Backless Collection

The Tatler Summer Number front cover 1932
Jolly front cover design for the Tatlers Summer Number featuring two cheery beach belles wearing fashionable pyjama suits. One smokes a cigarette while the other grins under a wide brimmed sun hat

Britannia and Eve magazine, March 1940
Front cover illustration featuring a glamorous 1930s woman wearing a red backless dress, red and white bangles and holding a white mask

Advertisement for the Kestos Backless Brassiere 1935
Advertisement for the Kestos Backless Brassiere

Glamorous Dancers
DANCE EVENING IN BERLIN An array of glamorous couples, the women in colourful backless evening dresses

Advert for Kestos lingerie 1939
Women wearing new girdles and high-line brassiers. Date: 1939

Three Women Relaxing by a Screen, (etching and drypoint)
990942 Three Women Relaxing by a Screen, (etching and drypoint) by Icart, Louis (1888-1950); 56x46 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: Three Women Relaxing by a Screen. Louis Icart (c.1888-1950)

Dogaresse - Evening Gown by Jenny, 1919-21 (pochoir print)
781121 Dogaresse - Evening Gown by Jenny, 1919-21 (pochoir print) by Barbier, Georges (1882-1932); Private Collection; (add.info.: Dogaresse - Robe du Soir de Jenny Illustration from La Guirlande)

Le Grand Decolletage, engraving by H. Reidel, 1921 (pochoir print)
1123815 Le Grand Decolletage, engraving by H. Reidel, 1921 (pochoir print) by Barbier, Georges (1882-1932); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection

The Sofa, c. 1937 (etching and drypoint, mounted and framed)
991017 The Sofa, c.1937 (etching and drypoint, mounted and framed) by Icart, Louis (1888-1950); 44.3x66 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: The Sofa. Louis Icart (1888-1950)

Poster advertising travel to Atlantic City by Pennsylvania Railroad
1770018 Poster advertising travel to Atlantic City by Pennsylvania Railroad, 1935 (offset colour lithograph) by Eggleston

Une Robe du Soir de Worth, from a Collection of Fashion Plates, 1920 (pochoir print)
3436065 Une Robe du Soir de Worth, from a Collection of Fashion Plates, 1920 (pochoir print) by French School, (20th century); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; French, out of copyright

Maria Corda - Hungarian actress
Maria Corda (1898-1976) - Hungarian actress and a star of the silent film era in Germany and Austria. Date: circa 1920s

Art Deco dresses
Two fashionable women, one wearing backless yellow evening dress, one wearing printed dress and fur collar. Date: circa 1930

Evening dress by Worth, 1931
Two views of an evening dress by Worth in beige and deep chestnut satin worn with sandals. Date: 1931

Auf der Treppe, Evening Dresses by Wiener, from Styl, pub. 1922 (pochoir print)
3496795 Auf der Treppe, Evening Dresses by Wiener, from Styl, pub.1922 (pochoir print) by German School, (20th century); The Stapleton Collection; German, out of copyright

Viscountess Wimborne (oil on canvas)
BAL23015 Viscountess Wimborne (oil on canvas) by Lavery, John (1856-1941); Private Collection; (add.info.: Alice Grosvenor (1880-1948)

Couple dancing 1950
Couple wearing evening dress, dancing close together. Date: 1950

The Cult of Nudity - sunbathing fashions, 1930s
Page from The Sphere reporting on the growing vogue for sunbathing fashions, particularly backless swimsuits - a style that began at the fashionable French resorts of the Riviera

Advert for Louvre evening dresses 1929
Two long and elegent evening dresses, black and pink gown that is closely moulded to the figure almost to the knee then flares out

Backless sun dress from Harvey Nichols, 1934
Two views of a backless sun dress in uncrushable cotton showing a broken plaid and check design in a variety of pastel colours, worn with a snappy little coat. Date: 1934

Floral evening dress 1934
Vivid floral backless evening dress with draped neckline, high across the front and frills that cover the shoulder meet the pleated drapery at the back of the waist

At Dressmakers 1913
A dressmaker adjusts the hem of a tango skirt which is worn with a backless, sleeveless tunic & striped sash. A gentleman holds her fur- trimmed mantle. Date: 1913

Advert for Kestos lingerie 1937
Backless bras for evening and sports wear. 1937

Estelle Lingerie Glamour Wear - Backless Bra, Easy Tights. 1971

Woman in red backless dress smoking
Front cover of Pan magazine, featuring a 1920s red haired woman smoking two cigarettes on holders. Date: 1920

Woman holding a red feathered fan
Woman with a backless dress, looking over her shoulder holding a red feathered fan. Date: 1917

