The New Look. 1947.

Cunnington English Costume P157

During the war nearly everything was in short supply, especially in Britain and on the Continent, and austerity measures largely put an end to fashion. However, as in the first war, women argued that they could not do their wartime jobs without the support of their girdles, and some dispensations were made for women in essential services.

Day Dress 1949

Cunnington English Costume P157

In some cases too the supposed superior availability of girdles to women in the services was used as a bait for recruits. However any women who fell for this bait found that it was illusory, as the increasingly severe shortages meant that the promised girdles never eventuated.

The shortages continued in Britain and on the Continent for some time after the war but in 1947, in defiance of the austerity measures still espoused by governments, Christian Dior introduced the ‘New Look’ in his spring collection.  It involved long flowing skirts over multiple petticoats, below a short jacket and a tightly nipped in waist. 

The waist, which is particularly obvious in the example on the left, was often achieved by a ‘Waspie’; a short heavily boned corset, usually worn over a ‘roll-on’ or a light pantygirdle.

Nylon, which was reserved for military use during the war, eventually became available for general use, and quickly became the favoured material for underwear, as it was easy to wash and strong, so that foundation garments could be much lighter than the old cotton styles.


 

The original Merry Widow by Warners

Note the rigid tape defining the waist

In 1952 MGM produced the film ‘The Merry Widow’, based on the Lehar operetta. Warner Brothers took advantage of this to release a Merry Widow corselette.  This was extremely successful, and was quickly copied by all the other makers.  Virtually every young woman of the period had at least one Merry Widow in her wardrobe, even if it was usually a copy, rather than the genuine article from Warners.

The original model had a rigid tape around the waist to nip it in sharply, as shown in this illustration, but few women could put up with this for long and it was quickly dropped.

Although ballerina skirts remained popular for parties through the fifties, by 1950 the full skirts and voluminous petticoats of the New Look had been replaced by a straight tailored style for day wear.

 

Tailored Suit 1949

Parade p145

This line required a good girdle (or preferably corselette) and good underwear remained the pre-requisite for a fashionable appearance.

Melbourne model Bambi Tuckwell in 1950

Parade P149 (photo by her husband Athol Shmith)


The development of elastic fabrics in the thirties revolutionised the corsetry industry, but unfortunately the natural rubber which provided the elasticity was not very strong, and was susceptible to UV, body acids, chemicals and heat. As a result the early elastics were fairly heavy, and girdles using them had a relatively short life.

The Germans had attempted to develop synthetic rubber during the war, and had developed synthetic rubbers which could be used to make tires, but they had not managed to produce any thing suitable for use in corsetry.

However in 1959 DuPont developed a synthetic elastomer, which they named Lycra, which had better mechanical properties than rubber and was far more durable. It was quickly adapted, and revolutionised the manufacture of foundation garments.  Garments using Lycra could be much lighter for a given strength, and were more flexible and far more durable.


Warners original Birthday Suit

Ewing p167

DuPont advertisement for Lycra

In 1961 Warners took advantage of the new fibre to introduce the revolutionary ‘Birthday Suit‘. This was a flexible light weight, almost seamless, panty corselette. It was the first of a long line of ‘bodysuits‘, which were more like swimsuits than traditional foundation garments.


 

Bodystocking DIM


For a short period it was possible to buy bodystockings which consisted of combined bodysuit and stockings.  These were very attractive (at least on this model with her perfect body), but they must have been highly impractical, and they quickly disappeared.

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