Charles Guyette (August 14, 1902 – June, 1976) was a pioneer of fetish style, the first person in the United States to produce and distribute

fetish art Fetish art is art that depicts people in fetishistic situations such as S&M, domination/submission, bondage, transvestism and the like, sometimes in combination. It may simply depict a person dressed in fetish clothing, which could include und ...

, and regarded as the mail-order predecessor of

Irving Klaw Irving Klaw (November 9, 1910 – September 3, 1966), self-named the "Pin-up King",Pérez Seves, ''Eric Stanton & the History of the Bizarre Underground'', p. 28. was an influential Jewish-American merchant of sexploitation, fetish, and Hollywoo ...

. Later known as the "G-String King," he is best remembered for his bizarre (i.e., fetish) photographs, some of which featured sadomasochistic content.

Biography

Charles Guyette also worked as an innovative burlesque costumer and dealer in theatrical accessories,Pérez Seves, ''Eric Stanton & the History of the Bizarre Underground'', pp. 33. providing vintage

corsets A corset is a support garment commonly worn to hold and train the torso into a desired shape, traditionally a smaller waist or larger bottom, for aesthetic or medical purposes (either for the duration of wearing it or with a more lasting effe ...

opera gloves Ladies' evening gloves or opera gloves are a type of formal glove that reaches beyond the elbow. Ladies' gloves for formal and semi-formal wear come in three lengths for women: wrist, elbow, and opera or full-length (over the elbow, usually r ...

, custom-made fetish boots, and, most famously,

G-string A G-string is a type of thong, a narrow piece of fabric, leather, or satin that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a waistband around the hips. A G-string can be worn both by men and by women. It may ...

s. Employed by

National Police Gazette The ''National Police Gazette'', commonly referred to as simply the ''Police Gazette'', is an American magazine founded in 1845. Under publisher Richard K. Fox, it became the forerunner of the men's lifestyle magazine, the illustrated sports w ...

editor, Edythe Farrell, he later provided costumes, high heel shoes and boots, and occasionally photographs for publisher Robert Harrison, known for such

pin-up A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

magazines as ''Wink'', ''Titter,'' ''Beauty Parade,'' ''Whisper,'' and ''Eyeful.'' He was also important in early fetish community social circles of the day and in the careers of

John Willie John Alexander Scott Coutts (9 December 1902 – 5 August 1962), better known by the pseudonym John Willie, was an artist, fetish photographer, editor and the publisher of the first 20 issues of the fetish magazine ''Bizarre'', featuring his ch ...

and

. Charles Guyette was a

fetish fashion Fetish fashion is any style or appearance in the form of a type of clothing or accessory, created to be extreme or provocative in a fetishistic manner. These styles are by definition not worn by the majority of people; if everyone wears an it ...

pioneer. In 1935, Charles Guyette went to federal prison, becoming the first martyr of fetish art history. Later, he operated under a series of aliases and owned a costume shop on West 45th Street, in New York City. Largely uncredited in his lifetime, Charles Guyette influenced all the key fetish art innovators, including

Eric Stanton Eric Stanton (September 30, 1926 – March 17, 1999; born Ernest Stanzoni Jr.) was an American underground cartoonist and fetish art pioneer. While Stanton began his career as a bondage fantasy artist for Irving Klaw, the majority of his later ...

, and Leonard Burtman. The subject of a book tribute, ''Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Art,'' he is also featured in the independent biopic on

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as bein ...

creator

William Moulton Marston William Moulton Marston (May 9, 1893 – May 2, 1947), also known by the pen name Charles Moulton (), was an American psychologist who, with his wife Elizabeth Holloway, invented an early prototype of the lie detector. He was also known as a se ...

. The film '' Professor Marston and the Wonder Women'', written and directed by Angela Robinson, features Charles Guyette as the costumer for Wonder Woman's real-life inspiration, Olive Byrne. Guyette is played by actor

JJ Feild John Joseph Feild (born 1978) is a British-American film, television and theatre actor. He started his television career in 1999. Feild played Fred Garland in Philip Pullman's ''The Ruby in the Smoke'' and ''The Shadow in the North'' television ...

.
Retrieved 10 October 2017.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guyette, Charles 1902 births 1976 deaths BDSM people Fetish photographers Fetish artists American erotic artists Fetish clothing Artists from New York City

Biography

See also

References

Further reading

External links