A Roundtable Discussion
The girdle is dead!
The girdle is back!
What are we supposed to believe?
There was a time, not so long ago, when it was an article of fashion faith that, "No lady leaves her house without a girdle." Yet within the span of a few short years, this rule was annulled. As the 1960's became the 1970's, word went out across the land: "The girdle is dead."
This dramatic shift in opinion can be traced to a unique conjunction of technological and cultural forces. With the development of pantyhose, the need for a girdle to hold up one's stockings no longer applied. At the same time, changing conceptions of woman's role led to re-examination of the emphasis traditionally placed on female appearance. As old assumptions were challenged, the girdle's shaping function became a special target of feminist scorn.
An illustration: though the term "bra-burner" soon became a derisive epithet for feminists, there is, in fact, no documented record of an actual bra-burning ceremony in the United States. However, at a late-Sixties demonstration held outside the Miss America beauty contest, demonstrators set fire to a barrel containing cosmetics, hair curlers, and girdles. As the pyre burned, they chanted,
No more girdles, no more pain
No more trying to hold the fat in vain.It was not only a radical fringe that declared the girdle dead. Even the humorist Erma Bombeck, the beloved voice of the American housewife, wrote a mock requiem for the garment:
This generation must be doing something right. I read in the paper last week where a girdle factory closed down for lack of sales. I regard the obituary of a girdle factory with mixed emotions. It's like having your mother-in-law move out because you have snakes in your basement. There is something good to be said for girdles. Maybe I'll remember what it is.
Proclaiming, "I have had some miserable experiences with girdles," Bombeck goes on to recount her misdaventures with an expensive, highly engineered garment she calls the Constrictor 747, as well as a "cheapie" she refers to as the Little Nothing Tourniquet. Of the latter, she says,
It was reinforced over the tummy, the hips, the rib cage, the legs, the seat, and sometimes the ankle. But it did the job. You may have seen it. When I started wearing shorter skirts, everybody saw it. It cut me just above the knees. One day my daughter said, "Gee, Mom, haven't you heard? This is the era where you let it all hang out." And that, my friend, is what is closing girdle factories.
(From I Lost It All In The Post-Natal Depression, 1970.)
Yet today, in a society shaped by three decades of feminist consciousness, the girdle is very much alive. News articles recounting the girdle's rebirth have become commonplace. Sales of figure-molding garments, we are told, have reversed their long decline. Department stores display a variety of shapers unseen since the early Seventies.
What is happening here? Let's hear what women themselves have to say.
Two notes of caution:
- All contributors to the Girdle Zone are assured strict confidentiality. Please do not ask me for information about the ladies who are good enough to share their thoughts on this subject. Any such request will be ignored.
- On the Internet, things are not always as they seem, and spurious letters have been an aspect of this topic since the days of the Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine. I think that the overwhelming majority of these accounts are authentic, but it is always wise to read with a critical eye.
From Alice :
I guess I fall into the category of one of these baby-boomers who is coming back to girdles. I used to wear a girdle in the sixties because all of my girlfriends wore them and my mother would have killed me if I didn't wear them. I didn't complain, because I wasn't aware that it was legally possible for a female to not wear a girdle in those days. Then pantyhose became affordable around 1969, I switched to them, still wearing a girdle over them, until about 1971, and then girdles just kind of disappeared for younger women. I wore pantyhose for about twenty years, and then after having two kids, entering my late thirties, keeping my weight in control, but not my muscle tone, I decided to get a girdle to wear with a clingy dress.
I loved it. I was shocked.
The girdle gave a lot of control, but was really comfortable. There must have been some real progress since the sixties in girdle comfort. And the girdle also gave me a nice feminine, held-in feeling that I did actually like when I wore girdles back then. And the girdles I now wear make me look so much better in my skirts and dresses.
Another completely unexpected fringe benefit is that my girdles drive my husband absolutely nuts. We had never talked about it, but it turns out that since he first became aware of lingerie during the time when girdles were worn, he developed a real attraction to them. My wearing them has therefore completely re-energized our sex life. I know of another woman who has had exactly the same experience. So, here is another woman who wears them, enjoys them, and is amazed to find that her husband is turned on by them.
From Theresa:
I buy lingerie for my husband, the outer clothing is for me. Thus I own three black girdles, the kind that have no bottom. All have built-in garters and his favorite is way too short. It doesn't cover the bottoms of my panties when I let it ride up a little. It's just amazing what a few ounces of rubber and elastic can do to a man with a rip-roaring girdle fetish.
Modern girdles are so light, cool and stretchy that I actually enjoy wearing them on occasion. (I still tend to leave them in the lingerie drawer in the summer, though.) Modern girdles are vastly improved over the best that was available in the fifties. Fifties girdles were made of such wonder materials as canvas, thick elastic and rubber. They didn't stretch worth a hoot, they were hotter than blazes in the summer and the really horrid ones had metal "bones" in them. They were Grim City.
My earliest girdle memories were of my mother rushing out of the car after church and going straight to the bedroom to get out of her girdle. I was normally intensely jealous whenever my older sister got something "grownup" that I wasn't yet allowed to have, but when she became old enough to get her first girdle, I watched her struggle into it, noted the delicate blue shade she turned because she wasn't able to breath with it on and decided to wait my turn for this one.
