MAIDENFORM COLLECTION, 1922-1997
#585

(35 CUBIC FEET: 54 DB; 10 [.5] DB; 19 F/O; 4 card-file boxes; 1 O/S Fldr.)

by: Jennifer Snyder and Mimi Minnick, August 1997-July 1999; revised Jennifer Snyder, 2002; revised Alison Oswald, 2003; revised David Haberstich, 2005

Historical Note

The history of Maidenform, Inc. began at Enid Frocks, a small dress shop in New York City owned and operated by Enid Bissett. Ida Rosenthal was a Russian Jewish immigrant and seamstress at Enid's shop. In 1922 Ida and Enid decided that the fit and appearance of their custom-made dresses would be enhanced if improvements were made to the bandeaux style bras then in vogue. They gathered the bandeaux in the middle in a design modification that provided more support in a manner they believed enhanced, rather than downplayed, a woman's natural figure. Ida's husband, William, added straps and further refined the style. The called their bras "Maidenform", in counterpoint to the "Boyish Form" brand then in vogue. Initially, the bras were given away with each dress they sold. As the bras gained popularity they began selling them, and eventually the bras became so popular they stopped making dresses altogether and shifted to full-scale brassiere manufacturing. The first Maidenform plant opened in Bayonne, NJ in 1925. After World War II, the company began marketing heavily in Europe and Latin America. Eventually, Maidenform operated plants in West Virginia, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Documentation for the development and manufacture of a "pigeon vest" is also included in the collection. The pigeon vest allowed troopers to carry homing pigeons with them as they parachuted behind enemy lines. During World War II, Maidenform manufactured these pigeon vests and silk parachutes for the war effort.

Maidenform advertising campaigns were enormously successful, and generated controversy as well as praise. The now famous "I Dreamed" campaign was launched in 1949; this campaign ran for 20 years making it one of the longest running campaigns in the history of advertising. The advertisements featured models in everyday or fantastic situations, elaborately costumed but wearing only a Maidenform bra above the waist. This campaign was followed by the "Maidenform Woman" campaign which was credited with boosting sales by 200 percent in some stores. The "Dares to Dream" campaign played off the "I Dreamed" tagline in 1984, and in 1987, the "Celebrity" campaign began. The "Celebrity" ads were notable for the absence of women in lingerie; instead, well-known male actors discussed their feelings about women and lingerie in print and commercial advertisements. The tone of the advertising shifted in 1992 with a series of ads called "The Women's Advocacy" campaign.

The Maidenform Foundation, founded in 1953, a philanthropic and charitable institution, is run by granddaughter Catherine Brawer.

Patent and trademark documents, advertisements, sales and marketing material, market research, photographs, packaging, company newsletters and magazines, and business records documenting the history of the Maidenform Company from 1922 to1997. This collection is arranged in ten series as follows:

Series 1: COMPANY HISTORY, 1922-1990

Anniversary booklets, press releases, and information about the Rosenthal Foundation and Maidenform Museum are included in this series. Of particular note is the transcript of an interview with Kitty D'Alessio, who worked extensively on the "I Dreamed" campaign and with the models. Also included is an item level listing of what was donated to the Smithsonian. It contains information on the models, designers, and photographers used for the advertisements, as well as other pertinent historical information related to the photographs and documents in the collection.

Series 2: NEWS ARTICLES, 1941-1997

Clippings from newspapers and magazines.

Subseries A: Rosenthal Family, 1950-1997

Subseries B: Advertising, 1950-1997

Subseries C: Company (including labor history, plant closings ,etc.), 1950-1997

Series 3: PATENTS, TRADEMARKS and REGISTRATIONS, 1871-1979

Patents, trademarks and copyright registrations for Maidenform designs, 1927-1979 and bound volumes of U.S. patents on brassieres, 1871-1968. Includes correspondence regarding patent disputes with Maidenform operators.

Series 4: PUBLICATIONS 1931-1997

Subseries A: Maidenform Mirror Magazines 1931-1955, 1962-1966

A magazine produced for retailers by Maidenform.

Subseries B: Maiden-Forum Newsletters 1944-1995

An in-house newsletter, produced and for Maidenform employees. Includes some Spanish language editions produced for employees in Puerto Rico.

