Ivy Leaf's Dairy 2022
Happy New Year
January 2022
Unfortunately, there is no Ivy Leaf calendar for 2022 and the year with the same dates, 2011, also lacked a calendar although that was the year that we took all the photographs that would populate the 2012 (my favourite) and 2013 calendars.
21st November 2011
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August 2022 will represent the 20th anniversary of this web-site and we intend to give Ivy Leaf a rest if not a total retirement.
The Ivy Leaf Collection comprises the following:
We very nearly found a buyer for the entire collection 18 months ago, but like so many of these contacts, it fizzled out. If you have deep pockets and enthusiasm, we are open to offers for the collection as a whole (including the web-site) or in part. Regarding the library, we would happily donate that to any institution of higher learning that specialises in fashion. |
Blasts from the Past
Back onto the subject of PowerNet, we are most grateful to those readers who have helped us to add to our collection of these newsletters.
As far as we know, Lyn Locke and her partner Mike issued these newsletters from November 2001 (Vol. 1) to July 2007 (Vol. 68). OK, I know the mathematicians amongst you will realise that July 2007 should be volume 69 but May 2006 carried no volume number.
We are missing:
vols. 1 - 4; 6 - 11, 19, 20, 23, 25, 49, 64 - 67 and any others that were published after July 2007. Please can you help to fill in the gaps.
Also if you are still in contact with the models from the Garters & Lace conventions: Judith Diane, Angela, Doris and the rest, please could you let us know.
WOW!! Thank you so much to the reader that replied to our request almost by return and sent us eight missing copies.
We now have a complete set from February 2002 to October 2007. Also we have discovered that although Mike stopped editing the newsletter in September 2007, Lyn continued into 2008 but not every month. A fundamental change occurred in April 2005; this is covered in Lyn's secret page.
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Albert's Avenue
Connoisseurs of the LISA web-site and Albert's Avenue will recall the stunning Annalai. Our recent association with Annalai came about when Albert contacted us to mention that a picture of Annalai had appeared on our web-site. We apologised, since we had dumped a bundle of photographs onto the site to illustrate the beauty of satin without checking the copyrights involved. Both Albert and Annalai kindly gave us permission to use the photograph and, knowing our interest in girdles, even added a few photographs of Annalai wearing a Bestform panty-girdle over her corset. We have created a new page dedicated to Annalai.
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Thinking about this period, there are so many cine films on the internet that we peruse from time to time in an indulgence of 'rose-tinted spectacles'. Looking at weddings, for example, the style changes from the 50s to the 70s are profound. We touched upon this last year in the diary. Within the space of less than two decades, the matron on the left, so well controlled in her Spirella 305 corset, would briefly embark into girdledom before donning a flowery pair of elastic nothings in the late 1960s. This all lies underneath, however, the surface appearance tells the same story. Petticoats, silks and bell skirts in the 50s, pencil skirts, satins and bullet bras in the 60s then drop-waists, crimplene and elastic knickers in the 70s. Oh Dear! If you ever doubted that women wore corsets in the 1960s, regard the article from the Spirella house magazine of October 1967. The attractive woman wears a corset, the redoubtable Spirella 305. Below we see the styles about which we are talking beautifully displayed by Mary O'Brien (Dusty Springfield), Helen Shapiro and Alma Cogan. |
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February 2022
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What an amazing flood of correspondence has come our way in 2022. A lady has just contacted us from Worcester, Massachusetts about the corset industry that used to thrive there. A web-site has been created and very interesting and informative it is too.
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We are now missing:
vols. 1 - 4; 64, 66, 71and 72 plus any others that were published after February 2008. Please can you help to fill in the gaps.
Regard this beautiful picture from the early 1960s. The flared skirt with the petticoat is giving way to the pencil skirt and the fitted dresses. I always felt that the flared skirt was a boon for the lass with overly large hips; who would notice, you didn't even have to wear a lower foundation garment (horror!). Who would have guessed that within a few years the world order would change. No longer would girls dress like their mothers. Girdles and suspender belts would be thrown away. Even one's brassiere was discarded, a folly that would haunt those emancipated women in later life as they would try to retrieve their fallen bosoms from the region of their umbillicus.
