Before Spanx, there was the girdle (not to be confused with the corset). The buttock, stomach, thigh and torso-slimming garment was worn by just about every woman until the 1960s and was cleverly advertised using all types of tactics including before & afters photographs and peer pressure. The trickeries of the before & after format used by advertising is so silly and old-fashioned now that it’s simply amusing.
Take a close look through these 1930s and 40s advertisements by underwear companies Spencer and Spirella and spot their advertising tactics… (other than the bad retouching)..
Notice how the lighting set-up is clearly different from the before to the after, accentuating flaws in the ‘before’.
The lady in the middle above also apparently doesn’t know how to properly attach her stockings until she’s wearing a brand new girdle.
Posing like a hunchback before certainly helps to make a difference…
Leave no trace of a natural human body shape in the after shots…
Sulking in the before pictures…
Eat a big bowl of pasta and complete first half of photo shoot…
Posing against the backdrop of graph paper …
Throw in a bit of self-loathing for all woman-kind…
And before the girdle was the corset… (for all ages)
Royal Worcester Corset advertisement which appeared in the May 1901 edition of the Ladies Home Journal.
Do you think that advertising directed towards women feels all that different today?
For more images like this, visit The Corsetiere
via The Retronaut
