Wrap-around girdle

I have always loved lingerie! Especially the lingerie women wore in times past - corsets, girdles, slips etc. I remember watching old movies in Technicolor when I was little. My favorite scenes was when there were clips of showgirls backstage of theaters, where you could catch glimpses of their pretty underpinnings. I just thought the colors, fabrics and lace looked so pretty!

A while ago I stepped into a boutique called "Devil's Delight" in Stockholm. They sell vintage, and vintage inspired, lingerie. And what do I find?! A lovely, salmon colored wrap-around girdle from the 40s/50s! It was bought up from the stock of an old shop in Paris that closed a long time ago, so it had never been used. I tried it on and it fit me really well. Just imagine - it had been created about 70 years ago, waiting that long for someone to come pick it up and put it to use!

It opens and closes in the front on my left side with hooks and eyes along the whole edge, and then ties in the back. There are several metal bones in it to help shape the body. This is something that would have been worn underneath a wiggle dress or a pencil skirt to get the right shape. Women didn't really use workout as a means of shaping their own bodies in those days, and relied on different kinds of lingerie pieces to do that for them. When you read about how underwear has evolved and been used through history you realize it comes very close to science, and it still changes. But I have to say I personally prefer the older times when it comes to this subject...