11th August 2021: Happy 19th Birthday Ivy Leaf
Nineteen years ago, my husband and I started to assemble the Ivy Leaf web-site and we are still at it. Can we get to 20 years? Who knows, the world is not the place it was half a year ago but we live in hope.
To celebrate this birthday, we made a daily insertion of some views that were common in the 50s and 60s but are hardly ever seen today and a mystery to a whole generation. Each day, the views changed.
The models all have featured in our calendars: Victoria, Moira, Doreen, Madeleine, Marjorie, Amy, Eileen and, of course, the late Lyn Locke.
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Marks and Spencer, Spirella, Camp and Warners are all represented here.
When we engaged some younger models for the calendar shoots, we kept getting questions such as "Why do these elastic knickers have a zipper?" (Victoria, born in 1996 - bottom right) "What exactly is a corselette?" "Did women really wear these things?" In contrast, the models born around 1940 remembered wearing 'roll-ons' and one clearly remembered her mother being fitted for a girdle (Madeleine, born in 1936 - top right). Amy (born in 1944 - top left) loved her St. Michael satin girdle so much that she wanted to buy it.
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Moira adjusts the suspender of her Spirelette 105.
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Victoria (far right) reveals a very 1960s problem. As skirt hems started to rise, there was always the chance that the long legs of your panty-girdle might make a sneak appearance. This was more of an American problem since the long-leg never caught on properly in Britain.
These pictures will be updated on a daily basis. You can access the previous day's pictures here.
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The incomparable Lyn Locke graces today's page wearing a quintessentially American panty-girdle, de rigueur in 1960s America. Back in Britain, some women were still wedded to their girdles and corsets.
Meanwhile Madeleine's satin camp has turned round to show off the front of this beautiful garment. Eileen and Marjorie enjoy the flattering embrace of their Spirella 305 corsets, but do not lace that black corset too tight; in the early 1980s, a defective batch of black satin caused some corsets to split under tension.
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Top centre is a gorgeous, satin fan-lacer from Jenyns matched with a Spirella (UK) bra. Top right is a rare Swedish Spirella girdle (concealed back-lacer) matched with a UK Spirella bra. See back view to the right.
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Beware of diaphanous blouses. Victoria shows the outline of her bra (perfectly acceptable), but also the top of her panty-girdle (not acceptable).
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All strapped in tight tight very tight Far, far too tight
Tight almost immobile tight (but very effective on the 90-year-old)
And so it began to die in the 1970s. Slack, slack, slack, tired - polyester, crimplene and mildly elastic underpants.
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The salesgirl dumps a load of corsets that she does not even understand. Very pretty but early 60s. The 70s equivalent is merely pretty and not a patch on the past. Oh dear! Given up hope. |
Is that your mother's dress? Tired |
... and by popular demand ...
Apologies to some of our favourite models that did not feature in the images above: Bunty, Cathie and the girdle model with the delightful smile, Patricia from Brabarella.
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Patricia wears the standard panty-girdle beloved by 1960s Americana. Cathie tries on a 21-inch, 110 year-old Jenyns and a reproduction Axfords of the same size. Both were far too large for her! Meanwhile, Bunty wears a selection of corsets and girdles from Spirella and Hunkemöller. |
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14th August 2023: Happy 21st Birthday Ivy Leaf
Looking at our efforts to celebrate 19 years (above), it would be hard to improve on that. We will simply let Delores, Doreen, Amy and Lyn model our favourite foundations, the Spirella 325 and 305 corsets, the Marks & Spencer Satin Elastic Girdle and the Young Smoothie 1048 panty-girdle.
In the last 20 years we have encountered some remarkably complex corsets. Madeleine has 'enjoyed' a few as has our youngest model, Victoria, who was 19 when she donned this remarkable creation from Jenyns of Australia. Amazingly, Doreen (above) was 86 when this photograph was taken.
Over the last 20 years it has been our privilege to meet some very interesting people. Ken Jenyns in 2010, grandson of Sarah Ann Jenyns who founded the empire of the 'fan-laced corset' and Cathie Jung in 2014who modelled a girdle at our second meeting in Britain in 2016.
It was the first girdle she had worn in nearly half a century and, of course, it was far too big for her!
Three Jenyns and a Camp.
Fantasy and reality.