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The announcement of our retirement or semi-retirement brought forth many kind words and some surprising offers. It even made us think whether we were premature in our plans. Whatever happens, it allowed us to make contact with a fascinating German model who started a YouTube channel, "Anna Bellement" half a year ago (left). She is enthusiastic about feminine clothing styles of the 1950s, corsets, retro underwear and fashion trends. Her YouTube channel echoes our love of the 1950s-60s shapes and the foundation garments that created them. The channel is very professionally produced. We have started a page showing some of Anna's 1950s and 60s styles. On the left, Anna wears a Triumph Doreen bra, I mean what else would a 60s girl wear? Very kindly, Anna has mentioned our web-site on her latest YouTube video (around 4:30 of this 10 minute video), 'Dressed like a 1950s top-notch secretary in vintage inspired office outfit'.
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RIP Doreen 1925 - 2022 It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Doreen on the 28th January 2022. What an amazing woman. She never married but was far from the archetypal 'spinster of this parish'. Engaged in charitable works all her life, she was helping the elderly, some of whom were 20 years her junior, right up to the end. Doreen loved a challenge. For her 90th birthday she made a tandem parachute jump and a few years later wanted to abseil down her local church tower but was prevented only by local bureaucracy. Aged 84 and then again at nearly 89 (right), she modelled corsets for our calendars and I think you will all agree that she still sported an enviable figure. At our photo-shoot in 2016, she was miffed that she had not been invited. "But Doreen, you've just had a heart attack." "So what?!" was her response. As is it said "They broke the mould when Doreen was born". |
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March 2022
Costume research is made so fascinating these days by the quantity of videos that can be seen on YouTube for example. For sure, movies give one an idea although that may be very Hollywood biased. What we love are the home videos taken at weddings and other functions. What can we make of the two stills?
Horror of horrors! Have two ladies come to the wedding wearing the same outfit? (Really! What is the problem with that?). In fact, the photograph on the left was taken in 1965 and that on the right in 1963. Is it the same woman at two different weddings wearing the same outfit? Quite possibly. In those days and even today (Princess Anne sets us a good example here), women may wear the same outfit twice and, spaced three years apart, perhaps nobody would notice.
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Bullet-proof Corsets?
We have often referred to corsets and girdles as being 'bullet-proof' or perhaps 'industrial strength', however, the former is an exaggeration, the latter not necessarily so when you consider some of the items in our collection. Certainly, the spinal steels of a firm surgical corset could deflect the odd passing bullet but the garment as a whole is not bullet-proof. History has many accounts of how the whalebones and steels in a lady's corsets have deflected the blades of jealous lovers or drunken husbands. Equally, these stays, should they split have actually killed their wearer. Spirella made some advertising mileage from the fact that their stays were flexible and could not break in an accident. My aunt who fell down a lift shaft (only one floor thank Goodness) claimed that her corsets saved her from serious injury. Less charitable friends suggested that the relaxing cloud of gin and tonic had more to do with it than her corsets!
Madame Chiang Kai-shek (Soong Mei-ling) wore bullet-proof corsets. Her first pair in blue satin were specially ordered from a New York manufacturer of bullet-proof vests, however, these only made it as far as Singapore just before it fell to the Japanese in 1941. Later in 1949 when the Chiangs fled China, she left a pair of bullet-proof corsets behind (in pink satin this time). No doubt her corsets were prized trophies of the Japanese and eight years later, the communists.
Soong Mei-ling was an amazing woman and widely regarded as the power behind the 'throne' of Chiang Kai-shek. She lived through three centuries being born in 1896 (or 1897) and passing away aged 106 in 2003. She was rated by TIME magazine at one point as the most powerful woman in the world. I wonder how many other women in the public eye have worn bullet-proof underwear?
1951: Soong Mei-ling, Madame Chiang kai-shek 1897 - 2003 |
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A reader commented that the Romanov family during the Bolshevik uprising in 1918, had their jewels sewn into specially reinforced corsets to escape detection. Once caught by the Bolsheviks, these corsets parried many of the bayonet thrusts that ultimately killed the family so in many respects acted as body armour. We have related elsewhere how corsets and girdles have been used to smuggle contraband through customs and how one enterprising female prisoner used the stays from her corsets to fashion a lock-pick.
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"Lady Mary adjusted the straps of her surgical corset with a vigour that reminded [her husband] of a race meeting!"
