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Trapped inside my
Panty-girdle
A woman hurried into
the restaurant at Selfridge’s in a waft of powder, perfume and parcels. As she
joined her friends for coffee, she gushed in a voice audible several tables
away, “I’m so sorry to be late. I was trapped inside my panty-girdle!”
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"It was curious that girls who
appeared to us all as fearless Dianas, even Amazons, should have crushed
themselves into such constricting garments" Doreen
Caldwell 1981.
"My mother returned from New York
(to England) after a visit to her sister in 1968. "Look at these" she enthused
later as she showed me her new wardrobe of panty-girdles. "These are yours" she
cheerfully explained as four chastity belts were forced into my unwelcoming
arms. Nothing put me off foundations more than those elastic nightmares, but I
wore them until I went to University." Marjorie Hanley.
I feel we can assume
that the lady mentioned above who's quote is the title to this page,
like so many of her sisters, had tried on a panty-girdle in a
size, say 34, when she knew that her waist was approaching 40.
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A
Sarongster panty-girdle from the early 1970's.
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This may sound like an odd title for a serious dissertation on the diverse aspects
of corsetry, however, this page arose from an experience exactly as described
above. We have mentioned the occasion in corsetiere's
anecdotes (also described below), however, it started my husband and I considering some of the more
powerful panty-girdles that we have encountered, or about
which we have heard stories. We even published the following short paragraph,
however, it elicited such a response (such are the delights of creating a web
site) that we felt obliged to research further.
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The story above
has prompted several readers to ask how can you get trapped in such a
flimsy undergarment as a panty-girdle. Well, in the 1960's, they were far
from flimsy (the anecdote comes from the early 1970's). Regard the
products that the Dutch matron
might have been wearing in those days, and that were also available in
Britain and America. By far the most complex panty-girdle is the one
illustrated to the right. Outwardly conventional, and obviously from the 1960's, it has a
double laced underbelt!!
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Especially designed for post-pregnancy and the
drastic return of the figure to normality, it is hardly likely that the
lady in question was in such a delicate condition. |
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This
amazing garment comes from the auctions of Trishypoo
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The
panty-girdle above, is an extreme example of its genre. It was, I believe, a
device for the woman who, almost immediately after pregnancy, desired an
immediate return to a conventional shape. Traditionally, this could be achieved
by wearing a corset, and, to be honest, this garment is close to that
description. The danger, as every mother informs her daughters, is that the
girdle is returning the figure to normal, not the body's own muscles. Reliance
on this device after pregnancy will inevitably lead to reliance on a girdle or
corset forevermore. Remember Playtex's exhortations
to the 30-year-olds of the 1960's, "Holds you in like firm young
muscles". Of course it does, but it doesn't replace firm young muscles, nor
does it encourage them either!!
Such
girdles are still around today (2005), but they seem
to have become the preserve of the Latin countries, that is Italy, Spain
and Latin America. The example on the left below is currently available from
Latin America and sold in various American outlets. It is specifically
designed to flatten the post-pregnancy tummy, and judging by the
description, "six straps secure a light, but rigid panel",
it will do so very effectively.
The very rare Spencers (below
right) and the same idea from Coronation (below
left) achieved the
same ends by strapping the post-pregnancy abdomen into the confines of a
rigid panty-girdle
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It is interesting to note that post-War liberation, whilst freeing woman from her
corsets, forced her into
equally uncompromising garments. Look at the engineering
below. Howard Hughes would have been impressed!
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The charming picture on the left
has been taken from the book "And All was Revealed" by Doreen Caldwell
(1981). She states "It was curious that girls who appeared to us all as
fearless Dianas, even Amazons, should have crushed themselves into such
constricting garments". I feel that these
sentiments are echoed by the Australian advert on the right, where
blatant 'peer pressure' is used. |
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Returning to the theme of entrapment, I know of only a few genuine cases
where a wearer has actually become stuck in her foundations. The case of the
unyielding corset buckles has, I'm sure, defeated more wearers than the vain
elderly woman of my correspondent's tale. Certainly, I know of several women
wearing zippered girdles who have managed to jam the zip on the little satin tag
attached thereto. Infinite patience is required to set oneself free, or an
expensive mistake will occur.
We collected some images of panty-girdles, that apart from their potential
to snare the unwary, are remarkable examples of how a simple garment can end up
as a fiendishly complex garment. In these modern times, when the knowledge of
proper corsetry is virtually unknown, we have so often encountered women referring
to a corset, when in fact they mean a panty-girdle. Whether this is levity, or
simple ignorance of the subject is sometimes unclear, however, I could forgive
these women for describing the garments exhibited below as corsets, even if they
are technically incorrect.
