The term "sweater girl" was made popular in the 1940s and 1950s to describe Hollywood actors like

Lana Turner Lana Turner ( ; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized pe ...

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...

, and

Jane Russell Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films. Russell moved from th ...

, who adopted the popular fashion of wearing tight, form-fitting

sweater A sweater (North American English) or pullover, also called a jumper (British English and Australian English), ...

s that emphasized the woman's bustline. The sweater girl trend was not confined to Hollywood and was viewed with alarm by some. In 1949 a

Pittsburgh police The Pittsburgh Police (PBP), officially the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, is the largest law enforcement agency in Western Pennsylvania and the third largest in Pennsylvania. The modern force of salaried and professional officers was founded in ...

superintendent even singled out the sweater girl as a symptom of the moral decline of postwar youth:

Fashion influence

New, soft fabrics like cashmere and angora were being used to make sweaters. The conical shape bra, sometimes called a bullet bra, raises and separates the breasts. In its original form, the look was often tied to the promotion of new

bra A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, or ; ), is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover breasts. It can serve a range of other practical and aesthetic purposes, including enhancing or reducing the appea ...

technology. Interest in the bullet bra revived after Madonna wore a cone bra during her 1990

Blond Ambition World Tour The Blond Ambition World Tour (billed as Blond Ambition World Tour 90) was the third concert tour by American singer Madonna. It supported her fourth studio album '' Like a Prayer'' (1989), and the soundtrack album to the 1990 film ''Dick Tracy ...

. The bra was designed by

Jean Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corset ...

who was inspired by the vintage Perma-Lift bullet bra of the 1940s. By that time, the style was regarded as erotic and provocative. The bullet bra has also become popular with burlesque and

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

enthusiasts, both of which draw inspiration from the 1950s.

Popular culture

's appearance in the 1937 film ''

They Won't Forget ''They Won't Forget'' is a 1937 American drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Claude Rains, Gloria Dickson, Edward Norris, and Lana Turner, in her feature debut. It was based on a novel by Ward Greene called ''Death in the Deep Sou ...

'' in a tight-fitting knit top is sometimes considered the first case of the "sweater girl", as Hollywood publicists sought for a catchy phrase to describe the impact she made on the screen. Movie magazines nicknamed her "The Sweater Girl," just as Ann Sheridan was "The Oomph Girl,"

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the '' Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing ...

"The Sarong Girl," and

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

"The

It girl An "it girl" is an attractive young woman, who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging. The expression ''it girl'' originated in British upper-class society around the turn of the 20th century. ...

." '' Sweater Girl'' is the name of a 1942 film written by Robert Blees and Beulah Marie Dix, directed by William Clemens and starring

Eddie Bracken Edward Vincent Bracken (February 7, 1915 – November 14, 2002) was an American actor. Bracken became a Hollywood comedy legend with lead performances in the films '' Hail the Conquering Hero'' and '' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' both from ...

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Phillip Terry Phillip Terry (born Frederick Henry Kormann, March 7, 1909 – February 23, 1993) was an American actor. Early years Terry was born in San Francisco, California, the only child of German Americans, Frederick Andrew Kormann and Ida Ruth Voll. Hi ...

, and

Betty Jane Rhodes Betty Jane Rhodes (April 21, 1921 – December 27, 2011) was an American actress and singer, most active in film during the late 1930s and the World War II era. She was also known as Jane Rhodes. Early years Rhodes was born in Rockford, Illin ...

. From the 1944 ''

Army–Navy Screen Magazine The ''Army–Navy Screen Magazine'' was a bi-weekly short film series which was shown to American military personnel around the world during World War II. It included a newsreel and a cartoon of '' Private Snafu''. Originally titled ''The War'' w ...

'' No. 20, a one-reel short that showed portions of a special ''

Armed Forces Radio Network The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...

'' recording session,

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

introduces "sweater girl"

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

. Before she sings " Over the Rainbow", they perform a short comic sketch, Garland asking why men are so crazy about sweater girls. Hope says he does not know and wisecracks, "That's one mystery I'd like to unravel". In September 1968 an obscure clerical worker named Francine Gottfried briefly attained international celebrity as "Wall Street's Sweater Girl" as large crowds of gawking men and newspaper reporters awaited her arrival at the Wall Street subway stop each morning and mobbed her on her way to work.

References

{{reflist, 30em 1950s fashion Sweaters Stereotypes of women 1990s fashion

Fashion influence

Popular culture

See also

References