There are
some amazingly descriptive passages that one encounters from time to
time. The one
above comes from Tom Sharpe's hilarious novel 'Porterhouse Blue' (1974). Another
comes from Richard Gordon's classic 'The Captain's Table' (1954). "At four o'clock that afternoon, the lazy ship's routine
was cut by the whistle blowing 'abandon ship drill' and the passengers came
sheepishly up the ladders in their life jackets ... The exception was old Mrs. Lomax who misheard her stewardess's assurances and came screaming on deck, bald,
toothless and in her corsets." In Ian McRobert's memoirs,
he recounts his aging wife "strapping and
lacing herself into the rigid satin tube that was her underwear".
No flight of fancy this, if you consider the devices not uncommonly worn
in the 1950s.
This leads us to the question 'Did stiff, old ladies walk like
that because they wore stiff, old corsets? Certainly, the joints stiffen
with age, but a woman's locomotion is very dependent upon her
underpinnings.
Indeed, an older woman's foundations are not simply corset, brassiere and
stockings
Bringing such prose to mind is a glimpse into the past, a forgotten era like a dream that one cannot quite remember. How frustrating it becomes therefore when you cannot remember the source of a quotation or passage. In the pages of this web-site, I have referred several times to the problems of disposing of an elderly relative's old-fashioned clothes and underwear prefaced by the comment "I forget who once wrote ..…bereavement, complicated by disposal of the mysterious undepinnings of the elderly woman...". Thus it was most satisfactory to encounter that passage in Gavin Young's excellent travel book 'Slow Boats to China'. Frustratingly, this book that I had not read for over 30 years fell to pieces as I read it and I have lost the reference again.
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Happy 85th Birthday - Cathie Jung
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These pictures were taken in October 2016 when Cathie and Bob visited us in Britain. Cathie modelled for our 2017 calendar alongside Victoria. On the right is a small selection of Cathie's corsets (North Carolina, September 2014).
Spring is here at last!
Good Gracious! Spring and unseasonably warm weather is a pleasant break from two years of unremittingly bad news.
Regard the laced girdle (below). It is obviously French or Belgian judging from the buttons to attach the suspenders. The girdle carries the Rigby & Peller label, but surely this is a standard girdle modified by R&P's seamstresses. It just does not look right and the lace panel is strangely asymmetrical. However, laced girdles do exist as the 1940s beauty on the right demonstrates.
Another conundrum. Both Sarongster and Warners (below) show elegant ladies in their girdles, but where are the suspenders (garters - US)? Was there a period when the US censors regarded suspenders as provocative?
The pictures above elicited a very interesting response from one of our readers that I have included under the section on Stockings and Suspenders.
Basically, the premise is without the tension of the stockings on the suspenders, the girdle will never sit properly on the body. I hope this will provoke an interesting debate.
Indeed it has! Only last month I mentioned that an older woman's foundations
are not simply corset, brassiere and stockings
A reader kindly informed us that Figesta in Germany is now owned by Active Life GmbH. This company manufactures, beside other things, fabrics that are designed to be used with girdles.
What a delightful throwback to the patterned German foundation garments of the 1960s and 70s.
We discovered that it is not only Figesta using these delightful materials, but Werkmeister as well.
The three corselette schematics show the various optional arrangements of satn, lycra and lace. Is this a return to the glory days of corsetry? But note the lack of suspenders and the correspondence that we have recently received on the subject.
We recently came across a couple of books: 'Carry On Cor!sets' by Molly Cutpurse (2007) and 'Corsets in Africa' by Lilian Rivers (1965). I have read the latter and most amusing it is too, relating the experiences of a trained fitter who gets posted to Africa. I have yet to read the Carry On book that is a fictional account based on the 'Carry on' film team fiction. I will read it on holiday. In 'Carry on Loving' (1970), Joan Sims plays the part of Esme Crowfoot, Corsetiere. Here she is lacing the long-suffering Amelia Bayntun into a pair of corsets with, what the directors fondly imagined to be, the traditional knee in the back posture accompanied by gruntings and straining noises. In the film 'Happy Ending' (1969), a lady squeezes herself into a girdle accompanied by the noise of what I swear is a stage hand rubbing that hand across a balloon.
