Twilfit
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For those women that
could not afford the likes of Spirella and Spencer, and perhaps
wanted something a little more 'traditional', the English firm of
Twilfit provided the answer. It still does today but in a greatly
reduced form. Twilfit is yet another corsetry enterprise that lasted
for close to a century. Regard the catalogue from 1936, this was
Twilfit at its best providing corsets, belts (girdles) and some
waist nippers of an almost Victorian style.
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By the 1960's, and still calling a girdle a belt, there was a dichotomy in Twilfit's advertising. Desperate to attract new clientele, younger models appeared and yet it was to the older woman that the corsets and rubber corselettes were aimed. Almost every old corset shop that went out of business in the 1980's onwards has a shelf of Twilfit corsets in the unpopular sizes still unsold. |
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Did women really wear rubber corselettes and rubber corsets. Indeed they did. My aunt was a devotee of the Dutch equivalent and plenty of British matrons greeted their friends in a waft of perfume disguising (but not quite) the slightly pungent odour of their foundations! |
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The young lovely on the left, parts her lips seductively, or is she gasping for air in her overtight guêpière? The two images on the left show that Twilfit catered for the fashionable and not just the matronly (above). These women in the middle appear totally fed up with their complex foundations, the lady on the left looking as though she would rather be anywhere except in front of the photographer's lens. |
The famous 'cathedral brassiere' loved and hated by all women who have decided to wear a strapless evening gown. Unless the brassiere is very well fitted, the entire evening could be ruined by the fear that on standing up from the table, the brassiere might not! I've seen this happen and the mortified expression on the face of the poor woman. There's two options when this happens:- hide your breasts beneath a napkin and pass it off as a joke, or run screaming out of the room in a flood of tears. Our acquaintance chose the latter! |
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One of Twilfit's classiest offerings, the Joycet girdle with its beautiful embroidered front satin panel.
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