Chantal Thomass & Random Finds (HOTmilk, historical tidbits)

Chantal Thomass' company page. It does play music.

Parisian Chic? try Chantal Thomass - "Before there was Madonna, there was Chantal Thomass. Chantal Thomass is credited for the trend “Dessous Dessus” (innerwear as outerwear) and is famous for cutting-edge, haute couture lingerie. Creative fabrics, bright colors, and fabulous trim (tulle, lace, ribbons, flounces) are her trademarks." (The source also promotes La Perla, Rien of France, and, for french panties on a budget, Monoprix, the ubiquitous French department store that is comparable to a Super Target.)

Brand name : Rien
Company : Rien que pour Elle Sarl
Nationality : Française
Address : 14, rue Gorge de Loup 69009 Lyon France
Phone : +33 (0)4 72 01 83 83
Fax : +33 (0)4 72 01 83 89
E-mail : lingrien@club-internet.fr
Website :



French designer

Born: Chantal Genty in Malakoff, Seine, France, 4 September 1947. Family: Married Bruce Thomass, 1967; children: Louise, Robin. Career: Freelance designer selling to Dorothée Bis, 1966-71; partner, Ter et Bantine boutique, Paris, 1967, renamed Chantal Thomass, 1975; introduced lingerie and hosiery collections, 1975, maternity wear, 1981, children's clothing line, from circa 1982; signed partnership with World Co. for distribution, licensing, and boutiques in Japan, 1985; opened second boutique for clothing and household accessories, Paris, 1991; fired from namesake label, owned by World Co. of Japan, 1995; original label went into bankruptcy, 1996; acted as consultant to companies such as Victoria's Secret and Wolford, 1995-98; repurchased rights to her name from World Co. and relaunched label with backing from Sara Lee's Dim division, 1999; first U.S. trunk show, at Saks Fifth Avenue, 2001. Exhibitions: Chantal Thomass: 30 ans de Créations, Musée de la Mode, Marseille, 2001. Awards: Named Chevalier des Arts et Lettres. Address: 346 rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris, France.

Read more: http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/Sp-To/Thomass-Chantal.html#ixzz0UqCdc8Dj

RANDOM FIND:

HOTmilk video advertising



S Lingerie is a site presenting lingerie web stores, brands, and news. They call themselves "The lingerie and swimwear portal" and present information in various languages--most recently, Polish.

Crazy Facts Corner

• The amount of material it took to fully clothe a woman dropped by 80% between 1911 and 1922
• A hoop skirt was believed to be "the *only* article of clothing which stands a chance of saving you from quicksand."
• In Iowa it used to be illegal for a woman not to wear a corset.
• Bra-wearers are getting younger. Twenty years ago, 12 and 13 year olds were bought teen bras, now eight and nine year olds are taking the plunge.
• Today the biggest selling colour is white, while ivory and cream come a close second. Tea rose was a hot favourite from the Twenties right through to the Fifties.
• In 1971 skin tones were bestsellers and were second favourites until about 5 years ago.
• About 20% of sales are on fashion colours

I can't vouch for accuracy of these fun facts, but they seem valid enough, fitting in with other research done on this project.

Ancient History:

Greece: "Greek women were corseted. Under the Greek Chiton a leather band style corset was worn and this gave definition to the hips and bust. From birth, girls were swaddled. For six months their arms and legs were bound in swaddling cloths restricting their movement and keeping limbs straight. Adolescent Greek girls were forced to keep trim. Their Greek mothers used woollen bands to keep the developing body slim." (source, retrieved 25 Oct 2009)


Italy: "In 1935, Guia la Bruna’s grandfather founded a lingerie factory in Turin. The Guia la Bruna brand upholds the tradition till today, producing high quality intimate wear." In the 1954 "in Italy, a woman named Ada Masotti, a started making corsets for wealthy women, which led to the establishment of the La Perla company" (source, retrieved 25 Oct 2009)

1971

To distract myself from the empty house yesterday afternoon I slid a DVD of the James Bond vehicle Diamonds are Forever into the player. A treat of sexy lingerie immediately presented itself—Jill St John in sheer bikini panties did the trick. Before long the colorful bikinis and sheer fabrics started me wondering, “what is hidden around the internet to preserve lingerie fashion from 1971?”

In the picture above Jill St John portrays Bond Girl Tiffany Case.

Links:

• Ladies Underwear from the 1971 Sears Catalog "This is as sexy as Sears got in 1971."
• Strap assembly for lingerie and brassieres (United States Patent 6904648)

Models:

• Caprice Valerie Bourret (born October 24, 1971). Gallery.
• Brooke Burke (born September 8, 1971). Gallery.

