I used to know little about Berlei other than their incredibly successful 'Gay Slant' range of girdles (below right) and pantie-girdles. As other manufacturers modernised their range, Berlei continued to provide traditional girdles in a good variety of fittings right up to the late 1980's. Berlei employed professional corsetieres to chose the correct combination of fittings from their range much the way that Camp did.

Berlei was initially Australian and the name derives from the original firm's accountant Fred Burley, who married the firm's manageress in 1907. The name was registered as Berlei some years later. Another famous brand, Sarongster, seems to have merged with Berlei, or was a part of Berlei as the advertisements below reveal. 

One of Berlei's claims to fame was its approach to sizing. Probably not as unique as they claimed, it did at least admit to the remarkable range, not just of sizes, but of shapes and forms that women possess. This was called the "Berlei System" and was in use, albeit attenuated, in the British High Street in the 1980's.

In the post-war period, we see a departure from the larger woman, desperately in need of Australian engineering know-how to pull her into shape, and the more motherly, realistic women makes an appearance. The Berlei Australian Fitter's magazine of 1958 shows these two vignettes. They almost give the appearance that the photographer walked in off the street and just took a few snaps. Perhaps that was the case!

I have included more pictures from this magazine (below) because I think they illustrate so clearly the interaction between the corsetiere and the client. The approach is subtly different from Spencer. Here the client has no defects or bulges; she simply looks good in her girdle.  

The relationship of the corsetiere and the client. All the photographs above and below come from the Berlei Australian fitters' magazine of 1958.

Latterly, all the models were young women, as the company desperately sought to replenish its market. The daughters of the 'realistic mothers' (above) failed to buy girdles and corsets. A diet of outdoor sport, the post-war hardships forgotten and varicose veins easily treatable, meant that the new generation didn't require a strong foundation. The Australian climate in summer didn't help either. Names like 'Youthline' and 'Gay-Slant' (that has a whole new connotation these days) failed to attract the numbers required. Despite that, some of the advertisements were classics.

Regard the advertisement on the left. Stylish and elegant certainly, but note the artist's exaggeration of the satin sheen of the panels. It might seem simply a highlight of the picture (which it is), but Berlei knew the power of satin as a male attractant and used any advantage to sell its wares.

I recently came across a beautiful example of an early Berlei corset (courtesy of Sewing Machine Girl).