Contents

Training

Specific figure problems were illustrated. Spirella, and the other corset houses performed sterling work correcting poor posture and relieving that aching back, however, there is no little salesmanship here. Convince a woman that she has a problem, then money is no object to the removal of that problem!

By the end of the training period, the newly-fledged fitter would know the answer to such testing questions as "Is Madam stout or abdominal?"

The corsetiere would also be a travelling saleslady and her demeanour, posture and attitude would affect her sales. Since the corsetiere lived on her commission, it was in her interest to look good and be expert at her trade. To this end, a large slice of her training involved salesmanship, and some of these ladies became expert at this art. I have no doubt that the vast majority of corsetieres saw their job as a social need and a comfort for the ladies who relied on the support of a corset. Remember that in the 1970's there were still women who had started in corsets as teenagers in the 1915 - 1920 period and who were quite unable to live without one. Nevertheless, the more you sell, you more you make and the various awards presented at the annual corsetiere's gatherings put a premium on the best saleswoman. 

The old saying that a woman needs three corsets, one on the body, one in the drawer and one in the wash could easily be expanded by an expert saleswoman to include corsets in the more expensive materials and different colours for special occasions. The brassiere to match the corset was an obvious seller. If the client had a daughter or friends present, the possibilities to expand the sale increased. Of course if the corsetiere herself looked trim and healthy, whatever her age, then this would be attributed to her foundation garments. Corsetieres were encouraged to wear what they sold, and in the privacy of the client's home to show off these garments.

The travelling saleslady was born out of the emancipation of women in the 1920's followed by the Great Depression of the 1930's. As the world struggled to recover from the depression, a woman who could make money by selling corsets might just keep the family solvent. After the Second World War and moving into the prosperity of the 1950's, the saleswoman expanded her empire, and in the 1970's in Britain, every phone directory had pages of listed corsetieres, all with hundreds of clients. Even as the corset gave way to the girdle the corsetiere flourished.

The increased liberation of the late 1960's coincided with a declining population of women who had been used to wearing a corset. Although daughters were put into corsets in the late 1950's in their late teens for perhaps a wedding or some special occasion, it wasn't common. A girdle was still well accepted by teenagers; however, the skill required to fit a corset is not so necessary in a more flexible garment. Consequently, in the 1960's, store-purchased girdles were increasingly popular and importantly much cheaper. The move from the girdle to the panty-girdle in the 1970's marked a rapid decline in customers for the specialised products from Spirella. The customers were not replaced by their daughters as in times past, and Spirella was left with a static, aging and sadly declining population of ladies prepared to pay a premium for a well-fitted foundation garment.

In the late 1980's Spirella merged with Spencer in Britain. The number of corsetieres declined as their clientele vanished. No longer was the corsetiere's job paying well, and the ladies who remained in the profession did so out of a sense of loyalty, for the profits were minimal. The annual gatherings at Head Office stopped, the choice of materials was reduced and advertising was effectively abandoned.

In 2000, I could only find a handful of Spencer corsetieres in Britain, with perhaps a few dozen clients each. Some clients would call only once a year and often sadly never again, as this aging population of ladies passed away. The youngest clients that any of the remaining corsetieres service is about 50, but most are in their 70's to 90's.

Sales Technique

But let's look back to the hey-days of the 1960's, when the corsetiere, trim, smart, knowledgeable and carrying her suitcase of samples, would ring the bell, saying "Good Morning Madam, I'm from Spirella and was given your name by a mutual acquaintance." The corsetiere would be invited in and the sales samples demonstrated. If necessary, and if more than a single lady was present, the saleslady might show off her own garments.

Corsetieres  from 1958, 1965 and 1967 (by which time her Spirella income has allowed her to buy one of the first Morris Minis). The appearance and demeanour of the corsetiere was of prime importance. Note the twin set,  pearls and gloves.

Note the mandatory gloves. White looks extremely elegant, however, it marks so easily (a corsetiere's work was quite manual) that most chose brown or black. Getting through the door was important as any salesperson will tell you.

The following accounts from the Spirella magazine show how important it was to demonstrate the effectiveness of the product by showing actual examples.

Mrs. H, the corsetiere featured at the top of this section had the following to say in 1959. "I became a corsetiere in 1958 but my interest in Spirella goes back 12 years when I wore my first Spirella girdle. Since then, and long before I became a corsetiere, I would recommend Spirella to friends and acquaintances. When I'm consulting I always show my personal garments, my black 205 girdle and my black long-line bra always being greatly admired. I have sold dozens of black foundations by showing my own, and because black is available in bouquet material, which is one of the most expensive, I find this a good selling point. Many women tell me I don't need Spirella because I'm so slim. I tell them, it's because I wear them that you you think I don't need them."

Measuring and Fitting

For a client to be fitted, a 'measuring garment' was used that looked somewhat like a bra and corset, but with multiple adjustable laces and bones. The garments, which came in many sizes, would be fastened onto the client and the appropriate measurements taken. A myriad of little details would be noted and client's requests as to number and style of suspenders, thickness of bones, plush lining, material and fastenings would be accommodated, but at a price. The technique was used for over eight decades, and this is demonstrated by following the process below. These pictures come from Spirella training manuals, the earliest of which is dated 1914! Sadly, these manuals were no longer issued after the 1960's although the measuring garments carried on for another two decades; prized possessions of the corsetieres.

Let us learn to measure the client using a sequence of pictures that covers half of the 20th century! 

 

From 1914 comes this charming series of pictures. The poorly fitting corset on the left is replaced by a proper Spirella resulting in the final product on the right.

First of all, the client would be measured in her 'naked strip' (1950)

The modelling garment laced to the desired tension is carefully measured in 1935, 1939, and 1947. In 1957 (below left) the examiner tests one of the aspiring corsetieres.