Perma-lift Shapewear Ads from the 1950’s

Perma-lift is another bra and girdle maker who advertised in mid-century women’s magazines. The ad you see above was found in the October 1952 edition of Today’s Woman. Today’s women was a household magazine with the tagline, “The Magazine for Young Wives”.

Like Formfit and their other competitors, Perma-lift’s early 1950’s ads used illustrations to show their products.

Here they are advertising their line of girdles which were sold in different lengths.

Perma-lift girdles in 5 lengths. Tall, tiny or in-between, there’s a Perma-lift Girdle in the perfect length for you.

The illustration gives us a sense of what was involved for women to get dressed in the 1950’s. Bra, girdle, stockings, heels.

Here is another Perma-lift ad found in Today’s Woman. This one is from a year earlier. Here they are selling their line of bullet bras.

Perma-lift Stitched cup bras with “the Lift that never lets you down”, glorify your figure

Perma-lift Ads in Upscale Magazines

Perma-lift ads were also found in magazines like Cosmo and Flair. Here are two examples.

The ad below was found in the August 1950 edition of Flair magazine. This short-lived magazine catered to upper-class New Yorkers.

Here they are advertising Perma-lift panties (not girdles). It looks like a girdle. I am not sure what the difference is. Note the reference to a corsetiere.

At your favorite corsetiere.

As you likely guessed, a corsetiere is someone who fits corsets.

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Fast forward to later in the 1950’s decade. This ad comes from the November 1959 edition of Cosmopolitan. Here they use a photograph instead of an illustration. This too is for their line of Perma-lift panties.

Summary

Perma-lift was a bra and girdle maker who advertised in a variety of magazines published in the 1950’s. Their line of bras, girdles, and panties were relevant to all women living in the mid-century. Comfort and fit was emphasized in each of their ads. Some of their ads referenced their patented designs such as an “all elastic leg band”.

Tomorrow we’ll discuss more about the Perma-lift brand and poke around into the background of bullet bras.