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why lingerie was modernized in the 1940's


sear

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Up to the 1930's, women's under-garments were complicated garments.

They weren't made of "wash-&-wear" or "drip-dry" textile. They had to be ironed.

When World War II was underway, many men were off to War.

So women had to take the jobs men would otherwise have filled.

Some women even had to commute on bicycle.

And with an 8 or 12 hr. work day, plus perhaps a bicycle commute, an employed woman simply didn't have the time to care for complicated, high maintenance undergarments.

So all you corset fans; it's just one more thing to be mad at Adolf Hitler about.

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well ... little Adolf was mad about Eva's corsets ....

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*looks around for the corset lovers*

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*looks around for the corset lovers*

Nope I can't find any either.

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"*looks around for the corset lovers*" K2

Do the arithmetic.

If they like corsets for nostalgic reason, and corsets were out use by 1945,

then such corset fancier would have to have been born before 1928.

So if they're out there, the youngest of them is 85 years old.

Perhaps you might check the old-folks home.

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First it was breast-feeding in church, now it's lingerie ........ I think you're in the wrong site, mate.

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I'm 52 and vaguely remember ads for "girdles" or "foundation garments" is this what a corset was? OOOh la la :w00t:

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judging by the movies of the day, I thought they had to modernise women's underwear because they all had large cone-shaped norks??

:-)

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"I think you're in the wrong site, mate." oo

I understand your concern.

I've been posting at: > http://theroundtable31996.yuku.com/forums/4/Heavy

You can see how many topics I've started.

A brief review should demonstrate my topics are not generally prurient.

at,

I knew women that wore girdles. I remember seeing them in Sears catalogues (no relation) when I was a boy.

There are more modern versions now, with different names.

"large cone-shaped" shr

I've wondered whether that was intended to turn men on, or turn them off.

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I'm no where close to 85, yet I find a subtle beauty in the fashion of way back when!

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I've wondered whether that was intended to turn men on, or turn them off.

.

with big pointy things like them you could probably turn lightswitches on from five yards away!!

:-)

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I think the 'rocket boobs' thing was a fashion trend in the late 50s early 60s....no wonder there was the bra-less rebellion of the late 60s early 70s.

IMO, nothing beats a good underwire sports bra (I'm a virtual expert in this area).

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I understand your concern.

I cannot say I understand his concern. Lingerie, boobs, maaaaate you're after my own heart. :D What on earth is more worthy of ones complete attention?

tumblr_lmlpwlKnh41qg56e5.jpg

Dr. Calvin Rickson, a scientist from Texas A&M University has invented a bra that keeps women’s breasts from jiggling and prevents the nipples from pushing through the fabric when cold weather sets in.

At a news conference, after announcing the invention, a large group of men took Dr. Rickson outside and kicked the crap out of him.

untitled.jpg

Whilst we might be losing some lingerie, at least it seem to be in a good way.

Women-Underwear-Over-The-Years-Whatever-Next.jpeg

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"IMO, nothing beats a good underwire sports bra (I'm a virtual expert in this area)." L

I thought good sports bras had no wire, either under, or over.

"bra (I'm a virtual expert in this area)." L

I'm an actual expert "in this area". My expertise results from decades of intensive study, and practical "hands on" experience.

note:

While brassieres have long been promoted for helping to prevent sag, recent study indicates going braless may help prevent sag even better.

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I'm no where close to 85, yet I find a subtle beauty in the fashion of way back when!

methinks we're young enough to remember this retro fashion flashback

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Ealdwita snippet alert......

Until the 16th.Century, corsets consisted of a rigid iron framework in a velvet cover, (more 'scaffolding' than foundation!) It wasn't until the Elizabethan era that whalebone was used to ease the rigidity a little. Even then, they were comparatively comfortable to wear when compared to the 'hourglass' corset of the Victorian era which may have been the cause of chronic indigestion and constipation in their wearers, but rarely the cause for a plethora of ailments associated with tight corseting at the time ranging from hysteria to liver failure.

"Go without my stays? Never" exclaimed one of the leaders of fashion. "I wouldn't do anything so untidy. I think a woman without corsets is most unsightly." "You cannot look smart and have a pretty figure without stays. It is impossible."

