Love this lingerie? You can share it on social media with the links below! Find more in the accompanying book.

Cadolle corselet / Satin, lace, elastic, c.1933, France | Photo: Eileen Costa © MFIT

Clothing of the 1930s required a slender yet womanly silhouette. Many women relied on all-in-one girdles, also called corselets, which supported the breasts, cinched the waist, and smoothed the hips. This example, made by the French luxury lingerie brand Cadolle, features an attached lace skirt that acts as a slip. These streamlined, one-piece garments were especially recommended for wear under evening dresses.¹

Slinky 1930s evening gowns necessitated a variety of specialized undergarments: some corselet styles were nearly backless, for example, and strapless bras – a style pioneered by Cadolle – were introduced for wear beneath new halter-neck and strapless dress styles.²

Renewed emphasis on the bust is underscored by this corselet’s softly molded bra cups, which subtly enhance the natural breasts. While a shapely figure was again fashionable, however, women were advised to steer clear of undergarments that created an hourglass silhouette.³

SHARE   

This week we bring you notes from Sarah Cohen, designer of lingerie label Suki Cohen. We caught up with the designer via e-mail, asking her about Suki and her design process. Exposed curator Colleen Hill wrote that “Cohen eschews delicate materials and pastels for black stretch fabrics, and highlights the body using cutouts.” Find out more on Suki Cohen’s website. If you haven’t been to MFIT to see Exposed yet, this Suki Cohen ensemble is on view right now.

Suki Cohen (Sarah Cohen) Bodysuit and bolero jacket / Stretch nylon and neoprene, 2014, Colombia | Photo by Eileen Costa © MFIT

– What is the story behind Suki Cohen?

SC: I just love to design, to be around fabrics to create, so Suki is just the door to my dreams…

– What has been inspiring you lately, and how does that inspiration translate into your designs?

SC: I’ve always thought about a futuristic girl, a Valquiria. I think tough women are sexy. The pieces are so comfortable–I think that’s the future talking about lingerie.

Suki Cohen (Sarah Cohen) Bodysuit and bolero jacket / Stretch nylon and neoprene, 2014, Colombia | Photo by Eileen Costa © MFIT

Suki Cohen (Sarah Cohen) Bodysuit and bolero jacket / Stretch nylon and neoprene, 2014, Colombia | Photo by Eileen Costa © MFIT

– Can you speak about the textiles you use? Are there any materials you would like to experiment with in the future?

SC: I just love textiles… I think they are infinite but also they become your worst nightmare or challenge in production.

– How does your native Colombia influence your design?

SC: I love sexy girls!!

– Can you explain how you partner with women in Colombia and why it has been a cornerstone of Suki Cohen?

SC: Making and improving everyday. All Suki’s team take their work very seriously (also I think we love what we do). We try to make Suki KARMA FREE.

You can follow Suki Cohen on the label’s Facebook page. Keep following the blog for more lingerie history! We’ll be posting photos, interviews, and excerpts from the book Exposed: A History of Lingerie. Visit the show at MFIT today and share your thoughts on social media with #lingeriehistory

–MM

SHARE   

Love this lingerie? You can share it on social media with the links below! Find more in the accompanying book.

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.

SHARE   

Love this lingerie? You can share it on social media with the links below! Find more in the accompanying book.

Saks Fifth Avenue cami-knickers / crepe chiffon, silk satin, c.1924, France | Photo: Eileen Costa © MFIT

Cami-knickers evolved from the “combinations” of the early twentieth century. Beginning in the late 1910s, these garments were made from light, delicate fabrics that facilitated a lean silhouette. By the 1920s, wide, knee-length drawers had narrowed and shortened, resulting in a sleek new style that could be worn under the tubular dresses of the era.

These cami-knickers, dating to the mid-1920s, were made in France for Saks Fifth Avenue. While embellishments on camiknickers varied, the understated, rectangular appliqués on this example are especially modern. In 1922, the important American trade magazine Corsets and Lingerie noted that “French lingerie still remains simple in design, but is unusually artistic.”¹

SHARE   

Love this lingerie? You can share it on social media with the links below! Find more in the accompanying book.

Nightgown / Cotton, bobbin lace, silk ribbon, 1907, USA | Photo: Eileen Costa © MFIT

This delicate nightgown was made by a young bride’s mother for a trousseau. While many early twentieth-century nightgowns were beautifully designed, this example is particularly alluring. Its sleeves are fashioned from bands of lace, loosely held together by satin bows, and another bow draws attention to the gown’s low-cut back. The handmade lace and fine, gauzy cotton further underscore the nightgown’s seductive qualities.

A bridal trousseau consisted of many items – from house wares and linens to outerwear – but lingerie was an especially crucial component. If a bride made her selections well, she would not need to purchase new underclothes for several years.¹ By the early twentieth century, a trousseau could include both handmade and ready-made garments.²

During the nineteenth century, trousseaux were often put on view for female family members and friends. An extensive trousseau indicated a family’s wealth and status. Such exhibitions were less common by the following century, and trousseaux disappeared almost entirely after World War II.³

SHARE   

Love this lingerie? You can share it on social media with the links below! Find more in the accompanying book.

Warner Bros. corset / Silk, satin, coraline, c.1889, USA | Photo by Eileen Costa © MFIT

“The last remains of feminine modesty sunk out of sight, drowned by the prevalent mania for elaborate underclothing,”¹ wrote the journalist Octave Uzanne in his book Fashions in Paris (1898). Surely the acceptance of colorful corsets helped to fuel Uzanne’s statement, as such foundation undergarments had formerly been associated with actresses and courtesans.

In order to create the exaggeratedly feminine, curvaceous silhouette that dominated the second half of the nineteenth century, corsets were rigidly shaped with whalebone or steel. Warner Bros., the manufacturer of this corset, specialized in using Coraline, a plant-based stiffening material. Coraline was touted as a more flexible and less “torturous” alternative to other corset shapers—meaning that this seductive, raspberry silk example was likely marketed as a “healthy” corset.²

SHARE   

Each week we’ll be posting select objects from Exposed, along with their catalogue entries in the accompanying book. Love this lingerie? You can share it on social media with the links below!

Corset / wool, silk, steel, whalebone, c.1880, possibly France | Bustle / printed cotton, steel, c.1880, USA | Photo: Eileen Costa © MFIT

The bustle appeared late in the 1860s.¹ It took many forms over the next twenty years, but all bustles were designed to emphasize the posterior. They created a marked contrast to slim, corseted waists covered in tightly fitted bodices.² Skirts that were heavily gathered, pleated, and embellished in back further enhanced the bustle silhouette.

Some smaller versions of the bustle were made from wire mesh, short hoops, or cushions that were fastened to the body with a buckled waist tape. The more extreme bustle styles, such as those of the early 1880s, were often more elaborately structured. This example – a hybrid of a bustle and a petticoat – was sometimes referred to as a “crinolette.” Although the crinolette maintained the desired skirt shape, it proved somewhat difficult to wear. One magazine from the period despaired that it was prone to wobbling when the wearer walked, and recommended that women instead have their skirts made with built-in, horsehair bustles.³

SHARE