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April 2022
We have been commenting recently on the feel of a woman's underwear particularly when cuddling some aged relative or dancing with a stout matron. My husband remembers his dancing classes that he reluctantly attended in his early 20s. He fancied a rather lovely girl who, unfortunately, had no sense of timing and subsequently he migrated to a metronomic matron who was, in fact, a very good dancer. The trouble was where to place his right hand. In the accepted position he encountered the top ridge of her girdle or corset. To get below this obstacle, he was in danger of fondling her nether regions and to move above the ridge was to encounter soft wayward flesh that prevented him from steering his partner with any accuracy. He was acutely embarrassed because he knew that she knew and did she think he was fondling her whereas he was simply trying to get a firm hold. The classes were not a success.
Betty MacDonald in 'The Egg and I' (1945) had a similar experience: "The Corset Lady had piercing black eyes and a large bust and stomach apparently encased in steel, for when I brushed against her it was like bumping into our oil drum."
More experiences are related in Ivy's Diary 2021.
Wishing you all a Happy Easter break.
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I read Molly Cutpurse's book 'Carry On Cor!sets' over Easter and it is - er - interesting. To appreciate it fully, you would have to be a fan of the 'Carry On' genre of films which I am not so I passed it to my husband, who is. All the characters are identified at the beginning with the real 'Carry On' actors and with this mind set, he enjoyed the book that he felt was more of a screenplay for what might have been an enjoyable 'Carry On' film. Sadly, most of the characters have passed away. One odd point is the very poor editing of the book although this barely detracts from the content.
We came across an interesting picture from an American mail order magazine from the late 1950s. It shows the choice that Americanas had then. You could have your favourite style either as a girdle or panty-girdle. At that time, America was nearly a decade ahead of Britain in many aspects, however, with the advent of the 'Swinging Sixties', Britain caught up with America within a decade. Consequently, as American woman embraced the panty-girdle in the early 1960s, Britain failed to catch up until the late 1960s at which point women were ditching their foundation garments altogether, even their bras in an act of supreme folly. Therefore, the decade of the panty-girdle era in America was compressed in Britain to a scant few years and, with the exception of the Spirelette 105, never matched their American counterparts for strength and style. At some point this year, our model Moira will do a road test (my husband's expression) to compare Lyn Locke's favourite, the Young Smoothie 1068, with Spirella's best of Britain, the 105.
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The Mesh Corset
This corset keeps popping up in YouTube videos and is extremely well presented by three wonderful ladies:
Suzanne Heintz in her short film 'Goodwill Towards Men ("The Girdle"),
Nora Murrell in her video clip Bullet Bras, Girdles, Waist Cinchers, and Corsets - Vintage Lingerie Try On
and Anna Bellement in her clip 'Corset Lace - How to encourage your wife / girlfriend to wear corsets. Tightlacing of Anna Bellement'
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May 2022 We have always been amused by the fictitious characters emanating from the fevered minds of the advertising and marketing departments. Drs. Wilbur and Wales of abdominal corset fame, Anna Spencer from Spencer (who else) and, a recent discovery on our part, the slightly sinister looking 'Miss Spirella' with unfeasibly white and perfect teeth for the 1940s. Anyway, she nudges out the 1930s 'Miss Brace'. There is an English family name, 'Bracegirdle' still in use in Cheshire that has origins in the 16th century. It was also used by Tolkien as a hobbit family name. Below is the genuine family shield and neither a corset nor girdle to be seen! Of course in the 16th century, bracing your girdle meant tightening your belt in preparation for another battle that seemed to be quite common in those days.
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I mentioned last month that Moira would 'road test' panty-girdles from each side of the 'pond'. This she did yesterday.
And the winner is .....
The Young Smoothie 1048, favourite of Lyn Locke and worn by millions of American women in the 1960s.
"Through a glass darkly ..."
From Italy, a country of the beautiful and stylish comes this text from one of Berne's catalogue from 1936:
"The Berné house achieves the ideal goals of the most dignified and elevated with rational and ferocious activity and does not hesitate to recommend the new lastex girdles even to large-bodied ladies. They exert an equal compression on all parts of the body and envelop the living body like a second skin. They confer harmony of beauty which are the signs of perfection and nobility of our race. Do you have a very pronounced stomach with pendulous breasts and want to shape your hips for your most beautiful clothes? Wear the 434 model or the 599 model which, thanks to the admirable combination of an original technical conception and an exemplary manufacturing method, gives the woman the sign of a flexible slenderness."
