Frederick's of Hollywood is an American

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fash ...

brand formerly with stores in shopping malls across the United States. In 2015, all 111 retail stores were closed in advance of a bankruptcy filing. The brand was acquired by

Authentic Brands Group Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG) is an American brand management company headquartered in New York City. Its holdings include various apparel, athletics, and entertainment brands, for which it partners with other companies to license and merchand ...

and was relaunched as an online-only store, FOH Online Corp. In 2018, Naked Brand Group, Inc. acquired FOH Online Corp.

History and operations

The business was started by Frederick Mellinger (inventor of the push-up bra) in 1947. Frederick's sold bras,

panties Panties (in American English; also called pants, undies, or knickers in British English) are a form of women's underwear. Panties can be form-fitting or loose. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genit ...

corset A corset is a support garment commonly worn to hold and train the torso into a desired shape, traditionally a smaller waist or larger bottom, for aesthetic or medical purposes (either for the duration of wearing it or with a more lasting eff ...

s, bedroom slippers, a vast array of hosiery, bridal lingerie, special occasion lingerie, and more. The original flagship store was a landmark on

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Picture ...

. In September 2005, after 59 years, the store moved near the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. The store previously housed ''The Lingerie Museum'' featuring The Celebrity Lingerie Hall of Fame, which exhibited a collection of

underwear Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

worn by Hollywood movie stars, such as one of

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's pointy-breasted corsets. Frederick's of Hollywood was the market leader in lingerie until the 1980s, when it was overtaken by

Victoria's Secret Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer known for high visibility marketing and branding, starting with a popular catalog and followed by an annual fashion show with supermodels dubbed Angels. As the largest ...

. In 1992, Frederick's lingerie museum drew national media attention when it was looted during the Los Angeles riots. Madonna’s black

bustier A bustier (, alternatively bustiere) is a form-fitting garment for women traditionally worn as lingerie. Its primary purpose is to push up the bust by tightening against the upper midriff and forcing the breasts up while gently shaping the w ...

, which was worn in her music video for ''Open Your Heart'', was stolen and has never been returned despite a $1,000 reward from Frederick’s. Madonna gave the museum a replacement in exchange for a $10,000 donation to an organization that supplied free mammograms to the poor. Other lingeries stolen in the store were

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

bloomers Bloomers, also called the bloomer, the Turkish dress, the American dress, or simply reform dress, are divided women's garments for the lower body. They were developed in the 19th century as a healthful and comfortable alternative to the heavy, ...

and a push-up bra worn by actress

Katey Sagal Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (; born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023), Cate Hennes ...

in '' Married... with Children''. One repentant looter delivered a bag of Gardner's and Sagal's lingeries to the pastor at nearby

Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Hollywood Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church (officially: The Church of the Blessed Sacrament) is a parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles located on Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood, California. The church today serves an urban, ...

. An Austin newspaper noted that Blessed Sacrament's pastor "may be the only priest in America to ever comfort a man who felt guilty about stealing celebrity bloomers." In an article titled "Support Is Generous for Bra Museum", the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' noted that such an "uplifting story could only happen in Hollywood." Some of the lingerie worn by the iconic 1950s

pin-up A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

Bettie Page Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up photos.

was from Frederick's of Hollywood. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001. In 2003, it emerged from bankruptcy and was headquartered in Los Angeles. In 2006, it merged with New York City sleepwear manufacturer

Movie Star A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and wh ...

and the headquarters was moved to New York. In 2008, the company changed its name to Frederick's of Hollywood Group Inc. The company was traded on the

American Stock Exchange NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was know ...

under the

ticker symbol A ticker symbol or stock symbol is an abbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly traded shares of a particular stock on a particular stock market. In short, ticker symbols are arrangements of symbols or characters (generally Latin letters ...

FOHL, but in May 2014, the company was taken private by

Harbinger Group HRG Group, Inc., formerly Harbinger Group Inc. and Zapata Corporation, is a holding company based in Rochester, New York, having originated from an oil company started by a group including future U.S. president George H. W. Bush. In 2009, it wa ...

and other investors. Its headquarters remain in New York City. In 2015, the company closed its stores and again filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Its brand and online operations were acquired by

. The company announced it would be online only, with possible future plans to create products for sale in department stores and other retail outlets. In 2018, the company's online operations were acquired by the Naked Brand Group Inc.

Notes

External links

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Frederick's of Hollywood Lingerie: A History
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Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

1977 Frederick's of Hollywood catalog
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick's Of Hollywood 1947 establishments in California Clothing retailers of the United States Companies based in New York City Hollywood Boulevard Defunct organizations based in Hollywood, Los Angeles Lingerie brands Clothing companies established in 1947 Retail companies established in 1947 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015 2015 mergers and acquisitions Authentic Brands Group