My favorite girdle, by the way, is a medium control panty. I just love the way they kind of put pressure on me right where I kind of like to have pressure applied. I usually wear plain cotton briefs which quickly become unnoticeable. (Have you ever been walking down the street in slacks and wondered if you really remembered to put on your panties that morning?)
The control panties are much thicker and stiffer and just moderately tight and every time you change positions, you get a reminder that you're wearing them. Whenever we go out to a nice restaurant, I always have a pair on under my dress and they provide a continuous gentle stimulation that really adds to an evening out. And they come off easily when necessary. ;-D
Mine are black of course - husband's choice.
From Jenn:
As somebody who wasn't born until the seventies, I'd like to say that I think girdles are wonderful and very sexy. I love wearing them.
From "A":
For most of my life, the only person I knew who wore a girdle was my portly grandmother. These were clumsy beige things. I have to say I'm not dreadfully impressed by the new breed of girdles, even if they are a bit more sleek- even with the slick photography in the fashion magazines in which girdles are now appearing, they still look a little matronly. Not much higher on the sex appeal rating scale than control top pantyhose, as far as I'm concerned (although rather more intellectually interesting- especially vintage girdles).
I also think that most men my age would be awfully confused if they discovered me in a girdle- probably would not know what it was, thinking it was either some bizarre orthotic device, or an s&m thing.
All these opinions are offered in total ignorance, since I have never worn a girdle- I'll have to do a test run in one some time.
From Jean:
My husband began expressing an interest in old-fashioned lingerie several years ago. We began buying this sort of thing strictly for the bedroom and I have accumulated quite a collection. I have mostly open bottom girdles, body briefers, a couple of corsellettes, several longline bras and a gorgeous corset which we had custom made by BR Creations in Mountain View, CA.
During the past two years, we have shared an interest in quasi-public sexual situations--sex in unusual places, discreet public bondage, and agreeing to wear special things to work, sometimes meeting during the day. I frequently wear an entire "ensemble" underneath my business clothing. I personally find these situations exquisitely arousing, wearing firm control undergarments in a high tech environment where a flash of garter or a series of garter bumps around my thighs or a line of hooks down the back, betraying a longline bra would be quite out of place. I have to choose my outer wear carefully on these days!
Meanwhile my husband often agrees to wear a cock ring or one of an assortment of "equipment" harnesses we have acquired for him. On these days, we often meet for "lunch."
In any event, I suppose I cannot describe our situation as normal, but I have gained a certain fondness for undergarments that compress. I have found that when buying firm control garments it is best to buy one size larger than recommended. I have a firm body already with just a little softness in the tummy and don't even come close to needing firm control. I get lots of inquisitive looks when buy girdles--especially the heavy zipper styles. For bras, the fitters at the foundation specialty shops are experts and I have wonderful bras. Frequently, I am too small for the stock on hand and garments have to be ordered (I have a 34D bust, a 27" waist and 35 hips).
I feel that the designer girdles and corsets are poor quality and very expensive given that they are typically poor imitations of great designs from Poirette, Dior, Smoothie, and even JC some excellent firm control garments. I have two very nice long leg panty girdles from JC Penny, but seldom wear those.
From Gigi:
While girdles have their purpose and enhance the sleekness of the lines I tend to think working out 3 times a week, being 5'2", 110 pounds gives me the similar desired look. I tried one on and being uncomfortable and hot (from a Playtex girdle) made me feel hot and sloppy. What it may help do is make one sit up straighter due to its uncomfortableness when slouching. I get more than my fair share of attention. I would possibly wear a girdle if I wanted more of an hourglass figure.
From Julianne:
I must agree with Suzanne's thoughts about the nature of girdles. They were in fact in the sixties a bit of an anachronism in their time (i.e., bra burning, etc.). As far as the control goes, on occasion, someone would wear one that was not properly fitted so she ended up bulging above the thing, making an even worse appearance than being without. Amen to the liberty we have now of saying NO, but also having the opportunity to say YESSSSSS!
For me, I do wear a girdle that is a bit tight when we are going to a dinner or party were there will be too much good food. The constraint helps me keep my natural figure intact by helping to say NO to too much of a good thing. (It helps ME me to not become too much of a good thing!)
From Grendel:
I like the body-hugging feel of a well-made, well-fitting girdle and wear mine as outerwear. My two favorites are a vintage leopard-print girdle with quilt-stitched leopard-satin insets, and a long-line black-satin foundation garment which I wear as a dress.
From Karen:
I know I certainly carry myself differently when I wear a girdle. I have been reading all these postings recently with great interest maybe because I am probably a bit younger then most of you. I grew up in the pantyhose era and although I didn't start wearing a girdle until recently so certain outfits looked better. I can never remember my mother without one.
From Melissa:
My name is Melissa and I am in my forties. When I was a young child, I remember watching both my older sister and mother getting into and out of their girdles. Not really appreciating the nature of the apparel and exactly why anyone would want to wear one, I remember giggling as they struggled. I suppose through a young girl's eyes this might be humorous.
On many occasions, after finishing with her bath, my mother would be in her room getting dressed. Once she was in her bra and panties, the door to her bedroom would be opened since she always wanted to be able to hear her children if they needed her. Therefore, it was not uncommon for me to be wandering through the house and come upon her while she was preparing herself to go out. There was never any nudity or lewdness involved since my mother was a graceful and stylish woman.
