These Vintage Lingerie Videos Are Amazing, Saucy Fun

By Cora Harrington | May 13, 2014 | 10:10pm

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I love vintage lingerie. Vintage-inspired, authentic vintage, vintage catalogs…taking a past look at women’s undergarments is interesting not only from a fashion perspective, but also from a social or cultural one.

You can tell a lot about people and the times they lived in based on what they wore, and lingerie is no different. While there aren’t as many vintage lingerie videos as there are for, say, “regular” fashion, I thought these 12 were worth a look. They range from the 1920′s thru the 1960′s. What do you think of this look back into the fashion past?

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1. The Smiling Lieutenant – Jazz Up Your Lingerie (1931)

We’ll star things off with a catchy tune courtesy of Ernst Lubitsch’s 1931 film, The Smiling Lieutenant. Women in the 1920′s and 30′s were trading their long underwear and petticoats for scandalous tap pants and chemises. I love how saucy Claudette Colbert is in this pre-code Hollywood film. Towards the end, around the 2:00 minute mark, the old style bloomers and nightgown are tossed for more modern intimate apparel. I’ve been humming the chorus for most of the day. A “silken symphony” indeed.

2. Ladies Underwear Show (1929)

Now we’ll backtrack just a little to 1929. This is a silent movie and starts off with an amazing, amazingrobe. Other highlights for me include the ‘petal’ tap pants and bandeau bralette (fast forward to about 1:38 to see). The short film with a new invention (for 1929), the camiknickers…a precursor to more contemporary teddies, bodysuits, and rompers.

3. Nautical Naughties – Swimsuit Models, London (1933)

Time for a swim break! The commentary on this video is so incredibly bizarre; it’s worth listening to, just very obviously from a different place and time. I actually adore fuller cut swimsuits like this, but I also think the strappy back details are surprisingly modern. A lot of swimwear and lingerie brands today are reincorporating that look into their garments.

4. How to Undress – Mock Instructional Film (1937)

The “peeping tom” framing device for this video is genuinely pretty creepy/weird, but around the 3:00 minute mark, the fashion part starts. What’s so strange about this video is that these women are presumably alone yet still expected to undress in an alluring manner, and the connection between being fuller-figured and lacking in “feminine wiles” couldn’t get more obvious. As a cultural artifact, this movie is very interesting. And for lingerie lovers, it’s a way of seeing how those all those museum undergarments actually look on the female body.

5. “New Look” Underwear (1940′s)

Christian Dior’s famous ‘New Look’ required the sort of structured underpinnings that hadn’t been seen since The Edwardian Era. This is my second favorite video from this article. I would totally wear that corset today, though perhaps the extra padding is a bit much.

6. Fashion Film – Wedding Slips (1940′s)

Slips have more or less fallen out of fashion, but they used to be a vital part of every woman’s wardrobe. A descendant of the petticoat, slips helped to protect garments from sweat. Slips also helped to ensure that clothing ‘lay’ properly, and didn’t accidentally reveal the wearer’s body (particularly in the case of sheer or see-through garments). This collection of wedding slips shows that bridal lingerie has a “thing” for a very long time.

7. Dressing for a Night Out (1940′s)

This short little film shows what everyday lingerie looked like in the 1940′s. Girdles and stockings were customary (pantyhose didn’t become popular until the 1960′s), and bras were still fairly simple and unstructured (underwires, push-ups, and bullet bras didn’t take off until the 1950′s). Also, most lingerie was still white or cream (and sometimes blush, tea rose, or robin’s egg blue). Prints, patterns, and the ultimate in scandal – black lingerie – didn’t reach widespread availability and acceptance until the 1950′s and 60′s.

8. British Girdle Fashion Show (1940′s)

One of the few vintage lingerie clips I could find on YouTube, this blurry film is still worth a look. The full nightgown around the :20 mark is my favorite garment.

9. British Girdle Fashion Show II (1940′s)

Another quick peek at a vintage fashion show, the relevant parts of this video are only in the first 55 seconds or so. See you if you can spot the differences between the adult and teenage girdles!

10. Bettie Page and Tempest Storm in Teaserama (1955)

Clip #4 was my second favorite video, but this one is my most favorite. I highly recommend blocking out an hour or so and watching the entire Teaserama movie. It’s a cultural treasure full of vintage lingerie, vintage burlesque, and some awesome hair and makeup. If you only have time to watch one scene right now though, make it the striptease with both Bettie Page and Tempest Storm, starting around the 6:00 minute mark.

11. Frederick’s of Hollywood – Retro Active Story of Lingerie (1960′s?)

Before Victoria’s Secret, Frederick’s of Hollywood was the lingerie name on the tip of everyone’s tongue. The founder, Frederick Mellinger, is famous for inventing the push-up. The company became infamous for popularizing black lingerie and “sexy” lingerie as well as sending catalogs to homes all across America. Fast forward to 1:30 to see their very literal take on the “open bottom” girdle.

12. Nightmare Swimwear featuring Salvador Dali (1965)

It’s the last vintage video (but don’t go away because there’s one more video you’ll want to see below)! Originally, I was only going to have 11 videos in this list, but then I ran across this absurdly surreal Salvador Dali swimsuit fashion show, and I had to include it. It’s only 50 seconds long, but features stunners like eyeball bikinis and swimsuits with attached baseball players (at least, I think that’s what that is).

The Feline Feeling from The Loved One:

The very last video isn’t vintage at all. It was released just a couple of months ago. But it’s so much fun and so obviously vintage-inspired, that it’s an honorary #13 on this list. And unlike the other videos in this blog post, you can actually buy some of the lingerie featured in this short film directly from The Loved One. It’s the best of both worlds!

This post originally appeared on The Lingerie Addict. Republished with permission.

Previously by Cora Harrington: What It’s Like to Be a Woman of Color in the Lingerie Industry.