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| 1930s lingerie advert. |
What could be more appropriate for Valentine's Day than a post about lingerie? Lingerie as we now know it is a relatively modern invention. The underclothing pictured below is not provocative at all. Indeed, historical underclothing was more about providing layers to keep your outer garment clean, and also for providing the correct shape for your clothing.
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| Stays (corset), petticoat and sleeve puffs, 1830s. ALL this went underneath your dress. |
One of the pioneers in lingerie was Lady Duff-Gordon, who wanted to eschew restrictive corsets in favour of more natural and revealing under attire. She's also credited with starting the runway, and employing live models (called mannequins in the early days). The company she started, Lucile, has recently been revived (due to the popularity of Downton Abbey!). Though she didn't get rid of corsets right away. The two pictured below are designs of hers, from the late 1910s.
The 1920s certainly saw a new look in underclothing and the birth of lingerie as we know it today:
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| A Coles Phillips advert for Holeproof Hosiery showing a woman in her lingerie. |
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| A vintage wee 1920s robe affair. |
When taking a look at 1930s lingerie, all I could think of was Jean Harlow, who seems to me to be the queen of 1930s lingerie. What do you think?
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| From "Dinner at Eight". Those feathers! |
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| Black lace works too! |
The hey-day of lingerie, though, is surely the 1940s and '50s. Enter pin-up girls (I know there were pin-up girls before the 40s, but, you know what I mean!), crazy bras (those pointy 50s ones?! Eek!), etc.
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| The 1940s version of Jean Harlow's ensemble? |
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| The scary pointy bras! |
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| A vintage 1950s bra. |
Lingerie is with us still, of course. Stores like Victoria's Secret are alive and well. The posh Lucile offers a somewhat vintage (and very expensive) range. I love the bed jackets:
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| A few of the items offered by Lucile. |
I hope, even if you don't get or give any lingerie this Valentine's Day, that you will enjoy this little peek into the history and travels of lingerie.
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