Today we’ll look at the Maidenform foundations company and its mid-century advertising. Maidenform had a popular print ad campaign that was a frequent fixture in mid-century women’s magazines such as the September 1964 issue of Ladies Home Journal which published the ad shown below. The tagline?
I dreamed Paris was at my feet in my Maidenform Bra.
Or this one from the February 1962 edition of McCalls magazine.
I Dreamed I was All Decked Out in my Maidenform Bra
Of course this one from 1951 proves that the “I Dreamed” ad campaign lasted over 10 years. The 1951 price advertised is a buck 75 ($1.75). A Maidenform bra will set you back around $20 today.
I dreamed I was Cinderella in my Maidenform Bra
Its no wonder that this famous ad campaign made it to the 21st century where it was part of the storyline of a Madman episode.
And then there was this ad which was published only a month after the “I dreamed Paris was at my feet” ad. Note that this one says nothing about dreaming. Every other Maidenform bra ad in my collection was part of the “I Dreamed” campaign. According to the information from the YouTube video, the “I Dreamed” campaign didn’t end until 1969. That makes this ad a fabulous rarity.
In addition to bras, Maidenform also sold girdles. Here’s a Girdle ad from 1960 featuring a lacy dress designed by Arnold Scassi for a skinny model showing off her curves made possible by a Maidenform Fris-Kee girdle.
The Maidenform bra company began in New Jersey exactly 100 years ago in 1922. The goal was to accentuate a women’s curves instead of flattening her breasts as was popular with 1920’s women’s fashions . The company was a pioneer in bra technology and invented many of the features that we enjoy today such as adjustable straps.
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