Suspants--the panty garter saves the day

Panty Garter (suspender briefs in the UK)
Panty and garter combination used in place of a girdle or garter belt to hold women's stockings up.
Suspants was a panty garter offered by Blue Swan, a brand of the McKay Products Corporation, beginning in 1947. Suspants became so popular that the name became the generic name for all panty garters (a retro-proprietary eponym since the panty garter is not commonly worn today).
To accomplish its' task comfortably the garment was designed specifically so the weight of the wearer's stockings would not pull the panty down and movement would not stretch and tear nylon stockings. Garters could be removed and they could just be worn as a panty.

Maidenform links

Full Brief Panties: Male-Modeling Maidenform Dreams

this post from a pantyboy looking for female responses includes several Maidenform historical links to be checked out for inclusion in the history. I really like the I Dreamed campaign. Several ads can be found online, but not all & not in place. I have collected some of them offline.

Random Notes in Fashion History

Artful Mama's Ephemera: Undergarments
presents scans of advertisements "PRIMARILY IMAGES FROM THE: Bellas Hess &Co Fall and Winter Catalog. I'm not sure of the exact year....but, I'm guessing late 20's, maybe early 30's. Enjoy!!!"

These do give historical perspective.


Cowgirl Fashion–Prairie Rose Henderson
"In the early 1900s, Prairie Rose Henderson was a popular performer who created a bit of a stir by being one of the first to wear bloomers to ride." Her work would have come during the increase of social comfort around female athletes and the fashion developments which ensued.

notes in the early hours

It's Summer & the bikini is having a birthday party. This is a great time to update some links and add a few notes--especially when the dogs woke me up while others are sleeping.:

• check out Bridgett Bardot, "The Bikini Girl", in her 1950s style from Entertainment Weekly's list of 18 Iconic Bikini's.
• June 9, 2009: Underwear: a history of hidden assets The exhibition Undercover: the Evolution of Underwear, at the Fashion and Textile museum in London looks at bras and briefs through the ages. A better gallery from the same exhibit.
• Stella McCartney lingerie
• Beneath It All: '50s and '60s Underwear presents a gallery of ads and images
• Rudi Gernreich's political fashions on display on the University of Pennsylvania's Institute of Contemporary Art website and Kent State University installation and in the Glamoursurf catalog (a No-bra Bra) and some biography at Fashion Encyclopedia

Random Bikini History resources

Bikini Science is a comprehensive textbook on the development and variety of the swimsuit. Since swimwear and underwear are so closely related this site is a good source of information. It is very well done, covering the subject with depth & breadth.

Sky News, a UK television news program, produced a web piece for the bikini's 50th birthday. It includes an overview of the development of the bikini. Included are protest bikinis--some made of lettuce or flowers.

TIME magazine produced this photo essay to celebrate the bikini.

R is for Rudi Gernreich is a post on the designer of the topless bikini.

No-Bra Bra & See-Throughs. No designer these days reveals more than California's Rudi Gernreich, 45, the man who shocked the world in 1964 with his topless bathing suit. No stylesetter has capitalized with more flair on the current vogue for exposure; but even his critics grant that Rudi's topless was only an incident in his rapid rise to leadership as the most way-out, far-ahead designer in the U.S. When he was inducted into Fashion's Hall of Fame this fall the sixth U.S. designer to be so honored he was hailed by the selection committee as "one of the fabulous originals," the designer who has been so consistently a front runner that "like World War II's Kilroy, wherever one looks in fashion, it seems 'Gernreich was here.' "

Gernreich (which he pronounces to rhyme with earn quick) made his mark by being not only the first U.S. designer to raise skirts well above the knee but also the first with such trend-setting styles as colored stockings, now so overwhelmingly popular, which he showed as part of what he called "the total look," with dress, stockings and sometimes a hood all matching. Along the way, he has introduced vinyl clothes developed out of a material that looks completely "today" and a series of freeing designs aimed at giving back to the female body its natural look and curves, including his knit tank suits, his No-Bra bra, and sheer, see-through nylon blouses.

Wicked Alternative. For last month's spring showings, Gernreich arrived togged out in one of his favorite zippered Pierre Cardin "cosmocorps" suits, looking every bit as futuristic as his fashions. Standing fully erect, his 5-ft. 6-in., 138-lb. figure poised with a lithe dancers grace, he told the buyers and press: "A woman today can be anything she wants to be a Gainsborough or a Reynolds or a Reynolds Wrap." Then came a preview of the provocative choices ahead. First was a series of simple knit dresses simple except for the clear vinyl bands that saucily bared the navel and the underslope of the bosom. Nor were the bathing suits that followed any letdown. Clear vinyl was at work again to make them the nudest since the topless.

