I have to chuckle as I examine the illustration for Miss Mary of Sweden. Personally, I think the lady looks great with her "before" image. However, note that she has a bigger smile on the right. Regardless of what she wears, however, her body mass has to go somewhere! Therefore, I must conclude that the image was "touched-up" or that a front view would show her as "wider"! Likewise, for the "before-after" ladies in Sears (1979) and Roamans ((1982-83).

The sketch shown in the 1976 Sears closely follows the image and position used for the "Miss Mary of Sweden" product line. I wonder if Sears was selling this product under license.

The change depicted by JC Penny in 1980 mostly appears to result from improved posture. The model's body mass seems to be realistically redistributed.

The collection of "Diet Trim Shapers" advertised by Sears in 1991 featured versatility. The customer did not have to replace her foundation wardrobe as she lost weight. Note the level of detail showing garters and drop crotch in the sketch.

Exploitation of feelings is often obvious in the garment descriptions, and implied in most advertising when garments for full-figured ladies are portrayed on models who are almost petite. (The most egregious example of this appeared on page 8 and 25 of the 1995 Lady Grace catalog where a lady who modeled "C" size bras in other parts of the same catalog, was required to model a bra that appeared to be in the "EE" range (or larger)! Her image in a slip on page 5 reveals her actual, smaller size. I recall seeing this image used on a website to represent a "worst in category" for a bra advertisement.

Such images are ludicrous! Our society (and most societies through history) has defined images of an idealized female form. I don't have any particular problem with that basic thought. However, in the US today, this image has also been used to criticize, embarrass, and/or isolate people of both sexes (but especially women) who do not "conform" to the ideal - particularly with respect to weight and overall size.

Positive images: 

In the early 1990's, "Just My Size" distributed small seasonal catalogs that represented healthy and positive images for women. For example, the lovely full-figured model in 1993 was the only one I've seen wearing glasses. That same year, Just-My-Size featured mature women, women of color and a woman in a wheelchair as models (although the woman in the wheelchair did not model underwear). I've included one page (below) from that catalog which pulled together these different groups of women. I interpret this as a distinct effort to be inclusive. Unfortunately, by the mid-1990's, JMS no longer exhibited this innovation. I believe that "One Hanes Place" absorbed this catalog, and its format was changed to fit that firm's style. 

As previously noted in the section on models, JC Penny began to use black women for modeling by the late 1970's. Also, older women modeled slips for Sears and JC Penny in that period. However, JC Penny showing a mature woman in 1976 (in a garment that really defined her figure) seemed to be an innovation at that time.

Most of this essay focuses on garments that were designed to control "excess" flesh. However, some women feel that they were shortchanged. In 1951, Daisy Cooper (Pat. # 2,569,229) developed one type of image enhancement, to improve a woman's "rear view". I'm sure there are many examples of garments that used this technique. I selected the example from 1992 JC Penny since it was in color and clearly showed the padding. Another type of approach to emphasizing a woman's bottom was illustrated earlier in the ad from Ecuador, which exposed the lady's "cheeks" completely.

Later inventors like Nancy Ganz (Pat. # 5,954,564) concentrated on using modern stretch fabrics to achieve good shaping and support without padding.

In 2000, Rhonda and Edward Noble (Pat. # RE-36905) invented a more dynamic approach that allows for personal adjustment for buttocks shaping. This may be adapted both for underwear and outerwear. Additionally, they wanted to address the problem of preventing the garment crotch portion from squeezing into the woman's genitalia (the "cameltoe" effect) that occurs with some other tight fitting garments. They pointed out that this is unsightly and uncomfortable. This invention received national attention through an article by Teresa Riordan in the "Patently Weird" section of ABC News-Live.