Get the Vintage Lingerie Look: 1950s Style

Fashion in the 1950s was all about glamor – and curves! After all, this was the decade when Marilyn Monroe was at the height of her fame, and women everywhere wanted to imitate her voluptuous look. It was also an era still heavily influenced by Christian Dior’s ‘New Look’, an hourglassy silhouette introduced towards the end of the 1940s which went on to transform clothing trends for years to come.

For those who didn’t naturally have that hourglass figure, lingerie became an essential tool to fake it. As Dior himself once said, “Without foundations, there can be no fashion.”

Love 1950s style lingerie? Here’s a guide to the most popular underwear and sleepwear styles of the period, and what to buy to get a similar look today:

Shadowline® Rochelle Satin Full Slip with Adjustable Straps

The basics – fabric, color & embellishment

Lingerie in the 1950s was an ode to femininity! Brands went all in on lace, ruffles, bows, pleats and elaborate stitching details. And while white and beige remained popular colors, it was pastels such as pale pink, baby blue and lemon yellow that truly reigned supreme. Floral prints were also in vogue.

A lot of lingerie and sleepwear at this time was made from the silky-smooth nylon first introduced to the world in 1939. For our Shadowline® brand, we developed two of our own exclusive nylon fabrics – opaque Opacitrique® and lighter, floatier Satintrique® – which we still use to this day across many of our collections.

Velrose® Nylon Full Slip with Wide Lace

Lace-trimmed slips

Full or half slips were considered a clothing essential in the 1950s, and this was a decade when they were particularly beautiful thanks to lashings of lace trim or other adornments. Narrow slips had a smoothing effect, while petticoat slips were worn to create a full, flouncy skirt that made the waist appear smaller by contrast.

A 1950s full slip was typically contoured to the body to emphasize the waist (like our Velrose® Adjustable Length Full Slip) and had adjustable shoulder straps to tweak the fit and ensure the bra below was completely covered.

Shadowline® Nylon Full Brief Panty With Lace

Full briefs

While the open-legged tap pants many women chose in the previous decade continued to be worn in the 1950s, the most popular style of the time was a full brief with elastic at the waist and legs. It would sit at the natural waistline, and was typically made from non-stretch fabric (meaning it had a slightly looser fit than we’re used to today) since spandex wasn’t invented until the end of the decade.

Our collection includes a variety of authentically retro-style full brief panties, such as the 100% nylon Dixie Belle® Scallop Trim Full Panty which was actually being sold in the 1950s! However, for those who like the look of a big 1950s brief but prefer the feel of a modern stretch fit, we also offer options that blend nylon and spandex together.

Image: © Thelens

Corsets and girdles

To achieve that perfectly-cinched waist, some women turned to corsets. For many however, it was an open-bottomed or panty girdle that helped to nip in their mid-section (or a corselette which combined a girdle and bra into one.)

Although shapewear, all of these were lighter than the corsets their grandmothers would have worn, often using synthetic boning instead of metal. There were even roll-on girdles made out of rubber! And since stockings were still an outfit essential, almost all of these styles came with garter straps.

Image: © Paul Wishart

Bullet bras

What article on 1950s lingerie would be complete without a mention of bullet bras? Using circular stitching to create a conical shape, they exaggerated the bust for unbeatable hourglass curves. While modern lingerie boutiques rarely sell bullet bras, you can get a similar albeit much subtler look by choosing a wirefree bra with a horizontal seam across the cup.

Shadowline® Nylon Long Lace Cap Sleeve Nightgown

Nylon babydolls & nightgowns

Finally, when bedtime rolled around, women swapped their heavily figure-molding lingerie for much more forgiving sleepwear fits. Nightgowns (which ranged in length from ultra-short babydolls to full length styles) were often extremely loose-fitting and floaty, although some did tie at the waist. Sheer nylon was a popular choice, and if you were particularly fashionable, you’d wear yours with a matching peignoir or bed jacket.

If you enjoyed this guide to 1950s lingerie, be sure to check out our 1920s lingerie version as well!