Foreword
"Good figures are made, not born. It is up to you to make the most of your body's contour as well as condition." So says Johannah Letz, custom-corsetiere, creator and designer of many firsts in foundation garments. For more than 30 years, Miss Letz has made garments for and fitted many thousands of women of all ages. The first uplift brassiere patented by her in 1934, is still a best seller and endorsed by gynecologists, obstetricians, and surgeons for its therapeutic value.
In this complete guide and text, Miss Letz helps to solve each age group's problems, and to teach every woman with or without problems the proper approach when buying foundation garments. Above all, she urges women not to be influenced by names, prices or colors.
At whatever age the woman is who buys this book, Miss Letz feels the reader should consult it whenever new garments are needed, to be sure of her measurements. Body weight shifts, therefore measurements can change without loss or gain of weight. Because the last garments bought still fit, does not verify accuracy (they may have stretched or shrunk.) To achieve the best for yourself in appearance, health and comfort remember to buy according to your age group. You'll save your time and much money while "Growing Gracefully".
It is of utmost importance in order to be completely comfortable, that a foundation follow your own body proportions. However different one human is from another, so frequently is there a variance between two sides of the same body- or disproportions between the upper and lower parts of the same body- yet we all function the same, more or less. The maximum of beauty and comfort for many hours of daily wear can only be achieved by a correct girdle and brassiere accurately fitted.
Introduction to Johannah Letz
"Every woman can have a good figure if she has good posture," says Johannah Letz, well-known custom-corsetiere and authority for over 30 years on molding the feminine form with proper, correctly fitted foundation garments. She has shown that strenuous exercises are not necessary to make even a flabby, saggy body appear firm and youthful if it is supported properly with a well-constructed, well-fitted garment, however light it may he.
Johannah Letz, whose own youthful appearance belies her years, has great enthusiasm for her work. She wishes to bring to every woman the good news that a well-fitted foundation will not only enable her to appear eternally youthful, but will definitely deter a bad physical or health problem. Ill-fitting garments will bind the flesh, restrict blood circulation and proper function of the organs and muscles of the body. Behind Johannah Letz' skill as a corsetiere are many years of meticulous study of the female anatomy, and measurements, including the functions of the body internally as well as externally in its responses to a foundation garment. She puts this knowledge to work for each patron who visits her shop made to her individual measurements.
Many women, well-known socially and professionally throughout the United States, are among her regular customers. Women who for business or professional reasons must be aware of the image they present to the public, as well as those whose chief desire is to feel their best, visit her shop.
For those who have neither the time nor the inclination for strenuous exercise; for those who believe that "nothing can change the way I look," and those with weight problems-- too much or too little-- Johannah Letz offers help to every woman who will follow her rules and suggestions for buying a foundation garment.
She designed and patented the first uplift brassiere in 1932 (it is still a top seller), which was a major contribution to the health and appearance of women everywhere who were just emerging from the flat-chested "boy look". She designed the first over-the-waist girdle, the first bra-slip, which was a sensation at the time, and the first swimsuit with a built-in bra. Not content with the design itself, she tested and selected the fabrics and elastics. She studied the grading of proportions, since no two figures are exactly alike.
In answer to the mistaken belief among many women that no help is needed to buy a foundation garment, Johannah Letz speaks with fire in an endeavor to help her fellow women. She says, "You would not think of fitting yourself with eyeglasses or try to replace a lost tooth, then what makes you think you are a corsetiere." She tempers this, however, by pointing out that the number of corsetieres has dwindled so rapidly in the past twenty-five years, with very few new ones being trained, that the need for a corsetiere is something most women do not think about, indeed are even aware of.
This lack of information is in the back of Johannah Letz' desire to tell every woman how to buy foundations that will not damage her figure, her flesh, and her health. She states emphatically that no matter how good a woman's measurements are, in maturity or over 40 years of age; she simply cannot wear the same type of garment that she wore at age 20. Most women are victims of prolific advertising extolling the virtues of excessive use of "stretch" in foundations. Such garments offer no support, do not wear well, nor hold their shape or yours, and are generally over-priced. All this has come about because of the lack of "fitters." It is this misconception of too much stretch in foundations she seeks to correct.
Modern advertisers, she believes, beam their advertising to the teenager who is just becoming aware of the function of an undergarment in shaping her figure into smoother fluid lines, and has no experience or knowledge of what to expect in a foundation. The more mature woman reads the same advertising and is deluded into the belief that the stretch fabric garment displayed will perform the magic on her that is so attractively portrayed by the young model in the photograph. If she buys one of these garments on the recommendation of the advertiser only, with no idea of whether the foundation is suited to her age and individual needs, she will more than likely fall heir to the host of ills that come from wearing such a garment.
Any woman who has suffered the wearing of stretch shoulder straps that groove or fall off the shoulders, or the pinching of a rolling girdle top, or tugged the bottom of a girdle that keeps riding up will see herself in the sketches below. To look and feel YOUTHFUL, Johannah Letz demonstrates to her customers how easy it is to do floor-touching exercises while wearing a well fitted bra and girdle (even strapless) with no adjustment afterward to the garments.
