Today: suspender belts

So this is what I've been up to today:

Continuing with my suspender belt challenge...it has been really great fun and a quick turnaround. This is the basic garment before trimming. Loving the contrast of peach and black.

Also had a chance to block up some french knickers and tomorrow I intend to put that together to test the shape of the garment. I think that I still have enough of this fabric to make a waspie so I may concentrate on that tomorrow afternoon. It's all coming along very nicely.

Suspender belt: A brief history

The history of the suspender belt is indeed short.

The inception of the suspender solved a problem for the Edwardian woman: how to keep her hosiery from falling down. It began with the corset, with suspenders first being attached to the corset itself and later developing into a garment entirely of it's own.

Suspenders were made possible by the invention of elastic, and first appeared on S-bend corsets of the Edwardian era. This corset is part of the Symington Collection in Leicester.
It is dated 1905.

The first suspender belts of the 1920's were still made from the strong cotton broche of their corset forebears and were designed to be equally tough and functional.

Until the development of the true suspender belt in the late 1950's the girdle had served the same function of the corset...to keep waist and bum in check and hold up stockings. I'll go into more depth about girdles in another blog, if you don't mind, to stay on subject...

In the 1950's clothes were literally revolutionised by the invention of affordable man made fabrics. Underwear benefitted in particular through more lightweight fabrics such as nylon lace, polyester and jerseys and from the 1960's onwards undies for the mass markets were now to be seen and not felt.

The suspender belt, like corsets, were rendered unneccesary by the evolution of fashion. With more women wearing mini skirts and trousers and the introduction of tights the fashionable lady no longer needed suspenders to hold up her hosiery.

The modern suspender belt is purely a provocative garment, so off I go to make some...

Today: suspender belts

Today  for AFW I have been working on suspender belts. I made the block this morning, and after clients work I have come back to them in the evening. Suspenders are so very sexy, in my opinion, simply because of how the skin is hidden and revealed. Since my collection is all about the trappings of a new love affair I want to capture the frivolity and pleasure in dressing up to please a partner.

Here are the results so far:

I've chosen to stick to the colours from the previous samples to make my first pieces because I really like matching underwear sets... There is still some work to do to finish off the belt and then, of course, is the fun it of decoration. Pleased with it so far, and I feel inspired to use the decorative lacing on the next corset.

It's all coming together.....