"I see London, I see France"

On Saturday night, A and I saw 'The History of Lingerie' at the Clinton Street Theater. It was great: old movie footage from the 1910s to the 1960s of women in their underwear. Ideals of beauty changed so much during that period. The film archivist who put it all together introduced the film & provided us with a brief history of panties, bras, and nylons. I must admit, I knew little about their history. He said the bra was invented by Howard Hughes. I haven't seen The Aviator yet, so I don't know if bra invention made it into the biopic.

Each clip started with women fully clothed & ended with them naked or nearly so. As the show wore on, I started speculating about how they would become undressed. Some stripped, but many had much more contrived reasons for undressing. Swimming was a popular one, as was being a model changing outfits. Also, a cowgirl had her clothes whipped off by a cowboy. Young women in school dormitories or boarding houses getting ready for bed was common as well.