comb is said to have been a carrier for the Black Plague, that finished off nearly one third of Europe in the Middle Ages. There are special nit combs and flea combs to tackle the menace of macroscopic vermin.
   
The comb may be turned into a musical instrument by stringing across its teeth the leaf of a plant or a thin piece of paper. Humming on it with cropped lips produce a heavenly ethereal sound. This principle is used in a musical instrument called the kazoo. The shape, material and length of the teeth determine the harmonic qualities of the comb.
Police investigators love combs. This is the first item they will seek in the crime scene. From the comb they will carefully collect samples of hair and dandruff for clues. The latest DNA testing procedure makes the hair on the comb an important item for proving or disproving accusations.
Some experts on hair care are of the opinion at it is best to use combs with wide teeth instead of hairbrushes and plastic combs having fine teeth. Wooden combs are supposed to anti-static without sharp seams. This prevents snapping and tangling of hair. The hairbrush continues to be popular. It is bigger than the usual comb and is used for managing and styling hair.
Combs have been frequently mentioned in many religious books. Among Hindus, during the period of mourning the family is not supposed to brush, comb or oil the hair. For some groups this continues for a fortnight. After the last rites the men shave off their hair while the women get back to the earnest job of combing the tangled mass. Indian mendicants take the vow of not combing their matted locks. It dangles in knotty splendour and revered by all. In mythology the River Ganga splashed on to the matted locks of Lord Shiva to find shelter and support.
Combs are universal and no corner of the globe is without it. But each has its own style and use of special material. Wooden combs are still quite common in village fairs in Asia. Usually these are made of boxwood and wood of cherry and pine trees. The best wooden combs are made by hand and polished. Some combs are made from the horns of buffalos. The early ones were made from ivory and bones. Silver, gold, tin and brass were also used. Tortoise shell and horn combs were more pliable and soft than other ones as these could be easily moulded. Generally combs are shaped from the raw material specific to the locality. It has its down side. The Chinese Kingfisher’s exquisite turquoise feathers were used to make classy combs and led to the near extinction of the species. The collector of African combs will be able to identify the locale from the wood used in each specific comb.
When the sentiments for ivory was getting two strong and supply becoming low, two brothers, Isaiah and John Hyatt in 1869 after playing around in the laboratory for some time discovered celluloid.  The first plastic consisted of nitrocellulose and camphor. A revolution was kicked off in the world of combs. They became cheaper and faster to make while keeping up the appearances of ivory and tortoise shell. It meant good news to the animals that got a breather to comb the nature reserves without fear. 
In USA one Enoch Noyes opened a mini shop selling combs made from cattle horns. A German named Cleland joined him with technical know how and tools. Within few years a number of skilled horn smiths found employment under them. Leominster in Massachusetts came to be known since then as the Comb Capital of the country.
Combs are no longer the prerogative of humans. All one has to do is to pay a visit to the pet shop. There are various types of combs and brushes for cats, dogs and horses. There are different varieties specific to each family of dogs and cats. 
Combing has an acupuncture effect. The nerves get stimulated. Holistic medicine practitioners strongly advise the use of combs to get over a feeling of depression. To come back to a feeling of well being with a bounce just vigorously comb your hair. For the best effect keep changing the comb so that the teeth are sharp and pointed for the required results. To avoid infection it is best to observe comb hygiene. Like the toothbrush there should be a separate comb for each individual.     
Collectors can share interesting experiences. One collected a delicate honey-amber coloured piece with 21 teeth still intact, from an African flea market! A woman’s crowning glory is her cascade of long tresses. The comb not only smoothes it out but also can be used to keep it in place. Some were carved and decorated with rhinestones. In yesteryears men fell in love with the rippling long tresses of women. Another big sized comb with its back broken off had its top made of rhinestone. It came from a church white elephant sale.
  
Research in combs is still relatively new but efforts are on to rope in enthusiasts and scholars to find out more about the oldest tool in the history of mankind. This led to the formation of a club in 1993, The Antique Comb Collector’s Club. It is a non-profit organization intense in its search to comb the past for information and antique pieces.