If I joined her in the master bedroom or was within her range of vision, she would occasionally call to me and ask me to go into one of her dresser drawers and bring her girdle to her while she was seated on the edge of the bed. I complied with her request.
I sat quietly and watched as she put on her stockings. When it came time for her to put the girdle on, I would usually start to act silly. By the time it was properly in place, my mother sometimes would appear to be somewhat out of breath after the mild struggle. I have a distinct recollection of being asked a question by her once during my time of amusement. She looked at me warmly and said, "Missy, tell me why you always seem to find this part funny when I'm getting all dressed up."
"Mom, it just looks like you won't be able to pull it all the way up, that's all. Is it too small for you?" I asked innocently.
"No, it's the right size, sweetheart. Girdles are supposed to be tight for a reason," she added.
"Why?"
"They are supposed to hold in a woman's tummy and fanny and make her look thinner than she really is. You could say that they allow ladies to cheat just a little. Cheating in school is wrong, but this is a different kind of cheating. Do you understand what I mean?" She flashed that trademark smile of hers knowing that I knew just what she meant.
Mom then went on to tell me that the slender girls are lucky because they have good figures and don't have to struggle with girdles. She said things were not nearly as bad as they appeared. The important thing, she stressed, was that the girdle made her feel better about her appearance.
I am 5'5" and never exceeded 115 pounds during my twenties. All my added pregnancy-related weight gain was quickly shed and I managed to stay at my ideal weight through the rest of that decade. Then night school, plus sloppier eating habits and a slower metabolism, began to change all that. By the time I turned forty, my weight was 141. It seems to have stabilized there for the last few years. I've been using a girdle for the last several years and I really don't mind it at all.
From Mae:
Suzanne and many others have written beautifully on the theme, the girdle as a female rite of passage to womanhood. And this aspect seems to be at the heart of their affinity and commitment to girdling. I understand and agree with their association of the girdle and becoming a grown women. The notion is intriguing but I don't think it is main reason I, or most people, wear one. I wear one for what it DOES for me - not what it DID for me in growing up.
I feel more a woman in a girdle. I look and feel better - more feminine, more together. Just like a bra. This is how I feel about myself. I'm sure part of it is that my generation started out wearing girdles.
But to be candid, a large part, perhaps the main reason, is not what I myself feel but rather my self-image as a reflection of how others see me. A good girdle in combination with proper grooming and tasteful wardrobe helps create a complete package. I sense others see me as more a woman - more attractive, composed and feminine. Of course my husband is my main constituency. He likes me to look attractive and I try to please him as best I can. My self-esteem partially borne of what other eyes see and reflect is important to me, but hopefully not blind vanity.
I know that conventional wisdom says men don't like girdles so why should I wear one? I think many man are attracted to girdled women even though they say they hate girdles. (Girdle-bashing is part of the male thing from years ago.) A woman's instinct tells me a man's interest is heightened by a smooth sleek line. And many both young and old are clearly intrigued by the feel of a firm slim waist held while dancing.
I am not really a flirt but, like most people, enjoy being noticed. So the girdle while not the sole "weapon" is a primary part of my repertoire. Do I deceive myself?
From Pauline:
I also was exposed to the negative hysteria about girdles of the 70s-80s, but I could not escape a very basic attraction/fascination with the garment. Now, practically in my dotage, I am experimenting and finding (big surprise - duuh!) that positive and negative reactions are tied to how well the garment fits. The high-waisted Smoothie that kept rolling downhill to find my somewhere lower waist the other day is replaced by an Exquisite "Lose It!" High-Waist Brief sized by the salesperson after a long discussion.
As I have found in other endeavors, it is easy to plunge into smug rejection of any idea because of "majority" negative opinion. Success usually requires a little thought, a little experimentation, and help from your friends.
From Kayci:
Why would a woman with a good figure wear a girdle? I think it shows the power (oppression) of the fashion industry; the idea of going without girdles must have been as scary to the garment industry as going without undershirts turned out to be after "It Happened One Night." My only hard data: A 1950s "fashion and beauty" book for teenage girls I found in a used bookstore. The book said that no young woman would go out without at least a panty girdle to stop "jiggle." The rump, it seems, was to be sleek and firm, no matter how shapely.
Oppression or not, I still love the firm "together" feel of a girdle.
From Sharon:
Without a doubt I find that girdles stimulate my eroticism as a woman - not that I get orgasmic just wearing them everyday. The sensuality is more connected to the womanly feeling I derive from being girdled and the sense of femininity that is generated. Wearing a girdle affects the way I do many ordinary things like sitting, bending over, going up or down stairs, walking etc. Wearing girdles for me is part of being a woman and behaving like a lady. I feel sexy and more desirable when I am snugly girdled. Open-bottom girdles particularly are very stimulating for me. I recently bought a Playtex 18-hour open-bottom girdle and it seems to be especially sensuous. When I wear a snug girdle and get gussied up in a nice dress, do the make-up and hair and the nails, the whole experience really gets me going.
Rare is the day I am not girdled. I wear girdles under skirts, straight and full, under slacks, trousers, pants (take your pick) and have even worn girdles under walking shorts. I will even wear a girdle under my negligee around the house. I do take the girdles off to go to bed, however.
