Corset - 50s? Advice on care?

[Midge]

I always pay the Caritas shop around the corner a visit when I do my Saturday grocery shopping - you never know. And last Saturday I got lucky again (this is the same shop that the vintage Dior/Vivier shoes came from, if you remember...).

It's a corset (or is there a more exact term for this?), and my guess it's from the 50s?

There are wide, very sturdy, elastic insets on the side. Did they do that then already, with that kind of elastic inset?

The cups are lightly padded and very pointy - and it's definitely designed to emphasize on a very slender waist - hence my 50s guess :D .

Label from a shop in Saarbruecken, Germany. As it says "Mieder Moden", this would have been a shop that specialised in this kind of thing.

It's by Triumph - I guess this would have been expensive at the time. It says the same in German as in English about ironing. Perlon is a synthetic material like Nylon - I think they also made stockings from it.

This I guess shows the model name/number, and maybe the size. I get a ca. 61.5 to 62 cm waist when wearing this, so the 62 would make sense as the size.

Details. The straps for the stockings are removable. The hooks are metal, the little nobs rubber and the counterparts to the nobs are plastic.

On the whole it looks like it was maybe never worn, it's as good as new. And surprisingly enough it fits me - and takes quite a bit off my waist :lol:. The funny thing is, I had been considering buying something like this new!

But now I ask myself - how to care for this? Washing is probably out of the question because of the metal in it? My mom at least thinks that the "boning" (sorry, can't think of the proper English term right now, it's past midnight here) is metal. Dry cleaning? I've no idea :duh: .

Karin

 

[themerchantsofvintage]

Nice find! I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure this is called a bustier. Corsets usually tie up. And I think it's later than 50s, possibly 60s. Looking forward to what the experts have to say.

 

[Linn]

I am not an expert, either, but I think it is early-mid-'60's. We used to call these long-line bras or merry widows. I actually have two in my drawer from the '90's that do not have the garters since by then we wore pantyhose.

If it needs to be laundered I would hand-wash, roll it gently in a towel to remove most of the moisture and dry it flat.

Linn

 

[laughingmagpie]

I would call it either a bustier or a Merry Widow.

I actually wouldn't call it a long-line bra since those usually aren't as long as the piece you have. Long-line bras come to about your waist and you can attach them to the top of a girdle, but they're not long enough to attach stocking garters to.

The boning (that's the right word) is probably metal, I wash and dry mine like Linn does . Sometimes I stuff the cups with a washcloth while they dry to keep their shape. The boning might rust someday, I guess, but I personally don't bother spending the money on drycleaning, when they are so easy to wash by hand.

Nice find!

Jen

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Agree with the others; hand wash as per Linn's instructions. I date as late '50s to mid '60s (the printed labels put it towards the '60s rather than '50s). Quite saleable - they never last long in my shop, in fact I bought two today but they're not plentiful. The main problem tends to be elastic on the way out but yours looks strong.

I call them corsolettes - longer than a bustier or long line bra which both go to the waist, and lighter than a corset but do the same sort of thing, just less so. I think the style name varies with location.

Nicole

 

[Midge]

Thanks for your help everyone! I'll wash it by hand then. It's not that it's dirty, but who knows where it's been lying around the last 50 years or so, and I do plan to wear it.

That elastic certainly is very strong, and I hope it lasts for a time. I have a 50s dress that has a very tiny waist (I can just close it and that's it), it will be so much nicer to wear that with this underneath.

I can believe that they sell well! If it fits and is in a good state... I was astonished at what this does to my figure . And I think a new one would definitely have cost at least double of what I paid for this one.

Here we would call something like this, but that only goes down to the waist, a bustier too. And we use the term corselet too but they normally open on the side, and they're even longer - they come down to the thighs, have garters attached to them and are flesh-colored and not really that frilly or sexy... :bouncy:

Karin