Well, they're not pulling any punches with that description, but now we know how the elegant Italiana achieves her shape.
June 2022
Regarding Royalty and corsetry, what an interesting subject that would be and what a potential minefield.
Poor June Kenton of Rigby & Peller lost their royal warrant after publication of Mrs. Kenton's book 'Storm in a D-cup'. I have read the book and can find nothing amiss, but somebody did! At this juncture, I will drop this subject.
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Back in March, we asked why some advertisements failed to show the suspenders (garters) on their girdles even when we knew they should be there. We have received some more interesting replies on the topic.
Another cry for help concerns the panty-girdle with one conventional zipper on the left side and a second zipper running upwards on the right leg. Why was this?
Just for information, all our Wrens' uniforms are now for sale on ebay. |
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Good Gracious, the nights are drawing in as we pass the summer solstice. Mind you, we have had a run of excellent weather that sets to end just as we plan to take a long weekend away.
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During the last photo shoot for the sale of the uniforms, Moira tried on a 110-year-old original Jenyns that we received unopened in its wrappings from Ken Jenyns 12 years ago (right). This is a museum quality item and should have been treated with due respect, however, we didn't! It has been modelled by Victoria and Cathie Jung in 2014 and recently by Moira. We realised that the corset lacing was beginning to break in a couple of places. This can easily be fixed by a competent seamstress, however, it illustrates our ethos regarding the collection. The corset can be repaired, however, rather than languishing unseen in a museum store, or being displayed but 'Do not touch', we have given three women the chance to wear and feel a garment that their (great-)grannies might have worn.
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July 2022
At the risk of repeating ourselves...
August 2022 will be the 20th anniversary of this web-site and we intend to give Ivy Leaf a rest if not a total retirement.
The Ivy Leaf Collection comprises the following:
The web-site of 600Mb and 30,000 files.
The Ivy Leaf data base of nearly 50Gb and 45,000 files.
The library of 100s of magazines, books and brochures including the Spirella house magazine from 1958 - 1971.
100s of brassieres, corselettes, panty-girdles, girdles, corsets, surgical corsets and fitting garments.
Dozens of costumes, uniforms and accessories that were used in the making of the calendars.
We are open to offers for the collection as a whole (including the web-site) or in part.
Regarding the library, we would happily donate that to any institution of higher learning that specialises in fashion.
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Back onto the subject of PowerNet, we are most grateful to those readers who have helped us to add to our collection of these newsletters. As far as we know, Lyn Locke and her partner Mike issued these newsletters from November 2001 to September 2007 and Lyn continued into 2008 but not every month.
We are missing: vols. 1 - 4; 6 - 11, 64, 66 and 71 inwards. Please can you help to fill in the gaps.
Happy Independence Day to our American readers We were alerted to the 4th July by a 'phone call from Bob and Cathie Jung. It is always a pleasure to chat to them (mainly Bob with Cathie in the background) and to hear his views on the state of the planet. We reminisced about Lyn Locke (coincidentally featured here), Lady Annalai and Anna Bellement. Of course, it gives the TV channels the chance to screen Independence Day, the movie from 1996 that my husband loves, particularly the bit that goes "Excuse me Mr. President, that's not entirely accurate."
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Any collector of vintage
garments will realise that the woman of today is a bigger creature than
her sister of half a century ago despite dress sizes trying to trick you
otherwise. When we first started making the calendars in 2009, several
of the ladies were disappointed that nothing would fit them. Our
collection is very much from the 1950s -70s and 40-inch waists simply
could not be accommodated. Even in the 1960s, Spirella describe how they
had to develop the models 234 and 246
in response to the bigger hipped woman of the 1960s compared to
her pre-war sister. Better food, and far too much of it, have lead to
this expansion. It was, therefore, an absolute throwback to see
advertised a St. Michael girdle with a 23-24 inch
waist (right). This might have been for a scant elderly lady,
however, for once, the picture on the box might represent the truth.
This could well have been an early 60s girdle for your daughter. Within
five years, almost certainly, that girl would not be wearing a girdle,
nor would her peers and, very likely, neither would her mother either.