(Saint Paul Daily Globe 1862)

"It is difficult to imagine a slavery more senseless, cruel or far-reaching in its injurious consequences than that imposed by fashion on civilized womanhood during the last generation. ... the tight lacing required by the wasp waist has produced generations of invalids and bequeathed to posterity suffering that will not vanish for many decades. ... And in order to look stylish, thousands of women wear dress waist so tight that no free movement of the upper body is possible; indeed in numbers of instances, ladies are compelled to put their bonnets on before attempting the painful ordeal of getting into glove-fitting dress waists."

(Chicago Daily Tribune 1861)

........................................................................................................................

What our loved ones won't do just to please us!

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the poor whales ....

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"the poor whales ...." te

Yes but:

Whaling was a major industry back then.

I doubt women's corsets increased whale harvest.

Instead, I gather the bones used in corsets would otherwise have been trashed, or perhaps ground into fertilizer.

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Yes but:

Whaling was a major industry back then.

I doubt women's corsets increased whale harvest.

Instead, I gather the bones used in corsets would otherwise have been trashed, or perhaps ground into fertilizer.

Ambergris (pron.: /ˈæmbərɡrs/ or pron.: /ˈæmbərɡrɪs/, Latin: Ambra grisea, Ambre gris, ambergrease or grey amber) is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish color produced in the digestive system of sperm whales.[1]

Freshly produced ambergris has a marine, fecal odor. However, as it ages, it acquires a sweet, earthy scent commonly likened to the fragrance of rubbing alcohol without the vaporous chemical astringency.[2] The principal historical use of ambergris was as a fixative in perfumery, though it has now been largely displaced by synthetics.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambergris

It was once thought the ambergris was ejected by mouth. As of now, the argument seems to be weighted toward the back end of the whale.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/08/120830-ambergris-charlie-naysmith-whale-vomit-science/

Whale and Ambergris Exploitation in 17th-century Bermuda

www.siue.edu/artsandsciences/pdf/.../497.Bermuda16Century.pdf‎

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Ealdwita snippet alert......

Until the 16th.Century, corsets consisted of a rigid iron framework in a velvet cover, (more 'scaffolding' than foundation!) It wasn't until the Elizabethan era that whalebone was used to ease the rigidity a little. Even then, they were comparatively comfortable to wear when compared to the 'hourglass' corset of the Victorian era which may have been the cause of chronic indigestion and constipation in their wearers, but rarely the cause for a plethora of ailments associated with tight corseting at the time ranging from hysteria to liver failure.

"Go without my stays? Never" exclaimed one of the leaders of fashion. "I wouldn't do anything so untidy. I think a woman without corsets is most unsightly." "You cannot look smart and have a pretty figure without stays. It is impossible."

(Saint Paul Daily Globe 1862)

"It is difficult to imagine a slavery more senseless, cruel or far-reaching in its injurious consequences than that imposed by fashion on civilized womanhood during the last generation. ... the tight lacing required by the wasp waist has produced generations of invalids and bequeathed to posterity suffering that will not vanish for many decades. ... And in order to look stylish, thousands of women wear dress waist so tight that no free movement of the upper body is possible; indeed in numbers of instances, ladies are compelled to put their bonnets on before attempting the painful ordeal of getting into glove-fitting dress waists."

(Chicago Daily Tribune 1861)

........................................................................................................................

What our loved ones won't do just to please us!

Oh dear! It's just dawned on me: you insist on Mrs. E. wearing whalebone corsets ........... don't you?

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I used to wonder why they thought to try whalebone... I mean... who's ever seen a whale with an hourglass figure?...

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I used to wonder why they thought to try whalebone... I mean... who's ever seen a whale with an hourglass figure?...

I never have.

Perhaps that's why they all wear corsets!

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I assume only rich women had to suffer like this. The poor women were working in the fields or slaving at home.

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Yes ld,

Whether the older iron design, or more forgiving whale-bone; corsets are not well suited to manual agricultural labor.

Can we take a broader view here (pun not intended).

The Ward & June model of the nuclear family; wife as home-maker, husband as bread-winner might have prevailed for centuries, if ot millennia.

But women in the workplace have not merely affected our economy, it's transformed our culture.

Some thought a two paycheck family had an advantage.

But I suspect rather than lifting those families up, which it surely may have done in the short run, back in the '50's; the affect in the 3rd Millennium is to depress the standard of living of one paycheck familes.

Are we to blame women for the high unemployment rate? If women went home, and removed their shoes, might the unemployment rate plummet to pre-Bush-recession levels?

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