Sylvia Pedlar (1900–1972) was an American fashion designer specialising in lingerie. She is the only designer to have won the Special Coty Award more than once, in 1951 and 1964. Born Sylvia Schlang in 1900 in New York, she was an art student at

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

and the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

before marrying William A. Pedlar. In 1929 she launched her own business, Iris Lingerie, which she headed through to its closure in 1970. For her success Pedlar relied on the high quality of her product rather than employing salesmen or purchasing advertising.
Cited by Blausen
) She is credited with creating super-short

babydoll A babydoll is a short, sleeveless, loose-fitting nightgown or negligee, intended as nightwear for women. It sometimes has formed cups called a bralette for cleavage with an attached, loose-fitting skirt falling in length usually between the ...

nighties in the early 1940s as a response to fabric shortages during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, although she hated the term "baby doll" and refused to use it. One of her most famous innovations was the easily removable

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

-inspired négligée specially designed for women who slept in the nude. She used the toga theme throughout her career, with one négligée prominently featured in 1962 by both ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' and ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

''. She also reworked Victorian styles such as the traditional modest

flannel Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of varying fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, ...

Mother Hubbard nightgown, which she produced in sheer flowing cotton, and reproduced nineteenth-century

whitework embroidery Whitework embroidery is any embroidery technique in which the stitch and the foundation fabric (traditionally white linen) are of same color. Styles of whitework embroidery include most drawn thread work, broderie anglaise, Hardanger embroidery, ...

by machine to such a high standard that her work rivalled luxurious handmade French lingerie. Examples of Pedlar lingerie are held by the

Costume Institute The Anna Wintour Costume Center is a wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art The Met Fifth Avenue, main building in Manhattan that houses the collection of the Costume Institute, a curatorial department of the museum focused on fashion and costume ...

, and archival material dating from 1946-1967 is held by the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. It focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It was founded in ...

. Pedlar died in New York on the February 26, 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedlar, Sylvia 1900 births 1972 deaths American fashion designers American women fashion designers Fashion designers from New York City Cooper Union alumni Art Students League of New York alumni Lingerie designers