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The main purpose of the bra is to give the breasts support so that it does not become a cumbersome pendulum, hindering free body movement. Another popular conception is that the bra will prevent the breasts from sagging. As yet medical does not say that bras stop the natural laws of ageing. Even bra manufacturers admit that bras shape the female figure only while it is being worn.  When women are performing strenuous exercise the bra can give comfort. The sports bra is exclusively designed for this. While running, large and even small breasts can cause pain from the continuous bounces and jolts. Bras prevent the skin surfaces from rubbing against each other and causing abrasions. Without a bra there is likelihood of maceration (loss of skin) and intertrigo (rash) linked with fungal infections. Contrary views however opine however that the use of bra will promote atrophy of the ligament and hasten drooping
The bra is worn for the observance of modesty. Some wear it to lift the breasts and give the figure a sharp contour. It gives a more youthful appearance and sharply sketches the cleavage. Designers try to blend the practical with the attractive. Bras are very important during pregnancy when the breasts become enlarged and sensitive. There are special nursing bras for new mothers.
There is a strong view gaining ground especially in Europe that the bra is not an essential item of clothing – rather it hampers free movement and causes harm to the physique. The anti-bra lobby thinks that it is a denigrating symbol of repression of women. Feminists have strongly come forward with the argument that the bra is a kind of instrument of torture like the Chinese practice of keeping the feet bound. This attitude often led to bra-burning ceremonies to make the point.  Traditionally the bra is taken to symbolize the coming of womanhood – one of the clear signs that the maid has become a woman. Taken together there is a storm raging round the bra – it is being given more importance than is reasonable. After all it is just a wisp of clothing.
The origin of the word ‘bra’ is French. Brassiere means a baby’s vest or undershirt. It also referred to lifebelt, harness or under-bodice. In military parlance it means the arm of the uniform. This later came to connote a breastplate and then later on a kind of corset worn by women. The word ‘brassiere’ blended into the English language sometime around 1893. Vogue magazine was the first to use it in 1907 and in 1911 it got itself entrenched in the Oxford English Dictionary. By the 1930’s the lengthy word ‘brassiere’ had come to be shortened to ‘bra’. In French it is known as soutien-gorge.
Herminie Cadolle kicked off the garment in 1905. A law suit waged around this tiny object, called the bra, when Otto Titzling got into a legal brawl with Phillip de Brassier claiming to be the inventor of this undergarment. Digging up the past there are records that female athletes used these breast uplifters in 7th century BC during the Minoan Civilization. In India it was common from ancient times and still is to tie a piece of cloth firmly round the breasts. This was called the choli. Later the choli has become an adaptation of the westernized ‘blouse’. It is of interest to note that until the coming of the Muslims, Indians did not wear stitched clothes. Even today stitched clothes are banned for orthodox ceremonies.
The corset made its appearance in 16th century Europe. Its purpose was to push the breasts upwards. Designers continued to experiment, dividing the function into two. There was a girdle like device for the lower and another to suspend the breasts with straps from the shoulders. By the 1930’s commercial production of bras began on a large scale. It became an industry running into billions of dollars.
A bra has two cups for the breasts joined by a centre panel that is a band around the body and under the bust, supported by two shoulder straps on each side of the neck. Bras are made from cotton or polyester fabric. Plastic with lace has replaced wires for supporting the cups. A hook fastener is used at the back to keep the garment in place. Some have fasteners in the front between the cups. Others are just stretched over the head dispensing with fasteners altogether. Padding is sometimes used for comfort and an appearance of fullness.
Breasts may weigh up to many kilograms. These are given the lift by a bra, which acts as a pulley transferring the weight from the chest to the back, neck and shoulders. This might cause pain and in the long run injure the physique, particularly in the case of those with extra large pendulous parts.
The comfort factor comes from the proper size and feeling of fitness. There are as many sizes as there are types of breasts. The size depends on the cups of the breasts and the length around the body known as the cup size and the band size respectively.
Today there are not just many sizes of bras but also many varieties and types to match innumerable kinds of outer garments. The strapless, backless and multiway stays invisible underneath skimpy clothes. The push-up and plunge type of bras focus on the shape and cleavage of the female form. In the West bras are coming out from the curtains of the interior to peep outside to stimulate sexual attraction.
The bra story includes raising charity funds by auctioning celebrity bras. The bra no longer remains the sole prerogative of women. Good news for manufacturers is that some obese men with heaving bulging chests have taken to wearing bras!

