Sylvia Pedlar

Sylvia Pedlar (1900–1972) was an American fashion designer specialising in lingerie.[1] She is the only designer to have won the Special Coty Award more than once, in 1951 and 1964.[1]

Sylvia Pedlar
Born(1900-06-01)June 1, 1900
New York
DiedFebruary 26, 1972(1972-02-26) (aged 71)
New York
NationalityAmerican
Label(s)
Iris Lingerie
AwardsCoty Award (1951; 1964), Neiman Marcus Fashion Award (1960).[1]

Born Sylvia Schlang in 1900 in New York, she was an art student at Cooper Union and the Art Students League of New York before marrying William A. Pedlar.[1] In 1929 she launched her own business, Iris Lingerie, which she headed through to its closure in 1970.[1]

For her success Pedlar relied on the high quality of her product rather than employing salesmen or purchasing advertising.[2] She is credited with creating super-short babydoll nighties in the early 1940s as a response to fabric shortages during World War II, although she hated the term "baby doll" and refused to use it.[3] One of her most famous innovations was the easily removable toga-inspired négligée specially designed for women who slept in the nude.[3] She used the toga theme throughout her career,[4] with one négligée prominently featured in 1962 by both Life and Harper's Bazaar.[3][5] She also reworked Victorian styles such as the traditional modest flannel Mother Hubbard nightgown, which she produced in sheer flowing cotton,[3] and reproduced nineteenth-century whitework embroidery by machine to such a high standard that her work rivalled luxurious handmade French lingerie.[6] Examples of Pedlar lingerie are held by the Costume Institute,[4][5][6] and archival material dating from 1946-1967 is held by the Fashion Institute of Technology.[1]

Pedlar died in New York on the February 26, 1972.[1]

References
  1. "Sylvia Pedlar collection, 1946-1967". ArchiveGrid. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  2. Bender, Marylin (17 December 1963). "Lingerie Can Be Sensibly Elegant". The New York Times. (Cited by Blausen.)
  3. Blausen, Whitney. "Sylvia Pedlar". Fashion Encyclopaedia. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  4. Staff writer. "Printed nightgown by Sylvia Pedlar, 1955". The Collection Online. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  5. Staff writer. "Negligée by Sylvia Pedlar, 1962". The Collection Online. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  6. Staff writer. "Nightgown and bedjacket by Sylvia Pedlar, 1955". The Collection Online. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
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