Uncontrolled and unfettered by any lower foundation garment women began
to expand. As Ken Jenyns explained to us in 2010 "A women in a proper
foundation garment cannot get any larger. The garment will not allow it
and the woman will, unconsciously or not, restrict her eating
accordingly." Just the other day, we were having lunch in a pub (how lovely to be allowed to do this after being restricted for so long) and the lady in charge drew our attention. Very pretty, but overweight in the modern fashion, her jeans were acting as her foundation garment. They even appeared to be designed to accommodate her bulging abdomen. They reminded us of Madeleine's abdominal corsets, the shape of the dished front holding back the pendulous avoirdupois. Mind you, a pair of jeans would be far cheaper than an abdominal corset. |
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August 2022
Let us start the month with a bit of whimsy - Foundation garments as an impediment to the task in hand:
F
Vivian Vance made this comment upon preparing to meet Queen Elizabeth in
London
Dame Shirley Bassey, when recording the Goldfinger (1964) theme, could only hold the final note after removing her constricting bustier.
"Her spectacularly elevated bosom eclipsed the food on the table when she sat down to eat, a feat accomplished not without effort; both sitting and eating that is." Ian McRoberts
"She strutted into dinner at an Eastbourne hotel, each step a jerky battle of muscle and elastic. She sat rigid and erect with her less formidably corsetted friends. When the soup came, she could not raise her hands as far as her mouth and in embarrassment left the table." Observations of a woman wearing a back support corset with shoulder straps.
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11th August 2022
Ivy Leaf is 20 years old today. Contrary to what we have indicated, we will stagger on for a little while yet. Each day we are adding a few photographs to remind us of the last 20 years.
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October 2022
Our long summer is coming to an end. Officially, it is now Autumn, but the weather doesn't seem to realise it yet.
The sister of the lady that ran the corset shop in Renfrew that inspired the beginnings of our collection, would always change her corsets at the beginning of Autumn. The aertex or nylon corsets would be laid away and replaced by the warmer brocade or satin corsets. It was important in those days since cars rarely had heaters and not so many houses had central heating. Thick corsets, thick tweeds and a thick coat was the garb for winter; no wonder older ladies used to waddle in a womble-like fashion.
I have just finished reading an excellent book 'Snow Widows' by Katherine MacInnes. It tells the story of the mothers and widows left behind by Robert Falcon Scott's heroic but tragic expedition to the South Pole in 1912. The text contains many corset references (as might be expected for that period) concentrating on the formidable Caroline Oates, mother of Lawrence Oates, who perished on the expedition "I am just going outside and may be some time."
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Caroline was a formidably becorseted horsewoman. Caroline, on the other hand, is never less than immaculately presented, corset tightly laced and dark hair scraped back in a bun. Fortunately Oriana is a good sailor. She boasts a stomach of solid iron (reinforced appropriately in the present context by a whalebone corset). A long skirt and a corset are not ideal working clothes aboard, but she has standards. Caroline is aware that she must keep up appearances. She reaches for the servant’s to summon her lady’s maid, Isabella Longhome, for her lightest summer riding habit to wear over her corseted summer dress. Whalebone corsets are popular but the scraping, washing and cleaning leaves little profit. Caroline sits in a deck chair in the meadow-scented shade. It is difficult to recline in a corset and the starch in her collar forces her chin up, but looking down her nose, she observes that the 22-yard pitch could be smoother. If she isn’t able to work in a pub, perhaps she can work in the corsetry business, sewing at home while minding Ralph. The motor and driver cost more than the theatre tickets, but arriving in a common cab would, for Caroline, be as bad as arriving without one’s corset or, at the very least, one’s hat. |
Caroline Oates |
Being retired and now that Covid restrictions have been removed, my husband and I like to travel. The other week, in Exeter, we noticed a dress in a thrift shop and I exclaimed, "That's Madeleine's outfit that we used in the 2012 calendar." Not identical, but obviously from the same manufacturer. Just in case you were wondering what Madeleine would wear beneath her lovely outfit, we can actually show you Madeleine in her trusty Spirella 305.
At last, we have been in contact with a university that would be most interested in our collection of literature. We have always said that rather than sell our collection, we would rather that it went to an institute of higher learning. Far better for it to be used for research than languishing in the shelves of our study.
November 2022
Whilst preparing all our literature for transportation, once again, the decline in corsetry from the 1960s onwards is not just apparent in the foundation garments themselves but also in the quality of the brochures. Regard Spencer's efforts below
1927, 1932, 1952 (but date stamped 1978) and 1990.