Books:

• Luscious Lingerie and Swim Wear, by Ruth Mouzon (1971, Hardcover)
Author: Ruth Mouzon Publisher: Strode Pub Publication Date: 1971-06-01 Language: English Format: Hardcover ISBN-10: 0873970152 ISBN-13: 9780873970150

Designers:

• Dress and lingerie designer John Kloss (John Klosowski) was born in Detroit, Michigan 13 June 1937. Died: 25 March 1987

"Kloss used vivid colors like lemon yellows, greens, amethyst, and ruby in abstract shapes reminiscent of abstract expressionist paintings. Sophisticated, simple, clean designs were detailed with top stitching, tiny rows of buttons, simple edge trims, or tie closures. These nonstructured designs were adapted for lingerie and loungewear marketed by Lily of France and CIRA. Included were designs for nightgowns and bras, both seamless and underwired, again without superfluous lace trimmings. The most revolutionary of Kloss' designs came about as a reaction to the "ban the bra" movement in the 1970s. He designed a bra that appeared not to exist in 1974 for Lily of France, called the "glossie," which was made from stretchy, sheer, glittery material. The design was seamless, unconstructed, but underwired, so it provided support for those women who needed it, yet wanted the braless look. The "glossie" came in solid colors such as amethyst, indigo, ruby, and mocha. Kloss received two Coty awards, one in 1971 and another in 1974, for his lingerie designs."


This original 1971 print ad for Bestform plays with the "no-bra" theme. It measures approximately 11" x 8" overall.

gallery of patterns Joh Kloss created for Butterick in the 1970s and 80s. A gallery of John Kloss creations presented by Posh Vintage.
• Josie Cruz Natori was born in Manila, Philippines, 9 May 1947.
“The stunning growth of Natori's empire is due to her vision. In the 1980s, she realized her lingerie was increasingly exposed by the women who purchased it, so she created publicly wearable garments inspired by her lingerie. The resulting neologist crossover category "innerwear-as-outerwear" was never her corporate slogan, though it might serve.” (cite)

film still from an ad for Dim lingerie directed by William Klein in 1971. Photo: Agence Publicis, 1971.
Advertising from a more modern era: Here is an article found while mashing up this post. It is about historical reactions to sexy bra advertising campaigns in the UK.
Reprinted historical article: Lingerie And The History Of Underwear (Originally published November 1933 )

overviews and print resources

this post is a collection of items that provide historical overviews & print resources.

• Gendered Fashion, Power, and Sexuality
  A History of Women's Lingerie from Random History
  "From the Old French linge, meaning “linen,” the term “lingerie” was originally introduced into the English language as a euphemism for scandalous underclothing." This usage as slang is not confirmed in other sources.
  "The history of lingerie, then, is a history of gendered fashion, power, and sexuality." Which is concise manner of the subject as possible.
  

  Ancient Lingerie: From Egypt to Rome
  
  It is impossible to say exactly when the history of lingerie started, but it seems that the first record comes from ancient Egypt around 3000 B.C. In general, clothing was a status symbol for the Egyptians, and higher-ranking women would wear narrow tunics as undergarments that started below the chest, extended to the ankles, and were supported by a crosswise shoulder strap. Sometimes they would draw tunics around to the front of the body to mold the waist. Slave and servants wore no undergarments; they wore only simple loin cloths or went naked. Several female terra cotta figurines found throughout the ancient Near East appear to wear several different types of undergarments. One of them is a Babylonian girl from about 3000 B.C. who is wearing what might be considered briefs that look as though it could have been derived from the loin cloth. Another female figure from 2000 B.C., found in Crete, depicts the first recorded corset-like bodice and crinoline (a caged or hoped underskirt) that shoves the bare breast upward (Ewing 1972). Both are interesting in that they show similarities to lingerie eons later in the western world.
  
  In classical Greece, several female statues wear a crossed band over their shoulders and across the breast, as in the famous statue of the charioteer at Delphi. The Odyssey and Iliad mention women’s undergarments, as does Herodotus, Aristophanes, and the later Hellenistic writer Lacian (Ewing 1972). In these texts, women are described as wearing a band of linen known as the zoné around the waist and lower torso to shape and control them. Other Greek words also appear to describe women’s undergarments, including the apodesmos (meaning a band, breast band, or girdle), mastodeton (or breast band, which actually flattens the bust) and, occasionally, mastodesmos (with a similar meaning) (Ewing 1972). These garments appear to presage the bra as well as the corset.
  
  ancient bikinis
  A famous Roman mosaic from A.D. 400 shows several women wearing what appear to be bikinis or briefs
  Roman women followed Greek fashion closely. The Roman poet Martial describes a cestus, which is similar to the Greek zoné but wider, and Cicero also mentions a strophium or breast band. Other Roman terms describing women’s underclothing include the mamillere and fascia, which were tight bands of cloth that primarily supported the bust rather than the abdomen. A famous mosaic from A.D. 400 shows several women wearing what appear to be bikinis or briefs (Ewing 1972). For both the Greeks and the Romans, underclothing (which sometimes was worn as outer clothing as well) was designed more for function than exclusively aesthetic reasons.



