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Paquin slip / silk chiffon, alençon lace, c.1930, France | Photo: Eileen Costa © MFIT

Detail, Paquin slip / silk chiffon, alençon lace, c.1930, France | Photo: Eileen Costa © MFIT

“Modern lingerie is designed with one idea in mind – that is to be worn under clinging frocks that are intended to make the wearer look slim. Therefore, lingerie must be in the finest and sheerest of fabrics, comfortable in cut and designed to allow easy, swinging movements,” explained Vogue in 1927. “All of this sounds difficult, but it has been accomplished charmingly by the French couturiers.”¹

Indeed, many couturiers made specialized lingerie to be worn beneath their clothing designs. This is Paquin’s version of the modern slip, a garment that was devised from the “princess” style of earlier decades. The new slips were made with slim skirts and diaphanous, neutral-colored fabrics, allowing them to be as inconspicuous as possible. The donor of this slip, Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, owned another version in off-white.

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