The early Spencer manuals were works of art, beautifully bound in padded covers. By the 1950s, they were more functional but comprehensive manuals nevertheless. A corsetiere friend gave us her manual that she received in 1978 as the latest 17th edition although it was published in 1952. By the end of the 1980s, you were lucky to get even a photocopied set of typed notes. Their corsets followed the same decline.
7th November 2022
A few days ago, my husband and I packed up 51kg of the literature from the Ivy Leaf Collection and drove it to the Arts University that had contacted us. There we were received by the student that had initiated the whole transfer and her supervisor. We were delighted by the reception and feel sure that this donation will be well used in their researches. As I said "There's a Ph.D. in there somewhere!" We were shown around the campus and met other lecturers, staff members and students. What a great day and we feel encouraged that our collection, rather that languishing in my husband's study, will now be put to good use by an enthusiastic generation quite unused to the intricacies of wearing traditional corsetry.
The student commented how quickly and comprehensively we had answered her email. We feel that if somebody has taken the trouble to email us, we will always answer as quickly as possible and to the best of our knowledge.
ivyleaf@corsetiere.net (please remember to check your 'Junk' folders since sometimes our replies are directed there).
Returning home and feeling in an academic mood, my husband opened the lecture that we had given some years before 'Pulling Together'. The lecture has evolved since then, however, we noticed that the word 'guêpière' (the French word for a basque or Merry Widow corset) had been miss-spelled several times throughout our web-site. This has now been corrected.
27th November 2022
We received a very interesting email from a lady in the USA who had been a fitter in corsetry department. What we found delightful was this lady's satisfaction to have helped a customer achieve her desired shape. Far from forcing her clients into over-tight corsetry she used her experience as follows: A lady came into the store to buy a bra. She was well-endowed but the fitter recommended a padded bra. Why padded? It made the bust the same size as her rather large hips that gave the impression of a smaller waist (also helped by a new panty-girdle). By this clever use of proportions, the lady's friends were convinced that she had lost weight. One satisfied customer!
December 2022
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This charming piece of Spirella memorabilia came our way recently.
With the address on the card, it is irresistible these days to check
what the corset shop has become courtesy of Google's pegman (originally
designed as pegwoman in 2008). Inevitably somehow, 39, High Street has become a branch of Dominos pizzas. The same sad tale is told in Sweden, where Spirella's outlet on the Gustav Adolfs Torg is now a chocolaterie. For years, these emporia were dedicated to reducing the shape of women, now their function is exactly the opposite, how ironic. |
We approach the end of the year, a year in which we nearly decided to call it quits but, thanks to your requests, we have decided to keep going.
The highlight of the year was the donation of our extensive library to an Arts University where this collection of literature can be used rather than languishing in our study. It gave us a huge sense of satisfaction to know that it will be treated with respect.
But let us enjoy the build up to Christmas with a little whimsical quiz. The Ivy Leaf Collection consists of literature, electronic files, costumes and foundation garments - many, many foundation garments. The costumes and foundation garments were the mainstay of the calendars that we produced over the years, but one outfit was particularly enjoyed by the three women that tried it on, well four actually but it simply did not fit the fourth lady despite some heroic corsetry. The dress has a coat and this lady could have worn it unzipped and covered by the coat but no, she wanted it done properly. The outfit in question is the pink satin, mother-of-the-bride confection that was worn by Amy in 2011, Marjorie in 2013 and Moira in 2019.
Ivy Leaf's Quiz - 2022
What foundation garments are these ladies wearing?
Obviously, we know the answers since we took the photographs of them in their costumes and in their corsets or girdles or panty-girdles or even corselettes. Let us give you some clues.
Imagine that it is 1963 in Britain. All the women are comfortably-off. Amy is in her late 60s and Marjorie in her early 60s; both have two grown-up children and are married to middle-class professionals. Moira is two decades younger, unmarried but with her own hairdressing business.
The 'package holiday' abroad has just become available but only Moira has travelled to America to visit family
The ladies have all appeared in their under-pinnings in our various calendars and books.
There are enough pictures within the web-site to provide the answers.
We are looking for the make and model of the foundations garments being worn under the pink satin.
Let us start with Amy on the left. To give you a little help (and a clue) and this applies to all the questions, we will accept what the model was actually wearing and what she wore for another photo session. In Amy's case, she really wanted to buy the latter foundation.
