Month of Vintage Underwear: Sourcing Reproduction Garments

There’s a lot to be said for a good vintage reproduction.

Reproduction garments are new and shiny, and have never been worn. Their elastic is not 50 years old. They are less delicate. You can pick your size. You can sometimes even choose the color!

And yet, I don’t buy much repro, mostly because of the cost. However, there are some brands I like.

Merchants With Which I Have Experience

Rago Shapewear 

Rago is not technically a reproduction brand–they’ve just been making stuff since 1945. A lot of it is pretty much the same. My (used) Rago cincher-girdle-thing is this one. It does the mid-century job. This is shape wear that does not mess.

Leg Avenue

Your basic stockings. Ubiquitous to costume shops and sex stores. I think they’re overpriced, but it’s convenient if you need to pick up a pair of stockings in real life.

Ebay

Not just the world’s garage sale–there are sellers of reproduction lingerie! Some of my favorites have been:

Europastyle0092–Good quality steel-boned corsets at an unbeatable price.

Handmade Petticoats–I love my petticoat from this seller–a collective of sewing ladies in Wales–and their prices are very reasonable. Goodness knows I don’t want to gather all that organza!

Brands I Don’t Have, but Have Seen Up Close and Covet 

What Katie Did

If I were going to spend significant money on vintage reproduction lingerie, this is where I would. They have a variety of period-appropriate silhouettes in period-appropriate colors and it’s so purty I can hardly stand it. But I refuse to spend $50 on a pair of tap pants. That’s just not going to happen.

Orchard Corset

A wide selection of corset styles, and they’re well made and sturdy. Many colors and fabrics, sometimes good deals to be found in their clearance section. I don’t wear corsets enough to need more than one, at present.

Any good sources I missed?