Jennifer Wilson's Lingerie Reading List: From Victoria's Secret to La Perla

In a New Yorker piece, Jennifer Wilson explores the cultural and political implications of lingerie, prompted by conservative efforts to reclaim sexiness. Her investigation led her to Agent Provocateur for a bra fitting, where she was assisted by the co-founder of Evie, a magazine positioning itself as 'the conservative Cosmo.' Wilson also attended a Stagecoach pop-up for Sydney Sweeney's intimates brand SYRN, where Sweeney sang Garth Brooks's 'Friends in Low Places,' and traveled to Bologna, Italy, to meet La Perla's seamstresses, known as 'le perline,' who protested to save their jobs. Wilson's annotated book list includes 'Cold Comfort Farm' by Stella Gibbons, 'The Erotic History of Advertising' by Tom Reichert, 'Selling Sexy: Victoria's Secret and the Unraveling of an American Icon' by Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez, 'In Intimate Detail' by Cora Harrington, and 'Bridget Jones's Diary: Mad About the Boy' by Helen Fielding. The article also highlights recent book releases, including Emma Cline's 'Switzy,' Josh Silver's 'Fruit Fly,' Kate Atkinson's 'Our Noble Selves,' Jodi Picoult's 'Hollow Bones,' and Gloria Steinem's posthumous memoir 'An Unexpected Life.' Additionally, staff writer Jill Lepore laments the prevalence of AI-generated spam emails targeting authors, citing examples that mistakenly praise her book 'The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State.'