Vintage 1940s Makeover Film - What NOT to wear !

Another helping of Miss Ratherly Sterns vintage 1940's fashion makeover for young women.
Courtesy of the Prelinger Archive.

The Corsetiere - Professional Corset and Girdle fitting

The Corsetiere - Professional Corset and Girdle fitting in the 1930's and 1940's


Thought i'd post this interesting feature on The Corsetiere.
These corsetieres worked for the major firms that supplied conventional foundation garments to the vast majority of women for many decades in the last century.
Found these wonderful images and accounts on The Corsetiere


Here is one story from Alison

My mother was always very happy, very pleased, to be trying on her new foundations; she loved them. After fitting her, I would sit back on my stool while she looked at herself in the mirror, and she would ask me if I thought she looked good. She did look wonderful and absolutely beautiful in those white satin and brocade foundations. She always asked for ribbons adorning the suspenders and fine lace over the front panels and cups of the long-line bras she favoured so much.

These were very firm and very well boned garments; the bra cups were full coverage, the corselets were long over the thigh, and the bras were quite high backed. But they had a lovely sheen to them, and had the lace and ribbon adornments that made them so feminine; and of course, they produced such a lovely silhouette.

I was always expected to be beautifully turned out, and we would sometimes go out for lunch as a break during the course of our day, or after a morning of product reviews and preliminary measurements. I don’t think this intimacy, yet privacy, normally exists in the family today. I enjoyed these afternoons (but I didn't let on), and she knew it. My father was very proud of his wife's appearance, and his business colleagues always complimented him on how stunning she was. He loved that, so he never complained about the Spencer bills.

Occasionally her lady friends were invited for coffee at 11:30 and I would fit them too. After their first fittings, the new designs and fabrics were discussed in great detail. These were also social occasions, so whilst corsetry was discussed in great detail, decisions would also be made for which foundations would be the most suitable for a forthcoming event, where a particular suit or gown would be worn.

As you know only too well, ladies openly discussed foundations in those days. The personal matters and private aspects or complications of a particular fitting were, though, absolutely confidential, and a special trust existed between me and my mother and her friends.

When I saw an ad to be a Spencer Corsetiere, I applied. When I joined Spencer in 1953 I had to attend a training class given by our local manager. In this class we learned about the product line, how to analyze figure problems, and of course how to fit the girdles using the “Spencer method” and the measuring girdle.

Ultimately I became a "Spencer Consultant" and had a territory, and I visited ladies in their homes and fitted them with custom-made girdles and bras. I liked the job very much and I think my customers did too. All the measuring and fittings were done in someone’s home, and it was a lot more relaxing than going to a store.

1920's Makeup Tutorial

1920's Make-up and Beauty Guide.

Also see our launch of a rare and definitive guide on women's 1920's make-up and beauty styles. Originally read by 1920s women and written by a famous Flapper.You can also visit Vintage Make-up guides for more details.



See also The History of Makeup
How to apply 1920's Makeup

1.
Step 1

Find and apply a foundation in your skin tone that will give your complexion a creamy, perfect look. You may have to use an older variety, such as pancake, or a cream meant more for theater than for everyday use. To allow your skin to breathe, thin down cream foundation by moistening your sponge before dipping in the base. If your skin is naturally porcelain or alabaster-toned, play it up.


2.
Step 2

Darken and turn your eyebrows slightly downwards with an eyebrow pencil or even eyeliner that is darker than your actual brow color. Thin eyebrows were fashionable in the 20s, so this step works most accurately if your brows are already on the thin side. If not, you don't have to start tweezing away--you can cover your brows with a 1920s-style hat or with bangs chopped straight across as part of a bob cut.

3.
Step 3

Smooth on your usual eye makeup primer before applying a dark eyeshadow from lash line to crease. Pick a gray-based shadow to keep your eyes on the sooty side, which is what you're aiming for. Use a black kohl eyeliner on both top and bottom lash lines. Don't scrimp--you want all the dark tones to meld together. Color top and bottom lashes with blackest black mascara. You want them dark so as to appear like you used paint to blacken them. You may want to use a waterproof formulation for all of your eye makeup to avoid unwanted smudging as much as possible.
4.
Step 4

Find a cheek stain or cream blush with touches of red in it. You are going for a rouged look; if red is too strong for your coloring, raspberry or rose are alternatives. Rub blush into apples of cheeks. Blend away hard edges, but make sure the color is still evident, as though you just walked in from the cold.


5.

Step 5


Apply pale pancake foundation over clean and exfoliated lips. With a waxy dark red lip liner, create a 1920s mouth by exaggerating the cupid's bow on your top lip. Draw your lower lip as slightly plumper than it really is by extending slightly on the bottom. Draw both upper and bottom lips as shorter on the sides. Fill new lip shape in with pencil before layering matching lipstick over it. Copyright Lea WhiteFeather


Vintage make-up guides - 1920s to the 1950s.

Rare and beautifully restored vintage guides for women. 1920s makeup looks, 1930s makeup looks, 1940s makeup looks and 1950s makeup looks.