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Throughout its history, man has found a wide range of purpose for the use of jewelry.  What started as a simple form of adornment to the body became symbols of wealth, power and authority.  Not only that, in some cultures, jewelry was seen as a symbol of prowess in battle and also served as protection from evil.The earliest artifacts of jewelry were found in Cro-Magnon dwellings dating to around 40,000 years ago.  These forms of jewelry were crudely made and were crafted from shells, bones, sinew, mammoth tusks and mother of pearl.

The art of making jewelry started gaining refinement by the heyday of the Mesopotamian kingdoms.  Artifacts have proven that both men and women in Assyria wore jewelry extensively.  The same goes for the Egyptians.  In Egypt, however, jewelry became a symbol of power, worn only by the pharaohs, the nobility and the rich.

By the time of the Greeks, the use of jewelry became centered on women; men only wore signet rings and brooches to hold their clothes.  Jewelry was seldom worn except on special occasions and on public appearances.  Women wore jewelry as a display of their wealth and social status and as an enhancement to personal beauty.  Jewelry was also used to protect its wearer from the so-called Evil Eye.  The Grecian example was followed by the Romans.

During the Middle Ages, three peoples became renown for their style of jewelry making.  The Celts were distinct for their use of continuous and stylized patterns, while the Merovingians excelled in crafted stylized animals.  The jewelers of Byzantine, on the other hand, made frequent use of gold leaf to emphasize the setting of precious stones.

The Renaissance period and the Age of Exploration brought jewelry making to new horizons, with the importation of gold and a wide variety of precious gems as well as the exposure of jewelers to other cultures.  Working on gemstones became the focus of jewelry-making.

In the 18th century, many trends were seen in the making and wearing of jewelry.  Parures, or sets of matching pieces of jewels, became highly desired among wealthy and high-ranking ladies after their introduction during the Napoleonic era.  Jet jewelry as mourning jewelry was also popularized by Queen Victoria; she wore such pieces when mourning for her consort, Prince Albert.  It was also around this time that Charles Lewis Tiffany formed the now-famous Tiffany & Co., one of the world’s foremost authorities on diamond jewelry.

While wearing jewelry is still as much the domain of women now as it is then, wearing jewelry in men is becoming more and more popular nowadays.  The designs, styles and ways of making jewelry are now more extensive and varied.  But one thing remains unchanged throughout the years: wearing and owning jewelry is still a symbol of wealth and status.

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To adorn one’s self has always been part of the nature of man.  While the primary function of the clothes and footwear that he or she dons every day is to protect the body from the harmful elements, these clothes and footwear gained a secondary function of providing adornment to a person’s body.

The same goes with a person’s hairstyle.  The primary function of hair is to cushion the head against bumps and possible physical shocks to the head.  However, men and women have come to use their hair as personal adornment, opting for hair styles that flatter his or her face and body the best.

Historically speaking, however, adornment is not the only purpose for hair styling.  Until the 1900s, the style of one’s hair is supposed to denote his or her age, wealth and social standing, marital status and even religious beliefs.  One example of this would be the ladies of the Roman Empire.  Following the example set by the Grecian ladies before them, the noble and the rich among the Roman women wore their hair in long curls or in chignons and dyed them red.  To further accentuate their manes, they sprinkled upon their hair golden powder and either piled them high on wire frames or wore flowers, tiaras or jewels.  This sets the Roman ladies apart from the usually blonde slaves captured from the North.

Another such example is the way Chinese women wore their hair.  Unmarried Chinese girls comb their hair back into one single braid.  Matrons, on the other hand, coifed their hair into buns at the back of their necks.

Because it is considered indecent and immodest for them to expose their hair, women in Moslem lands wore their hair long but covered with veils.  Christian women in medieval times were also encouraged by the Catholic church to do the same – to wear their hair in long plaits and cover them with veils, caulks or netting.

Hair styles also varied from simple to extravagant and back again.  The norm in the Middle Ages was for women to have their hair in long, simple plaits and veiled.  This hugely contrasted with the predominant hair styles in the 1700s, where the sole guideline in hair styling was “the bigger, the better” – three-feet white wigs replete with feathers, ribbons and flowers, as elaborate as the imagination could manage it.  The Victorians in the 1800s put an end to that and began to favor subtle and natural styles.

