In today’s usage, a girdle is most commonly known as a support garment worn by women to give the overall appearance of a flat tummy and more shapely buttocks. It is often called support underwear, or support panties. Many nylons incorporate girdle elements or control top support, like strong elastic around the stomach and the hips, which make wearing the girdle superfluous and less popular.

Actually, earlier girdles, prior to the advent of nylons generally did not have a panty component. They were a tight garment, made to flatten the tummy. They often had straps, which attached to the top of thigh high stockings and thus held them up. The word girdle actually predates this sort of garment as well. A girdle was quite simply in Ancient Greece and Rome, a thin belt worn around the waist, most often by men.

In the Middle Ages, women or men might wear such a belt. One famous mention of the girdle in English Literature is in the West-Midland English Poem, “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight.” The wife of the Green Knight offers Sir Gawain the red girdle wrapped round her waist that is supposed to protect one from injury.

Men or women may still wear certain types of girdles as a form of back support. However, since the term has come to be associated more with women than men, a girdle of this type might simply be called a back supporting belt. It is, however, truly a girdle.

The girdle replaced the more restrictive corset worn by women. It still provided some waist control and tummy control, but did not cinch the waist in as tightly as corseting did. This resulted in a more comfortable garment, though many a woman still finds the pressure from a girdle or shape underwear too tight for comfort.

Some girdles with an underwear component do reach above the waist, and may start just below the breasts to give the appearance of a smaller waist. Other girdles are more like teddies. They incorporate a bra with underwire, and underpants in one garment. These may be harder to fit on women who have a greater distribution of weight on top than on bottom, or vice versa.

The modern girdle has benefited from the development of Lycra, which is lightweight and can push the stomach or buttocks in with relative ease. Wearing too small a girdle, however, generally does not accomplish much. Excess skin or fat is usually merely pushed above or below the girdle.

A girdle, control panties or control top hosiery may provide a little support, and may be especially helpful in close and formfitting clothing. Many women prefer a natural shape and more comfortable underwear. Hence popularity in traditional girdles has significantly declined.