Censoring Swimwear

 

Swimming was originally thought of as dangerous (and indeed, with long skirts, it probably was), which lead to bizarre contraptions such as the "bathing car". I wish I could find a photograph or at least a drawing of one of these things, because it sounds ridiculous. A "bathing car" was a large wire cage attached to floats and a pulley system. One entered the cage and used the pulley to submerge themselves to the preferred depth - wild times. And just in case this got a bit too exciting, the Victorians were also greatly concerned with modesty. Women were either separated from men, or shielded from their eyes. They used wheeled "bathing machines" to immerse themselves, which also included "modesty hoods". 

At the turn of the century this paranoia for safety and the segregation of genders eventually passed, however women were still expected to wear neck to toe dresses in the water. It was only due to the participation of women in serious swimming (as a sport) that their swimwear shrank gradually, starting with the reveal of arms in the early 1910s until the 1920s with the showing of legs (gasp!). It also seemed to be the tightness of the garment that caused outrage.

  

Bathing suit arrests in Chicago, 1922

Vaudeville (and later, motion pictures) star and swimmer Annette Kellerman caused uproar with her risque swimwear. The Aussie "underwater ballerina" (a type of synchronized swimming which involves diving into glass tanks) first arrived in the United States in 1907, and brought with her a fashion revolution: the one piece swimsuit. Kellerman was even arrested for indecent exposure at Boston's Revere Beach in 1908, with the first outing of her "body stocking", and she soon altered the suit to cover arms and neck. The bathing suit allowed much more freedom than the layers of fabric previously worn, however it caused controversy by revealing the contours of the female figure. In some shocking cases, women even ROLLED THEIR STOCKINGS DOWN below the knees. Such a public nuisance were these women that the "Annette Kellerman" swimsuit was banned, and "beach censors" patrolled the sands handing out tickets and even collecting fines. 

 

Luckily, women just kept on pushing for fashion-freedom and from then on, swimwear just kept getting smaller until we get into 80's thong territory. The first bikinis appeared just after WW2, named after Bikini Atoll, the site of several nuclear weapons tests - for their supposed explosive effect on the viewer.... get it?....

 Shop Playful Promises swimwear!

Our most popular playful blog posts of 2012!

 ALL THE BALLOONS!

As I'm sure you are well aware, we have survived another year, despite a failed apocalypse and the UK transport network at a stand-still due to a bit of wet weather (what's new?).

And as it is the time for reflection, I thought I'd take a look at some of 2012's most popular blog posts!

 

Tailoring The '20s: Boardwalk Empire

One of our most popular posts from back in April is all about the costumes behind prohibition-based drama, Boardwalk Empire. The 1920s was an important time for women, and it is reflected in the exquisite reproduction costumes. Now that I've finished watching the third season I may go back and write a new blog post about some of the lingerie featured!

 

Retro Fetish: John Willie and The Bizarre

In May I wrote a little bit about the Leonardo da Vinci of the fetish world.... John Willie. Accompanying the post we shot some images inspired by his risque artwork!

Burlesque Past and Present: The Sad Story of Faith Bacon

Stars rise and fall, and this Ziegfeld beauty was just one example.

This Means War: Big Knickers Vs G-Strings

For a few months over the Summer we had the pleasure of working with Caitlin, who was interning for us. One of the blog posts she wrote was all about the war of the knickers!

 

Memento Mori: Victorian Mourning Lingerie

Delphine delved into some Victorian petticoats to find out just how far mourning wear went.

Couture Rubber: Kaori's Latex Dreams 

 All the most fashionable celebs are wearing it, but how can you incorporate it into an outfit?

What has been your favourite Playful Blog post this year? Why not have a dig around our archives?

A work of (t)art: London’s 90s Tart Cards

We Brits may be considered the stiff upper lip of the Western world, but we do have our kinky side that often comes out of the woodwork in surprisingly public mediums. During the 90s one of the icons of London, the red phone booth, also became synonymous with forbidden pleasures due to the tart cards plastered inside.

Tart cards were a form of advertising used by call girls, prostitutes, dominatrix and all manner of naughty ladies of the night. These cards touted all sorts of forbidden pleasures, from spanking to transsexuals, and ended up becoming an accidental art, which reflected the social state of London at the time.

Up until 1984, advertising in telephone boxes was illegal, as the boxes belonged to the Post Office and thus the Government. However, when British Telecom was privatised, a loophole was created, and prostitutes moved their cards from news agents to phone boxes, where their clients could immediately make contact.

The early cards were surprisingly modest, only suggesting the type of pleasure provided, with the occasional sketch of a female form/face. This began to change in the early 90s when colour was introduced, and there seemed to be a fad for day-glo cards. Saucy humour was much in evidence, yet the cards seemed to have an unspoken rule that nipples and genitalia should be concealed (which is still often the case today).

The charm of these early cards was the poor printing and artwork, showing how little money was invested in the advertising. Not to mention that many printers would not have accepted these jobs, which allowed small back-street print-shops the chance to rake in cash.

It was rare that the women would put up their own cards, and they often hired “carders” to do so. Placing 600 cards a day could earn you up to £200, big bucks for someone with enough stamina!

In September 2001 it was made a criminal offence to display tart cards in phone boxes, which could see you convicted for up to six months in jail or a £5000 fine. Of course, this only proved to slow the rate of cards, and cause the carders to become stealthier in their business. Today, Councils strive to remove the cards often within half an hour of them being placed, and with the age of the internet, this is proving vastly uneconomical for the women. 

Most of today’s cards also lack the wordplay and humour of their predecessors. They are usually glamorously tacky, featuring garish photoshopped women and eye-catching fonts.

While we do not condone prostitution we feel that this period of time was key in London’s sexual history, showing that typical British humour. Many feel the same, as there are many private collections as well as those of museums and libraries. Apparently the Wellcome Library includes one of the world’s largest collections of tart cards, which can be viewed upon request!

The stark graphics of the early tart cards was the inspiration behind our Oh You Tease retro set, which features a black and red print of bound women, whips, high heels and thigh high boots!

Oh You Tease

Halloween Dress Up!

We've had some amazing (and hilarious!) entries into our Halloween Costume Competition, make sure you get in on the action for the chance to win some lingerie!

This got us in the mood for a little dress up session... Playful Promises style! If you are stuck for a halloween costume this year, let us help you out!



Pair long purple gloves with our naughty Love Garterdress for an even sexier (is it possible?) Jessica Rabbit costume. Snap up some red shoes and nude stockings to add the finishing touch. Oh and a red wig of course!




She ain't afraid of the big bad wolf - grab yourself a red hooded cape, the Vamp Garter dress and Red Waspie for a kinky version of Red Riding Hood.




Go for a sophisticated Batgirl look with our sheer chiffon blouse and black pencil skirt. Finish off the look with a thick belt (gold details a must), long leather gloves and a black mask!

 

Or you could just channel Eartha Kitt's evil side in this She-Devil outfit! Our stunning red Vintage Stitch dress will go perfectly with shocking red lips. Horny jokes aside, only once you have your prey in the boudoir will he find out what's underneath - the True Love set. 

Halloween Giveaway: Spooky Costumes

Time for our yearly Halloween Costume Competition!

We are giving away a colourful goodie bag full of tasty lingerie, worth over £150, perfect for a Halloween dress up session!

To be in with the chance of winning this naughty bag of goodies, we want to hear about the WILDEST Halloween costume you can think of! It doesn't have to be an existing costume, perhaps just an outrageous idea! Remember: extra points for a bit of cheekiness!

Leave your idea in a comment below, competition ends on Saturday the 20th October!

 (Competition open internationally!)