Undercover

 In a world where what you see is what you get (hello, fashion industry), underwear has fallen by the wayside and now finds its fate directly linked to hapless gift givers — its sales resurrected on tarty holidays such as Valentine’s Day, and, well, wedding anniversaries.

That all changed late last year with Marc Jacobs’ much-talked-about collection, the same one that drew the ire of critic Suzy Menkes thanks to the runway debut’s late start. In that seminal spring 2008 show, Jacobs bridged the line between outer and innerwear — providing a peek into the boudoir and closet of the well-traveled heiresses and prim debutantes who inhabit the Marc Jacobs lifestyle label like a religion — when he sent out trompe l’oeil underwear prints and cutouts on light-as-air slipdresses.

Fluffed skirts with ‘50s-style cinched waists took on another life under sheer fabric, as though the layers of tulle provided nil protection against the keen eyes of disparaging etiquette madams. Dresses that appeared discreet in front underwent a transformation as soon as the model turned on the runway and showed off a bra and the dress’s deceptively low back.

Not since the inception of Sex and the City in the early ‘00s, when that flame-haired malcontent — otherwise known as the stylist who changed the world, one Blahnik-shod step at a time, Patricia Field — put Sarah Jessica Parker in thin white tanks and bold-colored brassieres, its straps peeking out rebelliously, has underwear taken so central a role in fashion. (And, no, those Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs, with most models in various forms of dishabille, don’t count.)

Underwear’s been incarcerated by the T-shirt bra — that bland, smooth, padded silken bra that sought not to be noticed but to be invisible. Much technology and foam and wires went into creating the force field that is the T-shirt bra so that it could cup and flatter the flattest of chests while hiding its very existence from the rest of the T-shirt-wearing world.

Unfortunately, the world of confectionery-sweet floral-printed demi bras, exotic cinched corsets and French lace lingerie has become lost to us. Too expensive, too high-maintenance or too fancy — excuses not to indulge in fancy underpants range from the practical (the cost can be restrictive) to the just plain silly (the why-should-I-bother-when-no-one-will-see-it variety).

Thankfully, the arrival of fall/winter collections of labels like Ruffian (with its sheer tops), Calvin Klein (gauzy, tissue-thin fine cotton blouses), Marc Jacobs (sportswear in the form of wispy dresses) and Temperley (lace gowns) have merited another look at the underwear department.

Sporting a high-neck Hanes tank underneath a prettily-transparent blouse is kind of like a cop out. This mixed message (you were gutsy enough to purchase the see-through garment but not fearless enough to wear as it ought) nixes the entire point of the transparent trend.

To honor the designer’s vision, invest in a set of knickers that won’t make your mother blush with embarrassment (the kind you wore in school — white, cotton, serviceable but not at all alluring — isn’t it, especially if they’re actually vintage: hole-ridden unmentionables that put Ice T’s wife to shame).

Going commando isn’t an option either. Too many drawer-less celebs have spawned far too many tabloid covers of their unmentionables exposed in high-def print. Even the normally discreet Jemima Khan isn’t exempt from the Paris/Britney/Lindsay habit of leaving home without covering their privates. (The on-and-off Hugh Grant flame was caught on camera panty-free while exiting a vehicle.)

Just when you thought going commando was so 2006, someone as unlikely as Khan decides to reignite the vagina monologues.

These days, there’s no excuse for you not to spring for new undies this month. Not only is SM Department Store having a sale (which is ongoing till the end of the month) — most undergarments retail for less than 30 percent their original price — but some of the labels in the undies section cost a fraction of what anyone imagined lacy underthings could cost. Take Gigi Amore, one of the in-house labels. One of their prettily-patterned bras retails for a mere P145. Here, inexpensive yet lovely pieces are plentiful. Amore’s lace-covered boy-cut panties mingle with nautical striped cotton knickers.

Bench Body’s lace trompe l’oeil underwear set, in gray and red, looks like something out of Dita von Teese’s armoire, while Maidenform (a touch bit pricier than the other labels but totally worth it) has wispy beige, lace-trimmed underwear that’ll work perfectly with any of the sheer pieces off the fall/winter runways.

Showing off your undies is back in style.

What’s in is out again.