by Jill Fields
Contents:
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction. Sexual Foundations 1
1. Drawers 18
2. Corsets and Girdles 47
3. Brassieres 79
4. The Meaning of Black Lingerie 113
5. The Invisible Woman: Intimate Apparel Advertising 174
6. The Production of Glamour: Intimate Apparel Workers and
Union Culture 217
7. Return of the Repressed (Waist), 1947–1952 256
Epilogue. Bra vs. Bra: Feminist Intimate Apparel Art 272
Notes 289
Index 361
Illustrations
1. Petticoat ad, 1906 6
2. Broadway brassiere and brief ad, 1991 7
3. Early twentieth-century open-crotch drawers 20
4. Joan Crawford in Our Dancing Daughters, 1928 21
5. “A Street View,” The Weekly Rake, 1842 29
6. Open-crotch trousseau set, 1904 35
7. Corset covers and drawers, Eaton’s catalog, 1908 38
8. Billie Burke and Roland Young in Topper, 1937 44
9. American Lady corset ad, 1914 51
10. Sports-corset ad, 1918 52
11. Elastic girdle ad, 1921 60
12. “Catch her young” foundation ad, 1946 72
13. “Slim-E-Fect” corset ad, 1930 77
14. Turn-of-the-century monobosom 82
15. De Bevoise brassiere ad, 1914 84
16. “Flattening effect” bandeau, 1921 88
17. “Foremost fashion experts,” 1950 96
18. Warner’s “Alphabet” brassiere ad, 1946 100
19. Bust-forms ad, 1935 104
20. Renee/Jezebel of Hollywood ad, 1946 111
21. Caricature of “La Belle Hottentote” and her French
spectators, 1814 119
22. Marlene Dietrich in Blonde Venus, 1932 121
23. Bali brassiere ad, 1941 131
24. Widow’s mourning costume, 1883 135
25. Salome, Pierre Bonnaud 142
26. Madame X, 1884, John Singer Sargent 147
27. The Widow & Her Friends, 1901, Charles Dana Gibson 151
28. “When the Town Goes Crazy,” The Evening American, 1908 152
29. Lana Turner in The Merry Widow, 1952 153
30. Black bandeau, 1915 155
31. Modart corset ad, October 1921 157
32. Jean Harlow in Double Whoopee, 1929 163
33. De Bevoise foundation ad, 1930 165
34. Mabel Durham Fuller, circa late 1950s 170
35. Local 62 members picketing Woolworth’s to protest
segregation, 1960 171
36. Flexnit ad, 1946 176
37. “Invisible women,” Vogue, 1947 177
38. “The machine age creates a masterpiece,” H&W
girdle ad, 1938 178
39. Redfern Corset Lady, 1915 182
40. “Fantasy in Freedom,” Blue Swan lingerie ad, 1947 186
41. Exquisite Form ad, 1952 187
42. Peter Pan Foundations ad, November 1956 191
43. “Girdles for Glamor,” 1953 192
44. “I dreamed I was a lady editor,” Maidenform ad, 1951 196
45. Redfern Shadow Garment corselette ad, 1928 200
46. Crown Corset ad, December 1933 201
47. Perma-Lift ad, 1956 202
48. Formfit ad, 1925 203
49. Talon ad, 1941 206
50. Formfit ad, 1941 209
51. Fray Pruf ad, 1944 212
52. Corsetry, Sears catalog, 1931 213
53. Bras, Frederick’s of Hollywood catalog, 1957 214
54. Hollywood Maxwell bra ad, 1946 215
55. Strike scene, mid-1920s 228
56. Local 62 museum visit, 1934 229
57. Ruth Rubenstein, Pins and Needles, 1937 234
58. New Yorker cartoon, Carl Rose, 1938 236
59. Striking American Lady Corset workers, Detroit, 1941 242
60. Striking brassiere workers, Los Angeles, 1941 243
61. Union label float, New York City, 1962 249
62. Christian Dior’s New Look, 1947 257
63. Gilbert Adrian suit, 1944 261
64. Local 62 member wearing her version of the New Look, 1952 265
65. Workers sewing the new postwar frilly petticoats 266
66. Gina Lollobrigida in Beat the Devil, 1953 268
67. Merry Widow corset ad, 1954 270
68. Cosmetic Ritual Series, 1983, Laura S. London 278
69. Shattered #12, 1980, Nancy Youdelman 279
70. Underwhere, 1998, Carol Hamoy 283
71. Ancient Armor, 1996, Miriam Schaer 284