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The term "sweater girl" was made popular in the 1940s and 1950s to describe Hollywood actors like Lana Turner, Jayne Mansfield, and Jane Russell, who adopted the popular fashion of wearing tight, form-fitting sweaters that emphasized the woman's
New, soft fabrics like cashmere and angora were being used to make sweaters. The conical shape bra, sometimes called a bullet bra, raises and separates the breasts. In its original form, the look was often tied to the promotion of new bra technology.
Interest in the bullet bra revived after
The term "sweater girl" was made popular in the 1940s and 1950s to describe Hollywood actors like Lana Turner, Jayne Mansfield, and Jane Russell, who adopted the popular fashion of wearing tight, form-fitting sweaters that emphasized the woman's bustline
A bustline is an arbitrary line encircling the fullest part of the bust or body circumference at the bust. It is a body measurement which measures the circumference of a woman's torso at the level of the breasts. It is measured by keeping a meas ...
. The sweater girl trend was not confined to Hollywood and was viewed with alarm by some. In 1949 a Pittsburgh police superintendent even singled out the sweater girl as a symptom of the moral decline of postwar youth:
Fashion influence
New, soft fabrics like cashmere and angora were being used to make sweaters. The conical shape bra, sometimes called a bullet bra, raises and separates the breasts. In its original form, the look was often tied to the promotion of new bra technology.
Interest in the bullet bra revived after Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
wore a cone bra during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. The bra was designed by Jean Paul Gaultier who was inspired by the vintage Perma-Lift bullet bra of the 1940s. By that time, the style was regarded as erotic and provocative. The bullet bra has also become popular with burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
and rockabilly enthusiasts, both of which draw inspiration from the 1950s.
Popular culture
Lana Turner's appearance in the 1937 film '' They Won't Forget'' in a tight-fitting knit top is sometimes considered the first case of the "sweater girl", as Hollywood publicists sought for a catchy phrase to describe the impact she made on the screen. Movie magazines nicknamed her "The Sweater Girl," just asAnn Sheridan
Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938) with James Cagne ...
was "The Oomph Girl," Dorothy Lamour "The Sarong Girl," and Clara Bow "The It girl."
''Sweater Girl
The term "sweater girl" was made popular in the 1940s and 1950s to describe Hollywood actors like Lana Turner, Jayne Mansfield, and Jane Russell, who adopted the popular fashion of wearing tight, form-fitting sweaters that emphasized the woman's ...
'' is the name of a 1942 film written by Robert Blees
Robert Blees (June 9, 1918 Lathrop, Missouri – January 31, 2015) was an American writer and producer of films and television. He died on January 31, 2015.
Select filmography
* ''The Glass Web'' (1953)
* ''Cattle Queen of Montana'' (1954)
* ''Ma ...
and Beulah Marie Dix, directed by William Clemens and starring Eddie Bracken, June Preisser, Phillip Terry, and Betty Jane Rhodes.
From the 1944 '' Army–Navy Screen Magazine'' No. 20, a one-reel short that showed portions of a special '' Armed Forces Radio Network'' recording session, Bob Hope introduces "sweater girl" Judy Garland. Before she sings " Over the Rainbow", they perform a short comic sketch, Garland asking why men are so crazy about sweater girls. Hope says he does not know and wisecracks, "That's one mystery I'd like to unravel".
In September 1968 an obscure clerical worker named Francine Gottfried
Francine Gottfried (born 1947) is a former clerical worker in New York City's Financial District. Gottfried gained rapid recognition in September 1968 when an escalating number of men started observing her during her daily commute. Referred to a ...
briefly attained international celebrity as "Wall Street's Sweater Girl" as large crowds of gawking men and newspaper reporters awaited her arrival at the Wall Street
Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
subway stop each morning and mobbed her on her way to work.
See also
* Breast fetishism * Pin-up modelReferences
{{reflist, 30em 1950s fashion Sweaters Stereotypes of women 1990s fashion