I wear Smoothie long leg panty girdles a lot. I also like Glamorise for firm control. The open-bottom styles are great with certain dresses and full skirts. I had not owned any Playtex girdles for years and years, but recently purchased two and like them very much so far. I like split crotches but can live without that feature, if I have to. Most makes don't seem to have the crotch opening. I wear more long leg styles than regular leg. I like girdles with reinforced waist bands.
If you had told me a year ago that I would be sending electronic messages about my infatuation with girdles to people whom I had never before met, I don't what I would have said. But, here I am, and I'm not at all blushing. I feel very good that I can talk with others about this subject in this way. Actually, I feel very liberated to be able to share my interest in girdles with others.
From Glenda:
Dare I admit that I am still in the process of making peace with the girdle? Wearing one was de rigueur when I was growing up. As a teenager, I rejected the girdle, along with those other items of compulsory Southern femininity: make-up, high heels and hosiery. (Yes, I did throw the baby out with the bath water!) Actually, I'm glad I rejected those things then, because that means I can choose to wear them now: because I want to -not because I feel that I have to. I am in the interesting position of being a woman born woman in the process of constructing my femininity (or at least of consciously renovating my socialization).
I'd say I wear a girdle at least twice a week, sometimes more often. Girdles and corsets give me a feeling of dignity (a certain feminine bearing of erotic authority). I'm not exactly sure why...something about the feeling of containment and the fact that I am choosing that containment rather than having it imposed upon me.
Perhaps what I feel is more playfully feminine, more flirtatious. I feel slightly daring -none of my female friends wear girdles. But I still feel entirely like a "good girl", mother would have approved, after all.
My favorite contemporary girdle is by Natori. It incorporates a bra and extends to my hips. It hooks in the back. It has garters. It is both attractive and actually works to smooth my figure.
My favorite "heirloom" girdle I inherited from my great aunt Nellie. Actually, it looks like a white latex mini-skirt with garters! I'm not sure what decade it's from.... It is this girdle that re-ignited my interest in foundation garments.
From Jane:
You are asking me about girdles? I am a 32 year old Australian woman and I have been wearing girdles for about five years. We have a terrific selection in Australia - Berlei, Warners and Hickory are the leading brands. Hickory still makes a terrific high-waisted, side-fastening, firm-control open-bottomed girdle with six garters, which must be my personal favourite. I switched from pantyhose to stockings about six years ago and discovered girdles shortly after - I was too young to have any previous experience of them but I remember seeing them in my mothers wardrobe when I was young and thinking that they must play some sort of surgical function! I have now built up a collection of some 20 or so girdles, all open-bottomed as they are more comfortable in the Australian heat. Are they uncomfortable? Certainly not, if you make sure they are well fitted - sure, you know that you have got one on, but this is a pleasant rather than an unpleasant sensation.
From Shelly:
A friend pointed me to you site, and I have to say, ZONA is impressively well done! I enjoyed reading the personal vignettes so interestingly scattered throughout, and felt like I owed you an experience of my own to repay the pleasure you shared.
I am 36, was married once to a man who was thoroughly entranced by my wearing corsets. He was buying them for me for so many occasions while we were married, they should have been for his birthday, not mine! Most of them are quite pretty and sensual, and I still enjoy donning for a special occasion when I want to look and feel my very most sensual.
The corsets are sexy – but a woman after my divorce showed me that girdles feel elegant – and sensual. Helen loved pretty lingerie, and introduced me to the retro elegance of 50's style paneled girdles. There is such a wonderful, elegant embrace that only a sleek girdle can provide. Reflecting on my pattern of underdressing, I feel I usually lace into a corset for a man, but I step into a girdle for myself, and the pleasure it affords me. I still have a trim waist, but my bottom benefits from all the control I can zip into. I love the look I achieve in a figure-conscious dress that skims my high, firm derriere – courtesy of some artistry in satin and powernet. My board-flat tummy is a nice, elegant benefit, too!
I always underdress for special evening occasions now – in a corset or girdle, and have added a girdle to my office attire occasionally when I want to feel and look my very best. As Suzanne said – a firm girdle really does make a difference in one's appearance and outlook – a difference that genuinely reinforces my confidence and self assurance. I wear girdles because I love the look, and I love the feeling I get from wearing one.
From Anne-Marie:
I am writing just to tell you that I have found your pages with great delight and interest. I am a 32 year old woman, living in a small town in southern Sweden. Since around age 25 I have taken a liking to wearing stockings with a girdle (usually daily), a corselette (for dress evenings) or garter belt (hot season, which is short here!). The story behind this is long and complicated, but when I eventually got fed up with hot, sticky and baggy tights and sliding stay-ups (is that what they are called in English?) I was lucky to have a mother who once ran a small lingerie shop here and I persuaded her to let me have her tucked away thing for "costume balls". So I am deep into the real good underwear from late 50's and 60's. I must admit I have considered myself a bit odd as I do not find any other girls my age wearing them, but I do find them more comfortable than what is a la mode today.I do not do it for sexual or arousing purposes and I am not a fetishist I think. I just enjoy it and put quite a lot of money into (too much at times) being well dressed and pretty from heel to top. It is just great to find out there are other women around enjoying fine lingerie and let us hope there will be a revival.
