The Secret Life of Melanie O.
 
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Vintage lingerie
I was recently asked by an old friend, what was the draw to retro and vintage lingerie? He was mystified by it all, seeing that the woman he is involved with doesn't share the same fascination for lycra and nylon that I have.

This was easy to answer.

For the longest time, I've been into American nostalgia. In fact, I can't remember when I haven't loved Big Band music or old MGM musicals. I think, for me, anyway, all this vintage stuff is a form of escapism. It's all part of the same thing: surrounding myself with vestiges of an era gone by, when life was less complicated, people had expectations that could be met (for the most part), and it was OK to be sexy and feminine without being made to feel like you were upsetting the feminist apple cart.

Nowadays, it's all backwards, and real femininity and sexiness has become trampy and trashy and little girls think that pole dancing will make them powerful. It's all become too sad for me. I like lingerie because it leaves a little to the imagination. When I undress for Dan, I feel like I am unwrapping a gift for him, and he feels the same. Often times he asks to undress me. It's those little rituals that make life more enriching and full of a certain fantasy quality. Many women have lost their mystique by exposing it too much!

I love my lingerie collection, even if I don't wear things every day that would be considered out of the ordinary. I do wear garter belts and stockings more than I used to, and I've been known to wear a waist cincher to work. I can work as a technical and marketing professional and still feel like a woman. I see no value in "letting it all hang out."

Give me my bullet bras, waist cinchers, girdles, full body shapers and garter belts, or, to quote Dolly Parton's character Truvy in Steel Magnolias: " I haven't left the house without spandex on these thighs since I was 14."

Amen.
posted by Melanie O. at 7:53 PM -
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About Me
Name: Melanie O.
Home: Durham, North Carolina, United States
About Me: Female, American health and beauty-conscious professional who has rekindled a childhood love of dolls.
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