Frederick's of Hollywood - Retro Active Story of Lingerie (1960's?)īefore Victoria's Secret, Frederick's of Hollywood was the name in lingerie. If you only have time to watch one scene right now though, make it the reverse striptease with both Bettie Page and Tempest Storm, starting around the 6:00-minute mark. It's a cultural treasure full of vintage lingerie, vintage burlesque, and some awesome vintage hair and makeup. I highly recommend blocking out an hour or so of your day and watching the entire Teaserama movie. Bettie Page and Tempest Storm in Teaserama (1955)Ĭlip #4 was my second favorite video, but this one is my most favorite. See you if you can spot the differences between the adult and teenage girdles!ġ0. British Girdle Fashion Show II (1940s)Īnother quick peek at a vintage fashion show, the relevant parts of this video are only in the first :55 seconds or so. The full nightgown around the :20 mark is my favorite garment.ĩ. One of the few vintage lingerie fashion show clips I could find on YouTube, this blurry film is still worth a look. Prints, patterns, and the ultimate in scandal - black lingerie - didn't reach widespread availability and acceptance until the 1950s and 60s. Also, most lingerie was still white or cream in color (and sometimes blush, tea rose, or robin's egg blue). Girdles and stockings were customary (pantyhose didn't become popular until the 1960s), and bras were still fairly simple and unstructured (underwires, push-ups, and bullet bras didn't take off until the 1950s). This short little film shows what everyday lingerie looked like in the 1940s. This collection of wedding day slips shows that bridal lingerie has been a 'thing' for a very long time.

Slips also helped to ensure that clothing 'lay' properly, and didn't accidentally reveal the wearer's body (particularly important in the case of sheer or see-through garments). A descendant of the petticoat, slips helped to protect dresses and skirts from sweat. Slips have more or less fallen out of fashion, but they used to be a vital part of every woman's wardrobe. I would totally wear that corset today, though perhaps the extra shoulder and hip padding is a bit much (though it did remind me of 80s fashion!). This is my second favorite video from this article. And for lingerie lovers, it's a way of seeing how those all those museum undergarments really looked on the female body.Ĭhristian Dior's famous 'New Look' required the sort of structured underpinnings that hadn't been seen since The Edwardian Era. As a cultural artifact, this movie is very interesting. What's so strange about this video is that these women are presumably alone yet still expected to undress in an alluring manner, and the connection between being fuller-figured and lacking in 'feminine wiles' couldn't get more obvious. The 'peeping tom' framing device for this video is genuinely pretty creepy/weird, but around the 3:00-minute mark, the fashion part starts. How to Undress - Mock Instructional Film (1937) A lot of swimwear and lingerie brands today are reincorporating that look into their garments, which shows that trends really do just recycle over time.Ĥ. I actually adore fuller cut swimsuits like this, but I also think the strappy back details are surprisingly modern. Time for a swim break! The commentary on this video is so incredibly bizarre it's worth listening to, just very obviously from a different place and time. Nautical Naughties - Swimsuit Models, London (1933) a precursor to more contemporary teddies, bodysuits, and rompers.ģ. The short film ends with a new invention (for 1929), the camiknickers.

Other highlights for me include the 'petal' tap pants and bandeau bralette (fast forward to about 1:38 to see the designer She & Reverie makes items reminiscent of this look now). This is a silent movie and starts off with an amazing, amazing robe (click here for more gorgeous 1920s lingerie). Now we'll backtrack just a little to 1929. I have to admit, I've been humming the chorus for most of the day. Towards the end, around the 2:00-minute mark, the old-style bloomers and nightgown are tossed aside for more modern intimate apparel. And I adore how saucy Claudette Colbert is in this pre-code Hollywood film. Women in the 1920s and 30s were trading their long underwear and petticoats for scandalous tap pants and chemises. We'll start things off with a catchy tune courtesy of Ernst Lubitsch's 1931 film, The Smiling Lieutenant.

The Smiling Lieutenant - Jazz Up Your Lingerie (1931)

Secrets in lace corset