From Ruth:
Great site! Both I and my husband Roger love it. He's been horny for subject ever since he lost his virginity in 1965 with a girl who kept her roll-on and stockings on every time he got his evil way. He converted me to their attractions not long after we were married - I already preferred stockings to pantyhose anyway, and girdles are actually more comfortable than suspender (garter?) belts. I now never wear a dress or skirt without a decent firm control zip girdle or, for those less restrictive occasions, a simple Lycra roll-on underneath. The only problem I have is that it is now almost impossible to find what you call 'open' girdles in any other colour but white. Oh how I would love to own some black ones! And those lovely pointy Maidenform bras to go with them - impossible to find. Any tips?
From Donna:
I have been wearing girdles since I was 25. I am now 34. They are ideal for hard-to-handle figures, and give me a feminine feel and look. Maintaining a good figure had always been difficult for me. An accident when I was 5 left me a parapalegic and not as active as most girls and therefore the figure problems. Even though I am confined to a wheelchair I still want a feminine look and feel. So when I turned 25, I decided to wear a firm control girdle everyday, open style with garters. This allows me to wear stockings instead of pantyhose, since stockings are easier to put on.
From Janet:
As most teenage girls of the 1960's, I wore a girdle to school and whenever out shopping and such. My mother didn't make me wear one if I was at home doing housework or just hanging around. But if I went out, I had my girdle and stockings on.
I gladly gave them up in college, and figured I'd never wear one again. How wrong I was! I got laid off from my job in 1981, and ended up taking a job as a housekeeper (a glorified title for a "maid.") My employer required me to wear, as she termed it "proper foundations for a lady of your age". I was in a girdle and longline bra, or an all-in-one, all day, everyday, except on my day off. (At least at first.)
Having been fitted for "proper foundations", I soon found out that the firm control of good girdles was not unpleasant. Indeed, I quickly found my self wearing them even on my day off each week. My husband was thrilled, and actually so was I. I only worked as a housekeeper for ten months, but I continue to wear a girdle and stockings, AND a longline bra. It was and is wonderful. I only wish more women would find out the truth about foundations!
From Barbara L:
.Suzanne has written "I would always wear my tightest girdles on dates, ostensibly because I wanted to look my best, but also because I enjoyed the state of continual arousal, and sensuous femininity, that the sleek, tight pressure of a girdle gave me."
Yes!
The better you look, the better you feel. And there certainly seems to be some physically stimulation in wearing some styles of girdles, but, more importantly I think, a girdle seems to act as a focus. I don't find that an ordinary "everyday" girdle necessarily does this, but certainly putting on a special occasion girdle seems to define and sustain the sensuous feelings, dreams, and passion about the person and the occasion. It's a lot harder to explain than it is to feel!
A girdle makes me feel better about myself, which makes me feel more feminine which, in turn, makes it possible to express femininity.
From Michelle:
I know I'm in a minority, but I like girdles! I like the way they make me look, but more than that I like the way they make me FEEL. For some reason I'm more confident in myself and feel more in control of myself AND my surroundings. I can't really explain it. Like I said, it's just a feeling, a sense of strength. If I know I'm going to be meeting a new client or dealing with my superiors, I aways wear a girdle of some kind that day. Sorry, just rambling.
P.S I'm 31, happily married, no children, 4'11" 118lbs 34C-26-35
From Billie Jean:
Underwear in the late 1960s, especially the underwear worn by teens, was wild. One thing that hasn't been discussed much here is the flower-power print girdles and colored girdles. I must confess, however, that I always wore white.
Pettipants were different. I had a white pair, a pink pair, a red pair, some flower print ones, and some white ones with pink polka dots. Susan W is correct that they were often worn over a garter belt and hose, but I also wore them with knee socks as a one piece alternative to panties and a slip.
One particular incident I recall was on the playground. I was wearing pettipants under my gym shorts and they were actually longer than the shorts. A cute boy I really liked yelled at me across the field, "Billie Jean, I see your girdle."
I yelled back, "Pettipants!" I would have never worn a girdle under my gym shorts.
The next two items were received the same week. Quite a contrast!
From E.B.:
I wear a girdle because I am, not to put too fine a point on it, fat. I hate wearing it. In the summer I can hardly breathe and it stops me from doing anything energetic. But if I don't wear it, then I am even fatter. And today, being large is not acceptable.
When I was pregnant I was happy. I didn't wear the demon girdle and I felt really alive and beautiful. But I had an excuse for having a large tummy.
Wearing a girdle is not sexy. It's about control. We women having to control how our bodies look because all around us, on advertising hoardings, on TV and in magazines, we are told that that is how we should be.
I HATE girdles!!!!!
From Donna:
I find your site very nice, warm and informative. As I have worn panty girdles for the last number of years, it is nice to hear that girdles are not completely out of vogue. I 'd hate to have to go without one, as the comfort and fashion are indispensable!
Please continue with your site, and maybe more women will see the beauty and comfort that a good girdle affords. My Rago Long-Leg is a real blessing to me, as sometimes I have kept it on for 30+ hours. Going without it is unthinkable.
Girdles are gorgeous.
From Emma:
It's true! Girdles and corsets are making a comeback- maybe! Or then again maybe it's just hype.
I am 38 years old and was reintroduced to girdles a few years ago. Quite honestly, I like the way they make me feel. I tried various types and brands with the initial thought that somehow one had to wear pantyhose with a girdle. Then one day, a very nice saleslady in an upscale womens' store suggested that I try an open-bottom girdle, she only had white, with garters and hose. I took it home, tried it on, and was delighted.