By the 1900s, the rule that hairstyle should be an indicator of social status was eradicated.  Hairstyle became a symbol of liberation and practicality for women.  This was emphasized by the short singles favored by the flappers of the 1920s, who savored their newfound freedom.  The lack of resources during the Second World War prompted women to be more subdued in their hairstyles by simply bundling their hair in scarves during the day and wearing them in natural curls in the evening.  The fifties saw glamour back into hairstyles, with women aiming for the perfect head of curls.

As women became more empowered starting the sixties down to the nineties, hairstyles became more varied.  The artiste hippie type would often wear her hair loose and flowing while the career type would keep her hair sleek and controlled.  The rebellious would not hesitate to go for punk styles with spikes and Mohawks; the femme fatales, on the other hand, love their hair sexily mussed up and fashionably messy.

Hairstyles change over the years to answer for the need of men and women to adorn themselves.  As long as this nature of man persists, hairstyling will always evolve.

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Origin of Disco
Does Disco sound something of the past? Well it isn’t a very old form of music and dance. Back in the late 1960s, disco originated as a combination of many instruments played together. It was in 1969 when Jerry Butler released his latest song ‘Only the Strong Survive’ that we got our very first disco song. This was the birth of disco but then it was a form of music which hadn’t been named. Four years and many songs later on the 13th of September 1973, Vince Aletti wrote an article, which gave this music form its name ‘DISCO.’
This soulful music is based on a number of instruments blended together to get what is known as the disco sound. The vocals are played on a steady four on the floor beat or what is known as a quaver (eighth note) or a semi- quaver (sixteenth note). Many electronic musical gadgets are used to create the background score. This form of music has more of electric bass line and the guitar is seldom used as a lead instrument.

Culture
Different instruments and the disco sounds made their way into the hearts of people in a big way. Soon to follow were the discotheques. Discos’ became a place where there would be loud disco music, a well lit dance floor with disco lights and of course you disco lovers dressed in the latest disco outfits having a blast of a life time.
Discos’ have a culture of their own. The music is loud enough to make you and your heart beat a little faster. The lights keep changing colors and also help in changing you moods and shedding any inhibition you have. The clothes too are tight fitting to show off your well toned bodies. Shirts with slightly long and pointy collars, the Qiana shirts for the gents and the Halston dresses for women were in fashion.

Disco Groups
In the 1970s and 80s disco and dance came together and were the craze of the time. Groups like The Jackson Five, ABBA and The BEE GEES are still bands which are famous for their great disco music and superb lyrics. Most of these albums have even been remixed and launched again for the benefit of the latest generation.
Disco, which was performed only by a few bands in the beginning spread like a forest fire. Soon disco became mainstream and all kinds of bands were performing disco numbers. Disco was the in thing and a lot of movies were made on the disco theme too. Saturday night fever starring John Travolta and Thank God It’s Friday were two big hits with disco as its mainstream idea.
ABBA was a group, which took Disco beyond the borders of America and right into Europe and Asia. The songs were such big chart busters that all over the world they created many new records. Boney M a group of four West Indian singers were another group, which broke the barriers of caste, color and creed to give pure and outstanding disco music. Dalida released their hit number “J’attendrai” which topped the charts in Japan, middle and south Asia and Canada.

Addictions
Discos’ brought in many other cultures too. One of the main addictions that disco brought in was drugs. Cocaine and Quaalude became the main drugs for all disco lovers. While cocaine gave them a high spirit, it helped many to enjoy the loud music better. Quaalude made them feel light like jelly and helped them to move to the groove.
The dance lovers enjoyed the discotheques, as there was music, dance, alcohol and fun. Discos became very popular and some of them became as popular as tourist sites too. Manhattans Studio 54 is one such place. You can’t afford to miss this hangout, as you can see many celebrities and people who are both rich and famous enjoying there.

Ups & Downs in Disco
The growing craze for disco angered the fans of rock music. While some just threw out all disco records, a few took drastic steps. DJs of rock music held events like the Disco Demolition night. Many groups came together to stage anti-disco demonstrations. Slowly but steadily in the 1980s disco began to die down. Though disco kind of became obsolete but it was still very much a part of the night life in Europe.  With newer forms of music and even newer groups emerging Disco was given a back seat.
In 1990s and 2000 once again disco began gaining popularity again. With major singers like Madonna, Kate Ryan and Suzanne Palmer performing Disco, the time for the return of Disco is here.

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