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Every unnecessary complication exists, from the double-lace underbelt (above),
to twin zippers, waist cincher and, of course, Camp just had to add its 'adjustaband'
control! Even Jenyns (left) couldn't resist adding hip
bands to their reinforced elastic panty-girdle. The twin-zippered girdles (below)
tell their own stories. Dating from the early 1960's, the lower garment is
fresh, unused and with its original tags. The creases indicate a
long period stored in its box or in a drawer. It was simply too
complex, or too uncomfortable to wear! The upper garment shows how
that lower zipper will bend and buckle with every movement of the thighs.
Goodness knows what tortures accompanied even a simple sitting manuoevre! Worse
still, is the little pull tag hanging over the stockings just waiting to reveal
its presence should the incautious woman sit or bend. Horrors; it might even be
mistaken for the end of a corset lace!
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At least, the
young women pictured above and below look happy in their decidedly
substantial foundation wear. One is tempted to think that these 1960's
panty-girdles were surely aimed at the more mature figure, and indeed,
they became (in the USA at least) almost standard underwear for most women
in the 1960's. But when these pictures were taken, many young women would
have had such garments in their possession. |
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'Playtex Ice' (right) describes less its appearance, than its horrid
clammy coldness in the mornings. Indeed, this is a girdle that was
even harder to remove than to don, and, oh how some women wanted to
remove them! Just as the world was becoming free from these
girdles in the 1960's (and to be fair they did have a popular following
including such celebrities as Jane Russell), the Latin Americans took them
up with a vigour that remains today, and, I might add, in a sultry, humid
climate that much test the fashionable Mexican Señorita
to her limits. There is a strong peer pressure to marry and have children in
any Latin country, and these girdles will help the Señorita
catch her man, as effectively as they will catch the Señora's
abdomen after the first few babies! |
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Pregnancy, before and after, gave rise to so many variations on the
panty-girdle. Camp (right) is what just qualifies as a panty-girdle, allows
sufficient engineering to cope with the expanding belly, and perhaps to help
its return to normal. Camp (below right) also provided back support for the
woman fed up with her bulky corsets, or perhaps simply for the failing
post-pregnancy back. Were these, however, as effective as their laced
cousins? I suspect not.
I've never believed that a laced or strapped girdle (as
distinct from a corset), could ever compete
with a proper corset. Camp knew that of course and provided any number of
effective corsets, but often the marketers have to pander to the requests of
the masses who in 1950 felt that pregnancy or not, a corset was simply too
old-fashioned! |
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A German panty-girdle with teutonic
adjustable bands. A classic Sears panty-girdle from 1966, left is the image
from the Sears catalogue, and right is the real garment. To millions of American
women, this was standard daily wear for several decades.
Panty-girdles in the 1950's and 1960's from
Charis (left - 1953) and Spencer USA (1963). Surely Frau Cadenza on the right
comes straight from the imagination of John Le Carré
or Ian Fleming?
In many respects, these formidable foundation garments (by
today's standards) do not need adornments and complexities. I like my underwear to
give me a good shape, yet to come off easily when required.
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The garments
shown here,
for which I do confess a fondness, are standard Smoothies' Long Stride, with zipper, and the
traditional satin panels at the front, back and sides. |
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The Smoothie,
to my mind, represents the zenith of the American panty-girdle.
The British
equivalent from Marks and Spencer (below left), tries to copy its trans-Atlantic
cousin, yet somehow fails.
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Oddly
enough, considering the splendid regular girdles that Marks and Spencer used to
make, their panty-girdles (left) never achieved the same style and strength as
their American cousins. It was left to Spirella's Spirelette 105 (below, right)
to provide a bullet-proof panty-girdle!
Modern Entrapment Devices
The age of the liberated woman did not seem to last all that
long as these devices from South East Asia and Latin America reveal.
Corselette Entrapment
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Two zips backed by innumerable hooks-and-eyes were navigated
just to enter and leave these wretched things. Going to the loo meant
broken fingernails and tears of frustration to release no less than 20
hooks and eyes on one model! The garment on the right
(above) even has a huge adjustable hip controller and the Italian lady to her left wears
a garment still available in Italy today (2008). Beware patterned corselettes. You
might imagine that the pattern doesn't show though your blouse, but it does! A
very typical attempt (left) to do up 17 hooks and eyes. Two hooks have
missed their eyes and nothing short of undoing the whole lot and
starting again will correct the mistake.
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This device just had to be invented
by a man!