Eventually I did away with most of my pantyhose, bought several garter belts, and several more girdles with garters. They make me feel sexy and self-assured. It's my secret that I share with only a very few people.
From M.M:
I wear girdles and the last thing I worry about is that men won't like them.
Everyone from my Levi's-and-flannel-shirt-wearing cowboy ex, to my nearly right-wing boyfriend, to my NEA outlaw performance-art friends get excited by a well-filled girdle. There are probably some men who don't like girdles but those men can hope that they'll be able to triumphantly remove the offending garment.
It's hard for me to imagine a straight man responding unfavorably to being privileged enough to see a woman in any kind of underwear, or to even being privy to knowing what sort of underwear she has on.
I find the reaction that my boyfriend has to my girdles to be extremely sweet. His attention span increases, he becomes very affectionate and very obedient. Most of the time by the time one is on a date with a man he is so heavily invested in pleasing you that you could get away with wearing anything you wanted. A sexy girdle can send the poor creature over the edge. So be careful. If you don't enjoy adoring attention and a worshipful attitude, it might be best to forego the girdle.
Men like gadgetry, so of course they like girdles. They think they can figure out how all the hardware works. The sight of a male enthralled by a girdle is both amusing and endearing. Some men babble and can't keep their hands off your hips as they attempt to discover what you've got on without being completely ungentlemanly. (This is good. It means he'll want to keep you happy. Make him be a very good boy.)
From Summerlea:
I'm only 21, but I like to wear garter belts and stockings. I first was interested in stockings when I bought a long-leg girdle to look thiner. I had gained some weight due to a medication I was on and hated looking larger than I wanted to be. I don't really like the girdle, I haven't even worn it for a couple years, but I got hooked on garter belts and stockings.
My mom talked about wearing short split-legged slips under short skirts in the 70's. I have a 17" split-legged slip myself that I love to wear under shorter skirts. I also have a pair of boy-cut underpants that I wear under REALLY short skirts. I like having something between the air and my underpants--it makes me more secure not having to worry as much about keeping my knees locked!
My personal favorite, though, is to wear a silk chemise in place of a slip. The silk is so sensual, and it feels sexy to keep that secret.
From Audrey:
I was a teenager in the early 1960s when we still thought tight foundations were the only way of dressing properly. I started girdles at 14 and had a boned and very tight firm control girdle for best wear when I was 15. At the time I thought it was all very grown up and the discomfort was part of the rite of passage. Like other girls I thought it was my fault that a girdle was uncomfortable - I was the wrong shape, and the girdle was the right shape. This shows something of the mindsets we had.
My everyday girdle was okay, although it could make its presence felt at the end of a long, hot day. The firm control was very firm and very controlling, I remember. When the zipper finally was closed I was flat in the tummy, slimmer everywhere and an inch taller. As several people have commented, you do move and sit very differently when shoe-horned into a firm control. The 1950 TV programs show it so well. To be honest, I do not think 15-year-olds of today would put up with what I thought an acceptable price of being in my best dress.
Nobody has mentioned the long-line bra in these girdle discussions. I remember these as being much worse than the girdle. I am alone in these memories? Soon after my mother bought me the firm control girdle she bought me my first "little black dress". She said that I needed a long-line bra with the dress.
That long-line bra was the most uncomfortable garment I have ever worn. It was tight enough in the midriff to stop me breathing as I wanted. The bones dug in badly if I slouched, and still dug in if I stood straight. To prevent a spare tire appearing between girdle and bra the two were fastened front and back. This may have helped shape, poise and posture, but it was a nightmare. After wearing it for an hour I had a headache, and could only think of taking it off and breathing properly. It did give me that slim bodice look you see in the fashion pictures of the time. My mother just clucked at my discomfort and told me to get used to it. I then had an argument with my mother. I think that was the first big argument with my mother that I won as an adult. I did not wear the long line much after that.
I don't think my long-line bra was too tight by the standards of the day - I am sure it must have been a firm control, not a lightweight number. I think it was Several other women of my age have told me that they found the long-line bra difficult. I am surprised that nobody has mentioned it here before. The long-line bras of today are built on much more sympathetic lines than those of the 1960s.
Was I unusual in finding a 1960s long-line bra so horribly uncomfortable? Or was I just not the correct shape to start with ?
PS- To give you some idea of the long-term effects of girdles I can tell you what happened to me at the age of 19. I was working in a legal office and stood in for the senior secretary for 2 weeks. I wore my smartest dresses, with a firm control girdle. If the girdle was a little uncomfortable at first, I was used to it by the end of the second week.
After this I went on a boating holiday - shorts and no girdles. On return from holiday I weighed myself and found that I had lost weight. However, I had expanded in the middle, and my firm control was agony for a few days until I got back into shape. And we thought were liberated in the early 1960s!
From Martha:
I wore a bright red girdle, and God knows where I got it, all through junior high school. This was a real girdle, with control panels front and back. I was a slip of a girl, and I wore this heavy-duty girdle every day. I want to know what was wrong with my mother.
From Nephele:
Isn't that the truth--what women will do for beauty! I do get perms, but only because I'm too lazy to want to style my own hair. I've stopped doing nail polish and high heels, though; and never did wear any makeup but lipstick.
A moment of epiphany for me was when I had a dress that had become too tight across the stomach. Went to buy a panty girdle so I could avoid getting rid of the dress. I was about to make my purchase and said to the cashier, "Will this really flatten my stomach enough?"
