PHOTO QUALITY

   

Before the 1970's, many photos appear to have been enhanced by an artist outlining the garment that is being advertised and emphasizing the lines of seams and panels. This results in an appearance of half photo-half drawing. There is a distinct difference between the appearance of the model's face compared to the appearance of the featured garment. The detail from first image shown from the 1936 Sears catalog had this appearance as well as the three from 1960 Aldens.  

Sometimes I've wondered whether an artist could create this enhancement. However, some of the patent drawings of girdles during that era show a level of skill that appears to be similar to what I've observed in catalogs. An example is patent # 3,009,464 by H. Owen. Owen added "nubs" inside the girdle to minimize ride-up.  

These "nubs" on the inside of girdle fabric were intended to cling to the woman's body, and be less likely to ride up. In patent drawings shown in later sections, even the texture of the fabric and the stitching on the seams is expertly executed.  

At times, I wondered if this practice was related to problems of obtaining good photo quality or achieving good print transfer to catalog paper. However, this image of a roll-on corselette from 1943 Montgomery Ward shows excellent detail. - Even the weave of the fabric is clearly discernable in the original image when magnified. 

 

 

Image alteration  

As discussed earlier, airbrushing or other techniques were used to disguise the model's stockings. However, stockings weren't the only images being disguised. At times camouflage has obviously been used to hide the shadow of the model's nipples in transparent or lacy bras (discussed later) as well as the bulge caused by some women's prominently projecting nipples. (An absolutely delightful subject in itself.) This has also been done to cover the shadow of pubic hair and the model's navel. (The latter was noted in the press about 1969 or 1970.)  More recent illustrations have not been censored (80's JC Penny model in black corselet).

 

Other methods of camouflage have employed inserts in a bra to hide the model's nipples. Also, body stockings and pantyhose have been used under panties and girdles (an evolutionary step from the use of chiffon as discussed later).

 

The panties worn by these models in the 1979 Sears catalog have an open part of the design near the pubic area. This design is visible as a darker area on the smaller, inset images. However, in the main image that part of the design is colored as though it was solid fabric.  I've magnified the images to highlight this and compared the images (lower right). I suspect that this was a deliberate alteration for the main image.  Perhaps the darker portion was suggestive (possibly accurately) of pubic hair.  

 

 

 

 

Camouflage

 

A chiffon material was sometimes used under an open bottom girdle or garter belt to disguise where the girdle ended on the model's body or to camouflage her thighs. This was shown with the waist cincher from the 1961 Montgomery Wards. Even the sketch that illustrates different garment lengths on the same page employs this technique. Chiffon was also used under long line bras, which resulted in a more "dressed" appearance. The "Sweet Music" bra was an example shown earlier from 1960 fall Alden's.

 

The model from the 52 Aldens catalog wears her garters over a slip. Some images from the 1920's show use of a similar arrangement.  

 

Michael Colmer (From Whalebone to SeeThrough, A.S. Barnes Co., New York, 1980) showed numerous images (including items from a Gossard catalog) from the 1920's where models wore their garters over an underslip or bloomers. In some cases, it appeared that the bottoms of the bloomer legs were tucked into the stocking tops, and the garters hooked unto the stockings.

 

In later years, I believe the practice of depicting models with an underslip, long panties, "bloomers", or other camouflage was retained for modesty purposes. In my opinion, these garments appeared in illustrations long after the time when these types of underslips were actually commonly used.  

Therefore, these portrayals may have been a natural evolution from how the garments were actually worn in earlier years. An inset illustration from 1936 Sears was used to show the inner structure of the featured corset. The model is shown wearing a "teddy"-like garment. I have read that women at that time usually wore some kind of garment under their corsets to decrease discomfort from the stiff fabrics used in their construction. This garment may have been quite typical of the type used during that period.  

As shown by the illustration from the 1976 JC Penny catalog, (similar to the "body-briefer" from 1980 shown earlier), that practice began to disappear and the model shown here just wears panties.

 

 

In recent years, some images are displayed so realistically, that the contours of the model's body are revealed in great detail. (The "camel-toe" effect.) The panty girdle illustrated by Lady Grace (1995) was worn tight against the model's crotch. In this case, the model is wearing panties under her girdle (note the visible panty seam under the crossed "vee" panels of the girdle and the top seam of the panty crotch band in the girdle crotch). Most other illustrations for long leg panty girdles are depicted in a manner that suggests there is a gap or space between the woman's crotch and the crotch panel of the garment.  

 

 

Ventilated crotch inventor Harvey Williams (4,236,257 December 2, 1980) observed that:  

 

While he is primarily addressing this problem in pantyhose, a similar situation exists for long leg panty girdles and long leg panty corselets. As the crotch of the garment is displaced down from the wearer's body, then there is more stress on the fabric, and the wearer's legs experience a binding while walking. The two models wearing "shapers" or panty girdle briefs from Sears (1990) illustrate a comparison of the two alternative conditions. More details about the problems of crotch design will be addressed later.