Advert for Le Gant corsets 1935
Le Gant made of the uncopyable youthlastic... Has infused a new tradition of elegance into modern corsetry everyone of these beautiful garments is a distinctive creation with its own peculiar charm

Lady Behave - cover and spine by David Wright
Fabulous book cover design by pin up artist David Wright for a book entitled, Lady Behave" by Peter Cheney. The artwork depicts a haughty looking woman with auburn hair

Advert for Martin-White swimsuits 1936
Swim and tan in the only watersuit with the built-in Kestos brassiere. Invisible and unsuspected to all but the wearer, the Kestos brassiere gives uplift, support and beauty to feminine curves

Fashion for winter 1934
Three women wearing vivid printed evening dresses, dress on the left made from crepe-de-chine draped neckline and frilled sleeves, tied at the back with a long sash

Off The Shoulder
4th November 1957: A young debutante making her social debut at a formal party. Womans Own (Photo by Chaloner Woods/Getty Images)

Back Fashion
A backless dress by Victor Stiebel in striped organdie. Cut on the cross, it clings to the hips and then flares out to a floor length skirt

Backless Fashion
5th November 1949: Pariss latest fashion items place the accent on necklines, using roses, frills, and feathers to emphasize necks and bosoms

Two Bathing Beauties
Los Angeles, California: c.1935. Bathing beauties Adrienne Dore and Mae Madison look ready to take the plunge in their backless bathing suits

A Glamourous Woman Smoking
United States: 1932. A glamorous woman wearing a low-backed gown, sitting with her back to the camera, smoking a cigarette

Advert for Kestos lingerie 1940
Advertisement for womens backless brassiere. Date: 1940

Advert for Wills Gold Flake cigarettes 1939
Whats yours ? Its a Wills Gold Flake the mens cigarette that women like. Date: 1939

Advert for Kestos lingerie 1936
One brassiere for day or backless wear. Worn exclusively by the smartest women since its creation, the Kestos Brassiere has achieved a niche for itself unequalled by any other

Blonde woman in black by David Wright
Glamorous blonde woman wearing a backless black evening dress and gloves. Date: c.1945

Pin-up sunbathing by David Wright
A pin-up by David Wright wearing a backless halter neck sundress. c.1945

Advert for Kestos lingerie
The sign of good breeding... Advertisement for the Kestos backless brassiere. Date: 1937

Advert for Kestos lingerie 1935

Young lady in backless evening gown by Premet
Young lady wearing a backless evening gown in gold with large printed roses and fur hem, by Premet. 1924

Lady Behave
Fabulous book cover design by pin up artist David Wright for a book entitled, Lady Behave" by Peter Cheney. The artwork depicts a haughty looking woman with auburn hair

Advertisement for Kestos Backless Brassieres and girdles

Gown with Frills / Rochas
Backless, black velvet, halter neck evening gown by Rochas with a bustle effect created by a cascade of organdie frills descending from beneath a large bow at the back

Gown by Jean Desses
An evening gown in pale blue silk by Jean Desses of Paris with contrasting sash, draped skirt & interesting back detail where the halter strap is attached to the skirt

White Bathing Costume
Fifties blonde wears a backless, white one-piece bathing costume while sitting on a sandy beach

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"Backless: A Journey Through Time and Fashion" Step back in time with us as we explore the captivating allure of "backless" fashion. From the iconic front cover of The Tatler Summer Number in 1932 to the pages of Britannia and Eve magazine in March 1940, this trend has left an indelible mark on history. In 1935, an advertisement for the Kestos Backless Brassiere revolutionized lingerie, providing women with a newfound sense of freedom and confidence. Glamorous dancers adorned stages, their backs exposed to captivate audiences with every graceful movement. The enchanting world of Kestos lingerie continued its reign in 1939, enticing women with its seductive designs. Meanwhile, couples swayed elegantly on dance floors in the 1950s, showcasing the timeless elegance that a backless gown could bring. But it wasn't just about fashion; it was a cultural shift too. The cult of nudity emerged during the sunbathing fashions of the 1930s when daring individuals embraced baring their backs under warm rays. Art deco sketches by G. Peres depicted glamorous young ladies embracing this liberating trend as early as 1923. Artistic expressions also captured moments frozen in time - three women relaxing by a screen etched into eternity through drypoint techniques; Dogaresse's evening gown by Jenny showcased pochoir print's ability to highlight bare-backed beauty from between 1919-21; H. Reidel's engraving titled "Le Grand Decolletage" celebrated this alluring style in stunning detail during1921. Even furniture became part of this narrative - "The Sofa, " created around c. 1937 using etching and drypoint techniques mounted and framed - symbolizing how deeply ingrained backlessness had become within society's aesthetic consciousness. Through these glimpses into our past, we witness how "backless" fashion transcended mere clothing choices.