Until the mid-20th century, foundation garments such as corsets were the most reliable way for women to achieve the ideal figure, as they compressed flab and enhanced desirable curves. This woman models a Berlei girdle for an advertisement of the 1930s. Tellingly, in the background is a statue of the Venus de Milo, then widely believed to have the ideal measurements of 33–26–38 inches (84–66–97 centimetres).
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Reference:
C.002272
Photograph by Gordon Burt
Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
Tāpiritia te tākupu hou