Women everywhere will be pleased to know that good figures are made, not born. The art of growing or living gracefully then becomes an individual matter. The key to a good figure, advises Johannah Letz, is "FIT" which must be studied with an open mind to the needs of the body, rather than the personal likes of the individual. The rewards of this kind of correct fit are great in self-confidence, perfect grooming, comfort, and a knowledge that you and what you wear are beautiful regardless of your age or size.
For many years, Johannah Letz operated the Foundation Department at the Fifth Avenue Salon of Helena Rubinstein in New York City. During this time she worked closely with the medical doctor who supervised body treatments given to the salon clients. Complete records of the measurement of every client were kept, but the complete change was not revealed until the client was fitted with correct foundation garments. Diet and exercise were only a part of the program for acquiring and maintaining a youthful figure.
Johannah Letz points out that most women are wearing some kind of foundation for at least twelve hours every day and unless what she is wearing fits, she would be better off not wearing any foundation.
Perhaps one of Johannah Letz's greatest satisfactions is to take a young married woman who has had several children and who has "let herself go" so that her body more nearly resembles a much older woman, and by fitting her with the proper foundation actually remould this young woman to feel as good as she will look.
Johanna Letz learned clothing design at an early age from her parents. Her mother, Rose, was in demand as a couturiere, designing and constructing costumes for the New York theatrical stars of the early 1900's. In 1914, her father, Herman, was the highest paid designer of womens' coats and suits. So Johannah grew up in an atmosphere of design, beautiful fabrics, aud knowledge of fitting of the female figure.
When asked how she became interested in the corsetry business, she says it was by accident as she had planned to study and practice law. Fate intervened in the form of a broken ankle, suffered while riding horseback. During the long recuperating period, a young girl brought her a Parisian brassiere and asked if she could copy it. Johannah not only could, but did, and made many technical improvements upon it which evolved into the one she finally patented. This marked the end of a career in law and the beginning of a very successful career as a custom corsetiere with a national reputation. It is a field she believes more women should become interested in as there are so very few corsetieres in the country today and the need is so great. lt can become a very profitable and rewarding career. Johannah Letz, of all women, is in a position to know, and what she has learned through many years of study and fitting many thousands of women is yours in the following pages.
Memo From The Author
Every female should learn at an early age (13-14) that a wardrobe of foundations is as essential as her shoes and clothing. While foundations are not as seasonal (for everyday wear, sports and dress-up wear) they must suit the occasion. Properly established needs of bras and girdles require a minimum of time and care.
Alternating garments daily adds to their comfort and life span. They should be repaired and parts replaced as soon as worn places appear. It's much wiser to wear a foundation suitable to the type clothing one shops for. Frequently a woman will buy a cocktail dress, having tried it on with her everyday bra, only to find it difficult to get the proper bra to go with the kind of plunge neckline the dress has.
This same thing is true in the girdle area. A street suit or dress, slacks or shorts; afternoon or formal gowns are so differently conceived in styling that they must have the proper corresponding foundation garments (which are designed with these three groups in mind.)
Time is also saved when fitting the new garment with the correct foundation; it's not only easier to make the proper decision about buying the dress, but also to have, if need be, any alterations indicated. Often customers don't know that foundations can be made smaller or larger (when gaining or losing weight) and offer that as the reason for not owning more than a single girdle and two bras. Unless there is a considerable weight difference the length of girdle and bust cup, do not change, and frequently not even then as pounds are added or lost in the circumference of the body.
With a foundation wardrobe, and occasional repairs, you need shop only once a year "to fill in." On the average it's somewhere between one and two girdles, and three or four bras, per year. However since foundations do not spoil, or change in style rapidly, they should be kept in a dresser drawer for anything not worn often, will last for years.
Strapless and scoop-necked bras should be worn only with dresses following such necklines, as the bustline is lowered. The conventional cup bra with straps should be worn with tailored conventional necklines. Panty girdles should be worn with pants, or by school girls when not wearing hose. Adult girls and women should wear girdles with their clothes. The girdle with fabric front and back does more, lasts longer, and makes skirts hang better.
The following is a minimum wardrobe:
- 3 girdles (2 to alternate for everyday, 1 for dress or for the unexpected
- 1 panty girdle (if you wear pants occasionally )
- 4 every-day conventionally strapped bras (mostly of fabric)
- 1 white strapped, decollete, plunge bra*
- 1 black strapped, decollete, plunge bra*
- 1 white strapless bra, torso or full length*
- 1 black strapless bra, torso or full length*
*these are optional depending on your wardrobe's needs
When you have learned to buy for yourself correctly, and acquire a proper sense of "foundations that fit" you won't be reluctant to invest in a foundation wardrobe. You will know that a "YOUTHFUL FIGURE IS FOREVER," when properly cared for.
Continue to
Chapter I: The Meaning And Purpose Of Foundation Garments
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Last updated May 29, 1997