wardrobe malfunction

Euphemism, or slang term, for accidental nudity in public

A wardrobe malfunction is a clothing failure that accidentally or intentionally exposes a person's intimate parts. It is different from deliberate incidents of indecent exposure or public flashing. Justin Timberlake first used the term when apologizing for the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime-show controversy during the 2004 Grammy Awards. The phrase "wardrobe malfunction" was in turn used by the media to refer to the incident and entered pop culture. There was a long history of such incidents before the term was coined and it has since become common.

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