We set up at a number of Vintage shows every year and the never ending challenge is to bring the "Right Stuff." Although there are many vintage customers loyal to their own style, just as many shop with an eye for the latest trend. One season the rage might be funky 70s prints, just a few months later it could be classic 1940s jackets. Fashion is a fickle world not well suited to those who crave consistency!
Having said that, there is one vintage category that seems somewhat immune to the dictates of trend. Vintage lingerie. From year to year the response to any and all exceptional vintage "dainties" remains enthusiastic. Bias cut night gowns from the 1930s-40s. Filmy nylon chiffon peignoirs from the 50s and 60s. Cute silk tap pants and chamisoles circa 20s-30s. Waist cinching, floor sweeping robes. Just about ANY lovely vintage slip.
I watch customers as they skim through the racks of clothing. After a while it becomes apparent which styles will be ignored at this show and which will be the favorites. Beautiful lingerie however, always commands attention. This intrigues me. I know that yesteryears lingerie is far superior in quality, material and design to most of what is available today but the same can be said for most other vintage garments. I have seen breathtaking couture pieces totally ignored because they are not the vintage look du jour. No so with lingerie. It has to be something else.
In our modern market sleep wear and underthings seem to have been relegated to one of two categories. Either purely practical or designed to seduce. How sad. In times gone by women wore delightful nighties and undergarments everyday to please no one but themselves. Fashion periodicals were brimming with advertisements for... silky pajamas promising "peaceful dreams"... nighties "designed to flatter your femininity from yawning to dawning"... a slip "so meltingly soft it could have been woven of cream".
Today fine lingerie is something many women reserve for intimate occasions with their partner. This is a relatively new phenomenon. During Victorian and earlier times the only people to see an unmarried ladies underthings would have been her Mother or sisters yet these garments were loaded with the finest handmade laces, silk ribbons and masterful embroidery etc. Even those with meager income would add hand made eyelet lace to the edges of their petticoats or corset covers. During the Mid Century lingerie styles changed but fine quality and lovely details were still important.
There were wonderful boutiques devoted to better lingerie. Knowledgeable sales clerks were eager to help. I remember the shop where my mother took me in the mid 1960s to buy my first bra. We took the bus downtown to a store called Lady Grace. Gentle lighting, soft carpet, and soft voices. Sparkling glass shelves and counters with elegant boxes filled with stockings, garters, bras and slips. Polished chrome display racks hung with lovely robes and night gowns. Each prettier than the next!
I was eleven years old . Although curious, I had been much more interested in getting back home to my Nancy Drew book. The minute we stepped into the shop though I felt transformed. This was a world so very new to me. Such beautiful things and one of them was coming home with me! The clerk took a quick measurement and ushered me to a comfortable fitting room. I took off my summer blouse and cotton knit undershirt.A handful of tiny "training" bras were brought in. Mom instructed me how to operate the hooks and eyes. I remember a discussion between her and the clerk about proper fit but my focus was on the pretty lace edges and how perfect the tiny blue or pink bows looked. Before this I had little interest in frilly attire. Ruffles and lace got in the way of climbing our apple tree to read or jumping from rock to rock out back at the brook. These sweet little things however promised to be a lot less troublesome. I was allowed to choose two. The lady at the counter wrapped up my old undershirt and one of the bras in crisp white tissue. The second bra I wore home. As I gazed out the bus window I noticed the lace scratched a bit, but I would get used to that and besides I liked the reminder that something was different here.
Mid Century lingerie styles were classically feminine featuring the most exquisite details. Lace...ruffles... embroidery... pintucking. All done with luxurious fabrics. Fit with comfort was terribly important. For years from the 1930s into the 50s (before synthetic stretch fabrics were common) the flexible, bias cut did the trick and was used extensively. Rayon or silk crepe de chine were the fabrics of choice. Soft cotton voiles and batistes were also used. The look was sleek. The details elegant.
Later in the 50s and 60s an explosion of man made fabrics became available. Women were delighted with the easy care and comfortable feel of these new materials. Nylons, acetates and polyesters along with improved rayons hit the market. The lingerie industry made full use. These lightweight and soft fabrics lent themselves well to ruffles and gathers. Slips and nighties started to look like party dresses. By the 1960s the baby doll peignoir set involved layer upon layer of gathered nylon chiffon. These confections enveloped the wearer in a feather light cloud of material. Laces and ribbons trimmed edges and provided delicate tie closures. It doesn't get much girlier than this!
Today, thank heavens women are no longer defined and valued according to their level of "femininity" but I think we may have thrown the baby out with the bath water. I believe vintage lingerie fills a niche. The desire to feel lovely and feminine for nobody but ourselves!
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