Sylvia Pedlar (1900–1972) was an American fashion designer specialising in lingerie. She is the only designer to have won the Special Coty Award more than once, in 1951 and 1964. Born Sylvia Schlang in 1900 in New York, she was an art student at

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

and the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

before marrying William A. Pedlar. In 1929 she launched her own business, Iris Lingerie, which she headed through to its closure in 1970. For her success Pedlar relied on the high quality of her product rather than employing salesmen or purchasing advertising.
Cited by Blausen
) She is credited with creating super-short

babydoll A babydoll is a short, sleeveless, loose-fitting nightgown A nightgown, nightie or nightdress is a loosely hanging item of nightwear, and is commonly worn by women and girls. A nightgown is made from cotton, silk, satin, or nylon and may be ...

nighties in the early 1940s as a response to fabric shortages during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, although she hated the term "baby doll" and refused to use it. One of her most famous innovations was the easily removable

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

-inspired négligée specially designed for women who slept in the nude. She used the toga theme throughout her career, with one négligée prominently featured in 1962 by both ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' and ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

''. She also reworked Victorian styles such as the traditional modest

flannel Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, b ...

Mother Hubbard nightgown, which she produced in sheer flowing cotton, and reproduced nineteenth-century

whitework embroidery Whitework embroidery is any embroidery technique in which the stitch (textile arts), stitching is the same color as the foundation fabric (traditionally white linen). Styles of whitework embroidery include most drawn thread work, broderie anglaise ...

by machine to such a high standard that her work rivalled luxurious handmade French lingerie. Examples of Pedlar lingerie are held by the

Costume Institute The Anna Wintour Costume Center is a wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's main building in Manhattan that houses the collection of the Costume Institute. The center is named after Anna Wintour, the longtime and current editor-in-chief of ' ...

, and archival material dating from 1946-1967 is held by the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It ...

. Pedlar died in New York on the February 26, 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedlar, Sylvia 1900 births 1972 deaths American fashion designers American women fashion designers Artists from New York City Cooper Union alumni Art Students League of New York alumni