• Undercover Sylvia Giles examines the story of lingerie, and its link to recent history. Expanded from issue 22 of Lucire. discusses briefly the changes in women's social roles reflected in their foundation garments.
  


• References
  
  Ewing, Elizabeth. 1976. Underwear: A History. New York, NY: Theatre Arts Books.
  
  Kunzle, David. 2004. Fashion and Fetishism: Corsets, Tight-Lacing and Other Forms of Body –Sculpture. Thrupp, UK: Sutton Publishing Limited.
  
  Steele, Valerie. 2001. The Corset: A Cultural History. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
  Workman, Nancy. 1996. “From Victorian to Victoria’s Secret: The Foundations of Modern Erotic Wear. Journal of Popular Culture. 30.2, 61-73.
  Alac, Patrik. 2001. Bikini: A Cultural History. Parkstone Press USA, ltd.
  Lencek, Lena and Bosker, Gideon. 1989. Making Waves: Swimsuits and the Undressing of America. Chronicle Books.
  The Lingerie Handbook (Paperback)
  by Rebecca Apsan (Author), Sarah Stark (Author) # Paperback: 186 pages. Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (October 20, 2006). Language: English. ISBN-10: 0761143238
  Margaret A. Lowe
  An Intimate Affair: Women, Lingerie, and Sexuality (review)
  Journal of Social History - Volume 42, Number 3, Spring 2009, pp. 793-795

books & vintage lingerie dating

Spent some tired energy this morning & gained some good energy. It seems I am a collector--and not much else. Librarian of my little corner of the internet. Here are a couple things I'm collecting & organizing--books & vintage lingerie resources. (Both of these books were ordered yesterday & should be here in a couple weeks.)

• Janet Reger: Her Story

Product Description
Janet Reger's success rode on the crest of the sixties' fashion boom and all that was perceived worldwide as the swinging London scene. Her name became synonymous with fine lingerie. Janet's marriage to Peter Reger, the man she fell in love with when they were young students working on a kibbutz in Israel, was the vital ingredient in her business liefe: she the designer and creative force, he the business co-ordinator. It was the perfect partnership. Then, at the peak of success, came collapse and liquidation: her business in ruins, her marriage over. Later, tragically, Peter was to commit suicide. Today, Janet Reger is back in business. This is the tale of a woman in a man's world. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Chapmans Publishers (October 24, 1991)
• ISBN-10: 1855925346
• ISBN-13: 978-1855925342
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds

Chastity in Focus. by Janet Reger

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Quartet Books (September 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0704321513
• ISBN-13: 978-0704321519

Seeing Past Black & White Film To The True Colors Of Vintage Lingerie was posted by Here's Looking Like You, Kid as a remembrance/exploration of vintage lingerie (1920s-1930s especially) and the colors enjoyed by those who wore/watched it worn.

I enjoyed reading her post in the middle of last night while waiting for some other things to happen--namely, I've begun using a wireless modem (aircard) to access the internet and company servers through the cellphone network--this is what the government sold off last year & why analog television signals went away & digital radio/tv is being pushed so hard--and the speed reminds me of dial-up!

Anyway, here was a post featuring beautiful underwear & pointing to some resources that may help date and organize when a garment was worn. And since this blog is about collecting those resources and pointers, it seems appropriate to include this reference.

notes--Wonderbra in the news

items to deal with later:

• lingerie books--several with patterns. The point of this website seems to be attracting people looking for erotica.
• Agent Provocateur Logo Book & Knickers: $75 from House Industries. "When Agent Provocateur first started accosting, arousing and alarming its Soho neighbors in 1994, founder Joseph Corre brandished some lipstick and penned a New York Dolls-esque logo. Since then Agent Provocateur has grown into an internationally recognized lingerie brand that sets the global standard for thinly-clad naughtiness."
• (July 2008) Wonderbra has designed the nipple bra for those who want more than just sexy curves. Ekstase not only forms a stunning cleavage – built-in nipples that show through clothing give that extra, sensual erotic look. Gallery.

Wonderbra is promoting Ekstase as a first, there is evidence otherwise--see the image above.

Nipples or no-nipples. Many women prefer their nipples private and can use products designed to prevent them showing. Products can also be found to display the effects of erect nipples.

Ekstase is currently available for the European market.
Dita von Teese's designs for Wonderbra debut 15th Sep 2008. Here is some "Teeser" video.

• One more Wonderbra item before stopping for the day: Wonderbra UK created a mosiac billboard from thousands (nearly 8000, actually) of customers. Its a neat way to get women involved in the product & made an attractive advertisment. The campaign launches Wonderbra D to G for larger bra sizes.