FASHION : Corsets Are a Real Cinch : That teeny-weeny waist is within your (gasp!) reach. With underwear as underwear again, women are using foundation garments to get that long, lean look.
Shades of Donna Reed.
Foundations with a ‘50s flavor are sailing out of stores, to wear under clothing as the fastest way to this season’s longer, leaner look.
Nipped-waist silhouettes from Christian Lacroix, Claude Montana, Christian Dior and Calvin Klein have been instrumental in making women rethink foundations.
Sales of body-shaping intimate apparel have jumped 20% a year for the last three years, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
At Lady Marlene, sales jumped more than 47% since last year for the company, which manufactures contouring lingerie including waist cinchers, and their trademark Bra-s’lette, the lace bustier Madonna wore on “The Tonight Show.”
“We’re finding a renewed interest in control garments,” says Cynthia Adams, spokesperson for Lady Marlene. “Figure-enhancing clothing demands it. Older women need a little help and younger women are wearing it as outerwear.”
Tamara Cort, a lingerie sales associate at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills, says “we’re constantly reordering waist cinchers and bustiers from Lady Marlene. We’ve carried them for a long time, but lately they’ve been flying out of here.” Saks sells the waist cinchers for $25 and bustiers for $29 to $37.
Ruth Johnson is a custom corsetiere whose 12-year-old company, B.R. Creations, is in Mountain View, Calif. With sales up more than 30% this year, Johnson has had to stop advertising.
Lauren Pine, who works at a Hollywood piercing parlor, has been wearing corsets made by B.R. Creations for about two years. She has whittled her waist to a petite 19 inches. “I wear one every day,” says Pine. “Because they’re made to measure, they never pinch or dig.”
At Trashy Lingerie, corset sales have always been very good, says owner Tracy Shrier. “Women wear them under wedding dresses or out, as tops over pants. We’re doing well now with one in blue denim.. . . You can easily trim two inches off your waist with our 16-bone waist cincher.”
Interest in corsets inspired Otis/Parsons School of Art and Design to hold a recent one-day workshop called “Corsets & Bustiers: Today’s Fashion Statement” taught by Milo Vassil of Western Costume. During the 40 years he’s been a tailor, Vassil has worked with such legendary designers as Irene, Jean Louis and Galanos.
“Everything comes around again,” Vassil says with a laugh. “Now, fashion is going back to the slim, trim suits I remember from the ‘40s and ‘50s. With a corset, a woman can take off a few inches and achieve that aristocratic, elegant look.”
Today’s foundations have replaced heavy fabrics with improved blends of stretch cotton and Lycra spandex or nylon and Lycra spandex, and enabled manufacturers to create lightweight, lacy body shapers that gently mold the figure.
Nancy Ganz, owner of Bodyslimmers and creator of the Hip Slip, is credited with starting the shaper craze. She projects sales at around $6 million this year for her 2-year-old company.
The company’s “undergear for the ‘90s” includes new Hi-Waisted versions of the Hip Slip and a bike short called Thighslimmer. In basic black, white and nude, they retail from $21 to $85.
