In modern usage the name chemise generally refers to Sexy Lingerie women's fashions that vaguely resemble the older shifts but are mostly augmented delicate, and usually provocative. Most commonly the terminology refers to a loose-fitting, sleeveless, shirt-like undergarment or piece of lingerie. It can also refer to a short, sleeveless dress that hangs straight from the shoulders and fits loosely at the waist.

The colloquy corset is derived from the Old French word cors, the diminutive of body, which itself derives from corpus - Latin for body.