Sylvia Pedlar

Sylvia Pedlar (1901-1972) was an American fashion designer specialising in lingerie.^[1] She is the only designer to have won the Special Coty Award more than once, in 1951 and 1964.^[1]

Born Sylvia Schlang in 1901 in New York, she was an art student at Cooper Union and the Art Students League of New York before marrying William A. Pedlar.^[1] In 1929 she launched her own business, Iris Lingerie, which she headed through to its closure in 1970.^[1]

For her success Pedlar relied on the high quality of her product rather than employing salesmen or purchasing advertising.^[2] She is credited with creating super-short babydoll nighties in the early 1940s as a response to fabric shortages during World War II, although she hated the term "baby doll" and refused to use it.^[3] One of her most famous innovations was the easily removable toga-inspired négligée specially designed for women who slept in the nude.^[3] She used the toga theme throughout her career,^[4] with one négligée prominently featured in 1962 by both Life and Harper's Bazaar.^[3][5] She also reworked Victorian styles such as the traditional modest flannel Mother Hubbard nightgown, which she produced in sheer flowing cotton,^[3] and reproduced nineteenth-century whitework embroidery by machine to such a high standard that her work rivalled luxurious handmade French lingerie.^[6] Examples of Pedlar lingerie are held by the Costume Institute,^[4][5][6] and archival material dating from 1946-1967 is held by the Fashion Institute of Technology.^[1]

Pedlar died in New York on the 26th February 1972.^[1]

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