Women
Corsets for Victory?
And speaking of lady’s undergarments, as I believe we were, I can’t resist sharing this tidbit: When America entered World War I in 1917, chairman of the War Industries board Bernard Baruch asked women to stop buying corsets to conserve steel, part of the wider program of rationing, conserving and allocating materials important to…
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Ida Rosenthal: Dressmaker Turned Underwear Tycoon
As I mentioned recently, I’ve been thinking about women entrepreneurs and their stories in an on-again off-again way for the last few months. As I stumble across them, I’ll share them with you. Because that’s what I do. Next up, Ida Rosenthal (1886-1973), whom I mentioned in passing several posts ago. I first stumbled across…
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The Secret Behind the Gibson Girl’s Shape
The Gibson Girl, as I previously mentioned, had a distinctive silhouette: a small waist, an ample bosom, and a graceful sway to her back that thrust the aforementioned bosom forward and the bum backward. In some ways she was similar in shape to a Barbie doll, and, like Barbie, her figure was difficult for the…
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