1960s, Vintage beauty & fashion, Vintage clothing, Vintage store catalogs
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’60s lingerie: Today’s girdle acts as your conscience (1968)
Pantyhose did it. They made the girdle — for garters’ sake — obsolete. They added comfort to living in stockings for women. But they also sag, bag — and when they run, they run the budget right out the window.
So, the girdle came back. But not without some very drastic changes which have affected the foundations of many.
First, the girdle today is shorter. With skirt lengths as they are, a long-leg girdle is an absolute horror to sit down in — or in bending over, it can be even worse. Most popular today are the brief-leg length.
Second, girdles are made of softer, more flexible materials for the feeling of freedom that pantyhose introduced. They give two ways. They add support, but only a reminding kind of support — they remind you to hold your tummy in, instead of doing it for you.
Third, they have new garters. The brief and slightly supportive girdle for over the pantyhose may sound superfluous at first. But the rubber mesh garter cuff now sewn around the inside of the leg is designed to hold those pantyhose up and keep them there.
’60s lingerie & foundation garments from the 1968 Wards catalog
Colorful vintage girdle and bra sets from the 60s
Retro ’60s lingerie – corselets foundation garments
Retro ’60s lingerie – corselets foundation garments
Vintage ’60s garters and girdles for women from 1968
Vintage ’60s lingerie – foundation garments and shapers
Vintage ’60s lingerie – panty girdles from 1968
Vintage ’60s lingerie – panty girdles from 1968
Vintage ’60s lingerie – panty girdles from 1968 (3)
Vintage bras and tummy-control shapers from 1968
Vintage ’60s lingerie – panty girdles from 1968 (4)
Vintage ’60s lingerie – panty girdles from 1968 (6)
Vintage ’60s lingerie – panty girdles from 1968 (8)
Vintage ’60s lingerie – panty girdles from 1968 (9)
Vintage bra styles from 1968 – Wards catalog
Vintage bra styles from 1968 – Wards catalog
Vintage bra styles from 1968 – Wards catalog
>Vintage bra styles from 1968 – Wards catalog
Vintage bra styles from 1968 – Wards catalog
Vintage bra styles from 1968 – Wards catalog
Vintage bra styles from 1968 – Wards catalog
Vintage bra styles from 1968 – Wards catalog
Vintage bra styles from 1968 – Wards catalog
Vintage corselets – body shapers from the ’60s
Medical lingerie from the ’60s – back support and post-mastectomy bras
Vintage lingerie – all-in-one body shapers from the 60s
Vintage lingerie – orthopedic girdles and shapers
Vintage nightgowns and pajamas from the 60s
Vintage nightgowns and pajamas from the 60s
Vintage nightgowns and pajamas from the 60s
Vintage ’60s loungers and dusters from the 1968 Wards catalog
Vintage nightgowns and pajamas from the 60s
Vintage nightgowns and pajamas from the 60s
Vintage slips and petticoats from the sixties
Vintage slips and petticoats from the sixties
Vintage stockings – hosiery – nylons from 1968
Vintage stockings – hosiery – nylons from 1968
Vintage stockings – hosiery – nylons from 1968
Vintage stockings – hosiery – nylons from 1968
Vintage stockings – hosiery – nylons from 1968
’60s lingerie: girdles, garters and pantyhose
The pantyhose with detachable stockings, or replacements as some manufacturers call them, come with their own brief girdle. The garter is either the rubber mesh, grip-cuff type, tabs or hooks-and-eyes. Run one stocking and you don’t have to throw away the whole kit and kaboodle.
Upcoming in lingerie’s girdle realm is the girdle for pantyhose. This will combine all gartering possibilities into one, so that you can take your choice depending on what kind of hose you’re wearing.
CITYPANTS: They have also made their presence felt in the underwear business.
Now the to-the-knee type of ever-so-slightly-supporting pantygirdle is designed to let you hide thigh and leg bulges, more noticeable under clingy citypants.
The small size in the girdle department is disappearing. For one thing, lithe figures don’t need garters, so why girdles? For another, fashion has taken us towards a natural look — bottoms are bottoms.
Most bottoms and tummies weren’t that small to begin with — so now that it’s OK to have a figure again, we’re not going to continue self-torture.
As far as color goes, girdles are in the same basic colors as bra: pink, blue, yellow, beige, black, white. Greens are coming on stronger as lingerie colors, and nudes are important as well.
Lest you fear that your favorite waist cincher will no longer be manufactured, don’t. Regular girdles and even corsets are still on the market, but some of us still like to eat.
– Article by Georgia Brucken, Daily News Fashion Writer – Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) – November 4, 1968