University of California Press has published “An Intimate Affair: Women, Lingerie and Sexuality” by Dr. Jill Fields, an associate professor of history at California State University, Fresno, which was favorably reviewed in the Washington Post and the Toronto National Post.

The book, published in hardcover ($55) and paperback ($21.95), is a history of women’s lingerie in the 20th century and how the “naughty but nice” societal feminine ideal developed and the roles played by fashion magazines, general and trade, movies and other media. Fields’ work also examines how “individuals and groups embrace, reject or derive meaning from these everyday, yet highly significant, intimate articles of clothing,” says the publisher.

In the Washington Post, reviewer Susan Ware wrote: “”An Intimate Affair’ offers a rich and nuanced understanding of how pieces of everyday clothing reflect the changing historical context of women’s lives just as much as they shape the actual contours of women’s bodies.”

Toronto National Post reviewer Robert Fulford wrote that Fields “ … reports with care and liveliness on the bizarre moments in history that define how women present themselves.”

For information on “An Intimate Affair,” please visit: www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/8974.html

To read the full reviews, visit:

WashingtonPost.com and Canada.com National Post