Frederick's of Hollywood 1947-1973: 26 Years of Mail Order Seduction--Book Review

I often wonder where, as a child, I got this idea of glamour. Yes, the Dean Martini show; yes, the old gentlemen's magazines I found where I wasn't supposed to be looking; but where did I get this idea of fashion so fierce it could barely exist in real life?


The answer is here in this book: Frederick's of Hollywood catalogues. The cute? You can't handle the cute! I got my first pair of stockings and real garter belt when I was in high school in the 1970's, inspired partly by Rocky Horror and primarily by the fact that real stockings even existed. Though I love a pair of fishnet tights, you'd be hard-pressed to get me into pantyhose, which I have always associated with all the least desirable qualities of being "ladylike." I wanted a little more freedom than that, and since I went to a high school where leg coverings were required, stockings it was. Remind me to tell you sometime about how those garters and stockings caused a ruckus in 1979!

I'm not so much reviewing this book as tempting you with it. I know it's cruel, as this one is out of print, but I found it on ebay after glimpsing it at Lola Starr's studio, and I have faith that if you're as set on it as I was, you can find it too! Happy hunting!





If you know me, you know I love a 70s jumpsuit!

And if you know me really well, you'll have no doubt that the image above is my favorite in the entire book.