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What the model wore underneath the pink satin.
These photographs show the models just before they dressed for the photo-shoot. They are not what the models preferred to wear as we shall see below, however, an explanation based on 1960s, middle-class woman is given on the right. |
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20/12/2022:
Of course Amy wears a Spirella girdle and
bra. The oldest of the women and therefore probably the wealthiest,
nothing less than made-to-measure will do for Amy. The girdle is the
robust model 234 in a pin-stripe cotton. The bra is made from white
orchid (nylon satin) with unusually, side-lacers. Amy doesn't use these
on a regular basis but her breasts, the bane of her life, can change
size alarmingly if she over-indulges; quite likely at this festive time
of year. 21/12/2022: Again, spare no expense and buy Spirella. Marjorie wears the same style bra as Amy but without the lacing. Marjorie's smaller breasts are far less troublesome than her friend's. In this case, however, it is the corset, a Spirella model 527 that has the side-lacing. Yes - women did wear corsets in the 1960s but it was not so common any more. The girdle was de rigueur for the middle-class woman. 22/12/2022: Moira wears the classic Marks and Spencer satin-elastic girdle. Not just a Dior copy, this was possibly the most elegant girdle ever made for the masses. Oddly, she wears a Spirella nylon bra. Possibly she could not find an off-the-shelf bra to fit her and spent the extra on made-to-measure. Good for her! |
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What she wore at the same photo session but in this case, the garment is the one she liked best. On several occasions, the model asked to buy the garment. For photo-shoots, we were often confined by the size of the model and the available garments but we always gave the models the chance to wear something special. Can you guess what it might be? |
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23/12/2022: Oh Yes! The classic foundations of 1963 British woman; the Marks and Spencer satin-elastic girdle paired with the Triumph Doreen bra. Was there ever a better combination? Amy loved the girdle and wanted to buy it. It was the largest size of this premium range at a 32 inch waist, a size that would be considered average today.
24/12/2022: There's a pleasant story behind this picture. Although Marjorie enjoyed wearing the pink satin, there was a green silk outfit that she really liked but she could not get into it. It was close but there was an inch gap. She rummaged through the garments that we had taken to the photo-shoot and selected a Spirella 305 corset and matching bra in black satin. Pulling the laces as tightly as a modern woman can tolerate Marjorie could close the zipper on the dress. Bearing in mind the fragility of Spirella's black satin material, we didn't keep her confined thus for long but Marjorie loved the feel of the satin and the fantastic figure that resulted. 25/12/2022: Moira 'road-tested' our two favourite panty-girdles from the 1960s, the British Spirelette 105 and the American Young Smoothie 1068, one of Lyn Locke's favourites. It was Moira's favourite as well; she felt that it held her legs without cutting off the blood supply! Marjorie also tried the Spirelette 105 and really did not like it. "It might be OK for riding" she commented. |
Boxing Day
We hope you enjoyed opening your 'advent calendar' above.
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Of course, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without watching that old 1954 favourite 'White Christmas' with Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. As with any film featuring Vera-Ellen, one cannot help but be fascinated by her waist. Of course, then you check out the 'facts' on the internet and get bombarded by a host of false information, rumours and blatant lies. Let us stick to the facts. Vera-Ellen was 1.63m tall (5 foot 4 inches) probably just above average for that period. She was indeed slim with vital statistics that can easily be derived from her many photographs of 34 - 23 - 34 (far left). Only in some publicity photographs from films such as 'Belle of New York' 1952 (left) when she would have been 31 years old does she sport a waist slightly under 20 inches, but she is wearing a corset after all! This incredibly talented dancer kept super fit and slim all her life; she did not suffer from anorexia as was strongly rumoured. In our larger framed world of today, we have forgotten that genuinely slim women exist and that girdles were regularly sized down to 22 inches.
On the same day as we watched Vera-Ellen on the television, my husband dug out a 1964 Dutch cookery book (right) to which he refers at this time of year. Is it the recipes or the lady on the cover that attract him so much? Again it doesn't take much effort to deduce that her waist lies around 22 inches. Ever since the end of WWII, people have been growing bigger. Spirella had to re-design their girdles to accommodate the burgeoning post-war figure.
It was always a challenge for us when making the calendars to find 1960s foundation garments that would fit 2010's average woman.
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Wishing you all a
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
