Tagged: marketing

Audio: Purity, Piety and Pants – The Religious Body in Early-20th Century Underwear Marketing

I’m thrilled to be able to share this audio file of my recent conference paper with you.

This recording is by no means the finished article but I have noticed that the subject really captures people’s attention so it felt right to share it. There is a lot more work and research to be done on the subject – especially concerning anxieties around the adulteration and cleanliness of fabrics.

In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy listening and I welcome any thoughts or ideas in the comments below.

Thanks to the wonderful Katrina Maitland-Brown for making this recording and to everyone at CHORD for the opportunity to speak at their workshop. As always, massive thanks to the team at Walsall Museum for their ongoing support.

References:

C. Willett and Phillis Cunnington, The History of Underclothes, (London: Faber, 1981).

Keith Jopp, Corah of Leicester 1815-1965, (privately printed, 1965). (read the PDF here)

C.W Webb, An Historical Record of N.Corah & Sons Ltd., (privately printed, 1947). (read the PDF here)

Elizabeth Ewing, Everyday Dress 1650-1900, (London: B.T Batsford Ltd., 1989).

Also see the ‘About’ section of the Wolsey website for their take on the brand’s history.

Purity, Piety and Pants

Several months ago, I (half-jokingly) mentioned my plans to write a paper about religion and underwear marketing. It was one of those situations where I knew there was something in the idea but it took me a while to get to the bottom of exactly what it was. After mulling the idea over and getting over the fits of giggles that struck me down every time I saw Cardinal Wolsey’s face on a pair of knickers, I decided to seriously pursue the idea.

I submitted an abstract for the Centre for the History of Retailing and Distribution workshop on retailing and the human body and was delighted when I was told that it had been successful. Since then I’ve become immersed in the world of early-twentieth century underwear, Thomas Wolsey and St. Margaret.

The CHORD workshop ‘Retailing, Commerce and the Human Body: Historical Approaches’ takes place on 14th May 2014 at University of Wolverhampton. Visit the CHORD webpage for more information.

I’ll publish a summary of my paper on here after the event, but for now I wanted to share some of the images I have gathered whilst researching the paper:

St Margaret N. Corah Woollen Hose Stockings Vintage 1920s

St Margaret Seal on Botany Wool Hose from 1910s to early-1920s

Wolsey Stockings Flapper Packaging Vintage Stockings

Box of Wolsey Artificial Silk Stockings from the 1920s

St Margaret Silk Hose Vintage Stockings

Boxes of St Margaret Silk Hose from the 1920s

Wolset Advertisement First World War

Wolsey ‘Wool and War’ advertisement in Weldon’s Ladies’ Journal, October 1915.

As always, massive thanks to the team at Walsall Museum for allowing me to study and photograph these items!