"Oh, yes," she said excitedly. "you won't even be able to eat!"
That simply horrified me. I didn't make the purchase, went home, and gave the dress to Goodwill. It can't be sane to squash your internal organs that much just to fit into a dress!
Hopefully, society will someday become enlightened enough that everyone will be accepted no matter what they look like, how much they weigh, etc.
From Tina:
I just bought a Hanes Her Way - Tummy & Waist Shaper (model 0316). It is wonderful!! I normally wear a size 33 jeans and I bought a Medium panty - fits snug but is not uncomfortable. This panty is comfortable enought that I believe you could wear it all day long. Just wanted to let you all know... for a firm control panty it might be worth getting one.
From Melpomene:
One association I have with open-bottomed girdles is a particularly pleasant one, involving a picnic about ten years ago. My husband and I, who are obviously a little crazy, used to go on what we called "formal picnic dates" (before our children were born). These were picnics where we would dress in the kind of clothes that no one would wear on a picnic now, but which people might be imagined wearing back in the fifties. I'm not sure if people ever wore these clothes on real picnics, but we both remember that there were plenty of images of dress-up picnics in fifties and early sixties ads, you know, the girl in the floral dress holding hands or running into the arms of the handsome boy in the blue cotton shirt (these were probably cigarette commercials or something, but we can't always control where our erotic images come from).
Anyway, we used to have these formal picnics and there was one I remember most vividly in which I wore a marvelous forties dress with a petticoat and an open-bottomed girdle. Our tradition, on these dates, was to find a secluded spot, eat a sophisticated picnic lunch with wine, and then, well, neck.
One time, and one time only, our necking got a little carried away. We were, I assure you, in a very secluded spot (though this was still a stupid thing to do and I don't recommend it to anybody), and, not being able to help myself, I asked him to wait a minute and then, to his evident delight, I pulled up my skirt and petticoat, ungartered my stockings, and wiggled out of the panty I was wearing under my girdle. Then I fastened my garters again, put down my skirt and melted into his arms. When I saw the state he was in, I unfastened his belt and pants and pulled them down.
Well, dear reader, he took me right on the picnic blanket, as I stared up at the leaves, feeling the breezes, feeling myself still beautifully dressed, petticoated, girdled, and gartered.
What a feeling! Whew!
Well, anyway. Every Sunday evening, unless one of us is ill, we always have a romantic end-of-the-week dinner. Sometimes we go out, but usually we stay at home. Our lives are so busy that it is, alas, usually the only night of the week when we actually have the opportunity to make love. On our at-home evenings, we always dress nicely for each other and there's often some degree of costuming and role-playing as well.
Well, anyway, last weekend, I told him that since it was winter, I was going to prepare an Italian picnic to be eaten on the floor of the living room. He thought it an amusing and interesting idea.
Well, I prepared the picnic and wore the same dress as I wore that day ten years ago. The girdle wasn't exactly the same one, but it was open-bottomed (by Subtract). I didn't wear any panties at all this time. When he saw me dressed, before he himself went up to dress, he looked at me questioningly and asked if I wasn't wearing the same dress I wore that time on that picnic.
Without turning around from my cooking preparations, I replied that I was, and that in fact, I was wearing the same exact kind of girdle. He turned around and came downstairs a little later, dressed nicely and splattered with the aftershave scent he always wore ten years ago, but doesn't often wear now.
Well, we didn't even make it through my meticulously prepared Italian feast. But we certainly enjoyed the leftovers for breakfast next morning.
From Lillian:
I like to feel girdled and compact and I like something tight against my crotch. Is this an erotic thing? Yes, I suppose it is.
In the 1960s the panty girdle was queen of foundation garments. Materials were lighter, sleeker, and silkier. I think the stretch was from Lycra or something like it. Panty girdle legs slowly lengthened and finally met hose tops. As an aside I must observe that I have always wondered why men were so fascinated by the white skin above stocking tops. Looking downward, as it were, at least in the mirror, I never liked the bare skin below my girdle.
In the 1950s the pettipant came along and it was possible to cover that gap with pretty lingerie. I was very happy when garters became smaller and were recessed up under the panty girdle leg. Now there was a smooth line from waist to toes, or toes to waist as a man might view one. A center seam and then pouching at the back allowed one to have a naturally double-curved derriere; clearly a sexy presentation for snug pants and not at all bad for skirts either.
Also I liked the tight crotch of these panty girdles. It was probably the first time in history that women had something nice and tight and silky snug up against their pudenda. (Hate to use the medical term but I don't want to offend anyone with the other "p" word).
Everybody wore longleg panty girdles by the end of the 1960s. There was a special feeling to having one's thighs girdled and rubbing together under a loose skirt. Some garments even gave a soft rasping sound when one walked, especially if her thighs were plump; a sort of modern froufrou.
During the 1960s I had my two babies, just a year apart. I had several maternity girdles and they were helpful with posture and particularly lower back support. I got my figure back after each baby, even though the first interval was a short one, perhaps partly because I was back in nice smooth panty girdles that were not too supporting but kept me conscious of my tummy and my posture.
