The corset and the mirror. Fashion and domesticity in Swedish advertisements and fashion magazines, 1870–1914

Abstract

The article discusses two elusive components in the construction of bourgeois and middle class femininity in Sweden, 1870-1914: the corset and the mirror. Two popular genres of images are contrasted: images of corsets in Swedish fashion advertisements, and images of corsets and undergarments in Swedish fashion magazines. While fashion advertisements in general copied fashion magazine images, they chose a different path in regard of the corset and the mirror. The two objects, albeit important parts of the period's fashion, are made invisible in fashion magazines while clearly visualized in the advertisements. The purpose of Swedish fashion magazines was not only to present the latest fashion, but also to construct a conception of timeless womanhood well integrated into the predominant ideology of domesticity. Vanity, gossip, and erotic desires were staple goods of traditional misogyny and were hardly possible to express in fashion magazines. Advertising on the other hand communicated with the female consumer as an individual and presented her as a vain, sexual and emotional creaturewithout condemning her at the same time. Fashion advertisements emancipated, clearly not woman, but fashion itself, from the morals of domesticity.

All that glistens is not (green) gold: historicising the contemporary chlorophyll fad through a multimodal analysis of Swedish marketing, 1950–1953

“…As such, it became a key part of marketing in the late nineteenth century and still remains important today. Although class divisions were not as strong in Sweden as other countries at this time, what Runefelt (2019b) calls a “democratisation of luxury” was a common and successful feature of Swedish advertisements. He notes how brands promoted products as exclusive, despite the fact that they were widely manufactured, and consumers anxious to distinguish themselves from others bought into these marketing messages.…”

Modernity, beauty and the Swedish “way of life”: lifestyle marketing in Stomatol toothpaste advertisements, 1910–1940

“…Often, they wore low-cut dresses or bathrobes and in sexually alluring poses as they held up mirrors in one hand and Stomatol toothpaste in the other. This autoerotic gaze subverted the traditional 'male gaze' and showcased a modern representation of women who have the ability to master themselves (Runefelt, 2019b). While most national and international toothpaste brands turned towards similar social intimidation tactics at this time, they tended instead to use images of glamorous women in the style of Hollywood starlettes rather than 'girl next door' figures.…”

“…These statements were often accompanied by images of young girls in corsets standing in a bathroom. Here, the corset stood as a symbol of sexualisation and glamourisation, suggesting a 'story of success by makeover' in terms of a corrected figure, but also a better life (Runefelt, 2019b). In the case of Stomatol, this better life is defined by finding a husband and is only achievable by looking more attractive.…”