Conclusion:

In the course of researching and producing this essay, I've reviewed thousands of images and scanned over 400 pages from catalogs in my collection (the scans represent perhaps about 20% of all the pages). My intent was to focus on minutia (many people would say "trivia") that have not been researched and written up, previously. The reader will see that I've given a lot of emphasis to images of full-figured women - whenever I could find appropriate examples for the subject under consideration. In my opinion, girdles and corsets - any of the garments that may be characterized as "structured" - were strongly influenced by the needs and/or wishes of full-figured ladies. In that sense, I consider my work in preserving these images, researching, collecting, and writing this essay as a tribute to all full-figured ladies. I also dedicate it to the many ladies who have shared intimate - yet innocent images of themselves with us through catalog pages over the years. I realize that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". In my mind, the images of the full-figured and mature models scattered throughout this essay depict some of the most beautiful women I've seen anywhere (and I've had the good fortune to have met some beautiful women). I enjoy women in a wide range of sizes, shapes, colors, cultural origin, etc. I'm making this judgement not because they have a full-figure, and not in spite of that fact - they are just lovely ladies in their own right!  

Cartoon from "Cathy" 1 June 1995 p 6D.

The 1995 cartoon "Cathie"  by Cathie Guisewite seems to express some of the conflicting feelings between satisfying the requirements of "fashion" and the feelings of modern women. It also parallels my own observations about (and enjoyment of) some women in bathing suits.  

This essay grew from a two-page letter into an extensive research paper. The additional images collected over the past 8 years enabled me to document some of the trends that I only previously suspected. However, in many respects, more questions have been raised than answered. The models, photographers, buyers, artists, and (most important) the women consumers from the "Golden-age" of girdles and structured foundations are fading into past generations. I truly hope that the questions I've highlighted may pique someone's curiosity, or prompt a memory that might fill in a gap about this era. None of this information will ever be earth shaking. However, for me it has been like a window into the daily lives of very human people.

There is a scene in the Swedish movie, "My Life as a Dog", where the young protagonist has been assigned the task of sitting with a bed-ridden, elderly boarder in his family's home. The man asks the boy to read to him, and the boarder's choice of literature was the women's underwear section from a store catalog! Deja vue, all over again? - Who knows! I realize that this is a somewhat offbeat subject for a guy to write about who considers himself "normal" in most ways. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed this project. I have tried to treat it in a kindly manner, and I hope that the reader will not judge me harshly.