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In the closing minutes of this advertisement, mannequins and live models appear in Berlei’s figure-hugging foundation garments, the ‘basis for all frocking’. After an elaborate pyramid display of mannequins wearing the latest fashions, a single mannequin is shown wearing a ‘flapper’ style dress. This dissolves into the mannequin wearing only the foundation garment she has on beneath. Another dissolve goes back to the pyramid of models, all now wearing only their foundation garments which transitions to a final shot of a single live model wearing only Berlei.
These sequences are complemented with intertitles.
Curator’s notes
The importance of having good undergarments to show off these fashions, and hide figure faults, is shown through several dissolves between foundation garments and outerwear worn by the mannequins and live models.
The elaborate tableau of shop mannequins displayed in this advertisement is similar to the female pyramids of Busby Berkley’s Hollywood musicals.