The only real interest my husband ever evinced in foundation garments occurred in the late 1960s when he showed me a color picture of an advertisement for a pink corselet. He said I should have one like it. The model was looking back over her shoulder in a sort of come hither way. There was a famous photo of Betty Grable in a swim suit during the second world war that looked very much like the corselet photo. Perhaps I was merged with Betty in his subconscious.
I found the garment at the local department store and got it. I wore it many times, but mostly under a filmy negligee. It was a very nice attention-getter in the bourdoir. However, I rarely wore it otherwise unless under a suit. I have never cared for the inconvenience of corselets and find the split or snap crotch less than ideal.
Did pantyhose ruin everything? I don't think so. They probably were inevitable. As an aside I can mention that I once spoke to a man who was a salesman for one of the large hosiery mills, Burlington or whatever. I asked him about the advent of pantyhose. He said that it had long been thought of but they couldn't be produced until the technology of knitting machines reached a certain state. Apparently that time was in the mid-1960s.
I kept gartered hose for a while but, I suppose because I liked panty girdles so much, eventually abandoned them except for several token girdles and pairs of stockings.
During the 1970s and 1980s I kept my girdle wardrobe split between longleg panty girdles and brief panty girdles, more of the latter than the former. I wear medium or light control garments and occasionally have bought something with firm control. I once had a rather firm pantliner with a center seam from the front right up through the crotch to the back that did wonderful things for my bottom and provided delightful stimulation when I walked.
I am an equal opportunity purchaser of foundation garments and lingerie. I tend to buy what I see and like when shopping, but I have had some favorite brands. For many years anything Olga made was probably in my wardrobe. I have favored Bali for bras until recently when Wacoal seduced me with their high quality and supremely comfortable bras.
My habit of dress, in respect to underclothes, has been unchanging for years. I always wear unadorned brief panties under pantyhose that are sheer from toe to waist. I don't like support pantyhose or control-top pantyhose. Depending on my mood and whether I wear a skirt or pants I choose my panty girdle and then a matching bra. Under skirts I am likely to wear a longleg and under pants a brief. I still do have one pantliner but rarely wear it.I do like beige but think of pink as romantic and white as sort of utilitarian.
From Greta:
Count me in as one who loves the constricted feeling of a girdle. I feel sooo sensuous, like the girdle is confining sexual energy which is trying to escape! Does that make any sense?
From Marian:
I had an interesting experience this weekend. I tried on a dress at vintage clothing show this weekend (it didn't fit) and took it to the women's "fitting room," which was fairly makeshift and communal. There was only one other woman in the dressing room at the time, an attractive young (30's) woman whose very handsome and well-dressed boyfriend or husband was waiting outside to offer his judgement on the suit she was trying on.
We both got to the room at about the same time and started to take off our dresses discreetly at opposite ends of the room. She got her dress off first and there she was, without a slip, with her back to me, in a bra and a very controlling and respectable long-leg panty girdle (she was about a size 8). We were avoiding eye contact but I noticed her noticing me when she was looking at herself in her suit in the mirror.
By this time, I was standing in my slip, very see-through in the light of the dressing room, and it was evident to anyone who had eyes that I was wearing a girdle and long-line. I gave her what I imagined to be a friendly, conspiratorial smile. She smiled back and looked as if she was about to say something, but she seemed to stop herself to step outside to show her man how she looked in the suit.
When she came back in, I was getting back into my dress. She looked at me curiously out of the corner of her eye. I was trying to think of something to say, something like: "What we women will do to get into vintage clothes," or something like that, but I couldn't think of anything with the tone or content I wanted. She took off her suit, stood there a moment in her bra and girdle, and I noticed this time, gartered stockings, and put the dress on the hangar. I zipped up my dress and left.
Sorry about the anti-climax, but I found the whole thing fascinating. I was dying to talk to her, identifying her with the younger women on the Net who have managed to find their way to girdles in this day and age. She was also obviously curious about me, and would no doubt have liked to communicate with me about our similar taste in undergarments. I giggled inside my head as I thought of telling her to send e-mail to the Girdle Zone. But this was reality, not cyberspace, so we didn't talk, and we went our separate girdled ways.
From Tillie:
I will be the first to tell you that a great many men find the girdle very sexy.
First, Playmate material I am not. Not really tall at 5'9, rather skinny, small in the chest department and not blessed with super good looks. But I have found that putting on a girdle makes me as sexy, or perhaps sexier, as any woman out there.
I am not above allowing the bottom of my girdle to show from underneath my dress. Not bragging when I say this but I have been approached a great many times by men who probably would otherwise had little, or no, interest in me.
And many were very straight to the point. Even when Jerry would leave for a minute, men have walked up and handed me their cards. Last year in Vegas, at the top of the Palms, while Jerry was downstairs gambling, I was approached my someone whom I found out later had a rather nice Hollywood connection. Our conversation was that he found me "different" than all the rest of the women in the room. Must have been my red hair.
Now why else would anyone approach a plain Jane like me?? Plain and simple, men like girdles, kind of like the forbidden fruit. Something women just don't wear anymore and really don't intend to. Just hope the rest of the world never finds out my little secret or I'm in trouble.
Ladies, if you're reading this and it provokes a response one way or the other, contribute your opinion, even if it's just to say, " I wouldn't be caught dead in one!"
And, guys, what do you think? Love girdles or hate them? Any idea what's behind your feelings? Contribute your comments to the companion discussion, All Men Hate Girdles, Right?
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Last updated January 14, 2000