Gernreich confronted the problem of the miniskirt head on. Tights may take care of modesty in the wintertime, believes Rudi, but for summer they are simply too hot. "Since skirts as such are really disappearing, they have to have a different look," he announced, and proceeded to prescribe either puffy bloomers or Siamese skirts with a security panel wrapped between the legs. For braver women, he offered a wicked alternative: a black bikini bottom to match the briefest tent dress ever. (Up, Up & Away, Time Magazine, Friday, Dec. 01, 1967)

Peggy Moffit modeling the famous Rudi Gernrich “No Bra” bra--"Vintage mid 60's Rudi Gernreich 'No Bra' Bra, size 32C. Classic nylon bra with adjustable shoulder straps and 3 adjustments to the size at the back hook. Looks and feels if your wearing absolutely nothing. Soft and semi sheer."
sources Hippie Goddess, Glamoursurf

[added 20 April 2008, revised 09 April 2009]

Panty Variations (unusual styles)

Try these panty variants to prevent VPL (Visible Panty Line):

• C-String Panty from C-String Direct;
• Backless Lingerie Invisible Thong;
• Nundies
  What are Nundies?

  Nundies are a one-time use, pantyless panty that adhere to the inside inseam of a woman's pants. Nundies are a great fashion solution product for women who want to go bare-down-there without the discomfort of itchy clothing. Nundies also save women from the embarrassment of tacky panty lines and from having to wear uncomfortable thongs.

  Brought to market by Dallas–based Advanced Materials, Inc. in October 2006, Nundies marked a new product line for the company known for its success in manufacturing medical products, such as diet patches, mammography pads, and single–use ice packs.

  The tulip–shaped panty comes in packages of five for a suggested retail price of $15 each. Whether it's 5 Naughty Black Nundies, 5 Blushing Buff Nundies, or 5 Sassy Assorted Nundies, there's a color to suit every need.

• The Buttocks Bra and the "Hip Lift Tanga" panty (pictured below) are Japanese products designed to shape the buttocks of Asian women trying on Western styles. There is also a version for men [B. Man, that will make you a "Man of Men"]

The Bikini

The bikini (bēkē`nē), or "hip-hugger”, panty is a style of brief that reaches to the hips, leaving the waist and belly exposed. Sides can be anything from a string to a thicker side panel; back coverage can vary with fashion or style. While the original bikini was a string bikini, "traditional" bikinis provides full coverage—a full brief with reduced belly coverage—perhaps for comfort and security.

"The difference between a two-piece and the bikini is that the bikini exposes the navel, which is the zone of contention," Bensimon says. "That's why it became really provocative."

Patterns for the bikini are reported back to 1600 BC wall paintings (Bellis)and bikini models are depicted on ancient mosaics dating back over 2000 years. "The first recorded use of bathing apparel in Greece around 300 B.C.", asserts Liz Heart. However, the story of the modern bikini is itself classic fashion capitalism:

With the increased interest in athlecticism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, swim wear fashion changed beside all other fashions. In the 1930s young women wore two piece bathing suits. Sun worship and tanning, as well as youth pushing boundaries of taste, had women adjusting their beach wear to maximize exposure.

In 1946, while the United States was testing atomic bombs in the French Marshall Islands, on Bikini Atoll, Cannes couturier designer Jacques Heim created "Atome -- the world's smallest bathing suit"--proclaiming his innovation with skywriting on the world's largest billboard. Three weeks later, mechanical engineer Louis Reard (1897–1984)--who was running his mother's lingerie business at the time--countered with a second skywriter proclaiming "Bikini -- smaller than the smallest bathing suit in the world." Réard promoted his bathing suit by selling it in a matchbox and declared, “A bikini is not a bikini unless it can be pulled through a wedding ring.” Jacques Heim, swim wear innovator is pictured here.
However, it wasn't until the late 1950s, when actress Brigitte Bardot created a sensation by wearing a bikini in the 1958 film "And God Created Woman" that bikinis went mainstream. For her efforts Bardot became her emminence The Bikini Girl.

On 05 July 1996 the bikini celebrated its 50th anniversary. "In 2006, American women spent $8 billon on bikinis" reports surewoman.com.

Amelia Bloomer and the Reform Dress Movement

Amelia Bloomer

Amelia Bloomer (1818-1894) was active in the reform period of American politics when women sought the vote, prohibition and freedom from constricting clothing. She also have been the first woman to publish a newspaper. However, her name lives on due to a controversial clothing style she advocated.

The Lily was published by Bloomer from 1849 until 1855. Articles on issues of importance to women appeared regularly. Among these issues were recipes, temperance, the right to vote and the Rational Dress Movement. In 1851 Bloomer began to publish articles concerning women's clothing. The success of Bloomer's paper translated to speaking engagements and having articles published in the New York Tribune.

Female fashion at the time consisted of tightly laced corsets, layers of petticoats and floor-length dresses. Bloomer began to advocate the wearing of clothes that had first been worn by Fanny Wright and the women living in the socialist commune, New Harmony in the 1820s. Bloomers were conceived by Libby Smith, cousin of noted feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who modeled them on the comfortable outfits worn by women recuperating in Swiss sanitariums.

Fashion reformers touted the bloomers as a way to "physically and spiritually free women of the cumbersome hoop." They argued that the costume was economical since it required less fabric than traditional frocks, was comfortable to wear, and was "conducive to health, by the avoidance of damp skirts hanging about the feet and ank[l]es since they would be clad in a boot." As a later historian wrote, "Hers was a spirited effort to free women from their voluminous and constricting haberdashery: heavy skirts raking the muck of the streets, multiple petticoats, bustles, miscellaneous padding, and lung crushing whalebone-all told, some fifteen pounds."