Series 5: SALES AND MARKETING AIDS, 1929-1997

Subseries A: Market Research, ca. 1947-1966

Includes visual preference and wear tests for most products (including girdles), as well as research regarding the teen market, couponing, packaging and outdoor advertising.

Subseries B: Production and Distribution Statistics, 1929-1969. Including U.S. and export markets.

Subseries C: Dealer Aids and Store Promotions 1937-1964 . Pamphlets, etc.

Subseries D: Stylebooks 1929-1997.Used by store buyers to place orders. The books include the styles offered for the season or year, wholesale and retail prices, and the colors and sizes available.

Subseries E: Price Lists, 1930-1959 . Wholesale and retail prices.

Subseries F: Color Cards, 1980-1994. Includes fabric swatches.

Subseries G: Packaging 1950-1978

Subseries H: Hang Tags 1994-1996. Lingerie was not always sold "self-service" as it is today. Initially, bras and girdles were sold behind the counter with assistance from sales personnel. In the 1950s, Maidenform moved to packaged, self-service "bra bars." By the 1960s, bras increasingly were sold off the rack, with hang-tags offering price and product information.

Subseries I: Sales Kits, 1956-1996 Used by salesman to present product and price information to store buyers and sales personnel

Subseries J: Counter Cards 1949-1969, 1980 . These were placed on counter-tops in stores

Series 6: ADVERTISING, 1929-1997

Subseries A: Advertisements 1929-1996. Virtually complete set of "I Dreamed" advertisements. Also, advertisements from "Maidenform Woman'', "Dares to Dream", "Celebrity", and "Women's Advocacy".

Subseries B: Foreign Language Advertisements 1951-1980

Advertisements in French, German, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, French and Chinese.

Subseries C: Television Commercials 1950s-1994 [not inclusive]

Series 7: PHOTOGRAPHS 1927-1993

Subseries A: Rosenthal Family, 1939-1993 . The Rosenthals and Colemans; Enid Bissett.

Subseries B: Plants, Facilities, and Personnel 1929-mid-1980s

Plant personnel at work, as well as group photos, building interiors and exteriors, the original Enid Frocks dress shop and Maidenform showrooms in New York and Los Angeles. Also includes a photo of Eleanor Roosevelt with operators in Princeton, WV.

Subseries C: Marketing 1929-1960. Advertisements and packaging .

Subseries D: Fashion Photos and Products 1943-1962

Fashion photos of models wearing the garments in both professional fashion shoots and from a fashion show.

Subseries E: Store Displays 1950s-1965

Window displays from around the world and in-store displays from lingerie departments in the United States.

Subseries F: Pigeon Vest 1942-1944

Features the vest on a model pigeon as well as a paratrooper preparing to jump out of a plane with the bird attached to him.

Subseries G: Events, 1948-1962 Anniversaries, conventions, sales meetings.

Subseries H: Awards 1942, 1957

20th Anniversary Plaque presented to Enid Bissett and Ida Rosenthal from their employees in 1942. Albert Einstein College of Medicine Award presented to William and Ida Rosenthal in 1957

Series 8: PATTERNS, ca. 1950s [?]

Includes patterns, detailed instructions for sewing machine operators, and sample garments.

Series 9: WORLD WAR II ACTIVITIES, 1941-1946

Subseries A: Pigeon Vest and Parachute, 1941-1946

Binder of documents relating to the pigeon vest, blueprints of vest assembly and details, blueprints of parachute designed and manufactured by Maidenform.

Subseries B: Government Relations, 1942-1945

Petitions to the Office of Price Administration, the War Manpower Commission and the War Labor Board, relevant to Maidenform production, distribution and labor relations.

Series 10: LABOR RELATIONS, 1937-1990

ILGWU publications and correspondence; news articles about strikes and union activities.

Provenance

The collection was donated to the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History in May of 1997 by Maidenform, Inc. through Catherine Brawer.

Related Collections

In conjunction with the archival collection, the former Costume Division acquired a large number of brassieres, girdles, and "long-lines", and two of costumes used in the "I Dreamed" campaign.

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