The new style contributed to the Rational, or Reform, Dress movement, but never gained a foothold in mainstream society. Advocates, realizing that negative publicity and ridicule were counterproductive, switched tactics. The Bloomer Uniform included loose bodices, ankle-length pantaloons and a dress cut to above the knee. The name stuck, and in the 1880s bicycle craze “bloomers” were sought after.

Camiknickers arrived in the 1920s as a combination chemise and panty. They had closures at the crotch for modesty and freedom. Often visually representing a slip with separate legs.

From Drawers to Tap Pants

I originally started looking at historical changes in lingerie for the sexual energy the whole topic evokes->then I learned how much of a serious issue lingerie is. Seriousness arising out of discussions regarding why certain people wore certain things--the commercial, health and fashion considerations of every article. There is much concern that presentations be historically correct.
knowlesville.com offers a pictorial history from 1840-1940 while discussing briefly the efforts some women undertook to dress correctly.

Victorian and Edwardian women wore a lot of lingerie, and sometimes it's confusing what goes where and what it's called. Here's a helpful guide:

A Victorian woman started her marathon dressing session with a pair of drawers. Drawers are most often split (crotchless) and about knee length. Some drawers aren't split, and it makes you wonder how they worked, since they were under alll the other layers. Many times you'll see drawers refered to as bloomers, pantalets, or even pantaloons, which are really men's pants. Over her drawers, she would slip on a chemise which is a long sleeveless gown. A shorter version of a chemise is a camisole. Both the chemise and the camisole protected the skin from the corset, and vice versa. The next layer would be the corset. Over the corset would be worn a corset cover which protected the outer garments from the busk of the corset as well as hid the corset under sheerer garments. Sometimes it's hard to determine if a garment is a camisole or a corset cover, so we've grouped them together. Depending on the period, different types of hoops cages and bustles would then be added to give the outfit the shape that was currently in fashion. Next one or more petticoats were added to provide even more fullness under the skirt. Finally, after donning at least 5 layers of underwear, the Victorian woman was ready to put on her skirt and bodice.

After the Victorian and Edwardian periods many of these layers were simplified. As corsets became less structured and offered less support for the breasts, brassieres were introduced, and these later became bras. In the 1920s and 30s, cotton chemises gave way to silk and rayon slips & teddies, often cut on the bias. Drawers became tap pants, and then later panties.
Through out all of these periods, there were gowns and robes for sleeping and lounging.

Virtual Lingerie Museum

Vintage clothing websites
Any history of women's underwear requires good reference materials. Going to the library or the museum is part of the job in getting the research done—making up stuff is fun, but not credible. Because the number of reference books available is almost none and collections are only found in urban settings my research is limited to the Internet.

What I've found is an array of sources. However, most of them do seem to be making up stuff; at best, the authors water down watered down information until it is meaningless. It can be like trying to understand the Bible from one of those tracts that appear in big box bathrooms sometimes. The few impressions that come through are so stilted and vague to not resemble religion.

So, I've begun to develop my own resource library—a dynamic museum for the development of modern underwear. There are a few scholarly collections scattered around, and a few researchers out there. Writers, those so far discovered, have two topics through which they trace this history: fashion and sociology/anthropology. (There are some who are collecting out of nostalgia.)

However, the bulk of the material for my collection is from the online collections of vintage lingerie retailers. The resulting linkdump is a compilation of web-based retailers of vintage underclothes. A list of shopkeepers stocking contemporary articles is beyond my scope. I also refrain from new items inspired, or even made from patterns, by vintage clothing. Although I would add a site listing patterns. Much of the material is for sale—and therefore dynamic. What is there today may be gone tomorrow.

These sites are listed in the order of when they turned up in my browser. I have tried to give brief description when it crossed my mind. If you know about other sites that could be listed drop an email & I'll check it out. I am not building a soft porn website and will not put up any listings that range into that area.

• Vintage Pastelle


• Dandelion Vintage


• Sleek-n-Chic


• Babylon Mall


• Vintageous


• Vanity Treasures--this site has lots of advertising and packaging materials as well as clothing items. Includes lingerie boxes and stockings still in the graphite boxes.


• Petticoat Dreams–this site is focused on the petticoat around 1950 in the UK. It does have some historical images and magazine articles (the kind touting current fashion).


• Another Time Vintage Apparel


• Glorious Vintage
–a website featuring clothing for gals, some of which are foundation garments.

• www.wickedlady.com/collectables/lingerie.php


• Ad Classix
–this is the website of a retailer of vintage advertising. This link is to the fashion & lingerie index

• online exhibit hosted by Kent State University


• Google Directory of lingerie history-related sites


• ”antique” bras & panties for sale


• Vintage Chikana vintage slips


• Glamour Gurlz


• Heavenly Vintage Lingerie


• Pink Girl Vintage Lingerie

If you do not wish your site to be listed, or I've broken your copyright rules, let me know & down it will come.
last updated 20 April 2008.