by Susie Pritchard

Oh, Baby Doll!

Vintage lover and nightwear fan Susie Pritchard tells the story of your favourite piece of frothy nightwear.

Frilly, frothy, sheer shorty nylon nighties may seem a frivolous and impractical piece of nightwear to today’s fleecy PJ and sloppy T-shirt wearing generation. However, there was a time when they were a staple part of every woman’s wardrobe, as shown by their many appearances on film and TV and by the amount of these vintage pretties that are still around today to tell their tales, and to find new lives with current fans of frills and ruffles.   

Baby dolls are the most popular items at my vintage nightwear and lingerie events, and I believe the fascination lies in the delicious balance between super cute and super sexy. The flowing shape that floats out from under the bust and the length, often accompanied by ruffles at the neckline and a sweet little bow on the bodice, is so very reminiscent of little girls’ outfits and resounds with innocence, yet there’s nothing childlike about the very sheer fabric and often plunging necklines when they’re teamed up with the shortness. The wonderful choice of colours from pretty pastels and bridal whites, to rich jewel colours and lacy blacks add to their appeal. The floaty layers of nylon or chiffon with added ribbons and bows simply make a baby doll a fun and feminine thing to wear.   

Although synonymous with 1950’s and 1960’s style, the baby doll nightdress as we know it actually originated in 1942. Its creation is attributed to American lingerie designer Sylvia Pedlar, a charmingly positive response to fabric shortages during World War II when necessity resulted in striking style solutions across the fashion industry. Pedlar ran her own successful company Iris Lingerie from 1929 to 1970, and was known for high quality products as well as developing the Baby Doll and her famous toga-inspired negligee.  Despite these designs becoming known as ‘Baby Dolls’, no doubt because the shape and length resembled baby’s frocks of the time, it’s said that Sylvia herself actually disliked the term and refused to use it.     

The name found its way into more common use in the 1950s when it was popularised by the controversial 1956 film ‘Baby Doll.’ Based on a play by Tennessee Williams, and starring Carroll Baker in the title role as a 19 year old Lolita-styled character, the film has been credited by some as being responsible for the ensuing popularity of the baby doll nightgown, which Baker’s character wears. 

The 1950s were a golden time for Hollywood glamour, and the heyday of classic pin-up style – a term originating from the concept of literally ‘pinning-up’ promotional cards and photos featuring models and actresses and used as ways to get their images out into the world. Iconic models such as Bettie Page became famous for simply being pin-ups. Starlets everywhere posed in baby doll nighties, lingerie outfits, peignoir sets and fluffy high-heeled mules. They captured that magical mix of cute and sexy for magazines, glossy prints and postcards for male consumption.    

But baby dolls weren’t just for posing in! Everywhere I go with a rail of baby dolls for sale, or if I’m showcasing them at a vintage fashion show, I never fail to get comments from ladies who remember having them as part of their everyday wardrobe. They most certainly did wear them to bed, and quite often they remark on collecting them as part of their honeymoon trousseau. Sometimes the nighties would come with a matching jacket or wrap, a few additional layers of floaty nylon to throw on if you had to get up in the night, when sitting up to enjoy a morning cuppa in bed, or heading down to breakfast! The shortest of them would have matching ruffled knickers and I think a pair of fluffy mules would have almost been a necessity. People often tell me they remember their Mum or Nan in a frilly nightie with fluffy slippers!   

Throughout the 1950s, designers like Balenciaga and de Givenchy created forward-thinking couture pieces in the baby doll style. De Givenchy said at the time that “…all my lines are styles for quick and fluid movement. My dresses are real dresses, ultra-light; free of padding and corseting, garments that will float on a body delivered from bondage.” The style, however, truly came into its own in the 1960s when a new generation of young designers, models and style icons swept in, particularly in Britain. The likes of Mary Quant changed the face of fashion. With hemlines across the board being raised, the baby doll-styled dress became popular and the classic nightdress shape hit the streets as daywear too, still incorporating that familiar mix of childlike innocence personified by models such as Twiggy, and the overt sexuality with overtones of female liberation that accompanied the length and soft shape. In hindsight, it’s easy to see that the baby doll form has, in each generation, represented freedom in movement, liberation from fitted shape wear and hemline etiquette, as well as sexual emancipation.   

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, our ubiquitous garment could be found everywhere in popular culture. It was often used to exaggerate a sexy ‘Dolly Bird’ character in a Carry On film or sit-com, or just because they are literally what women wore at that time; a scene in a bed-room would usually involve a baby doll nightwear set. I’ve spotted them in episodes of Whatever Happened to The Likely Lads, Are You Being Served? and as worn by Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers of course! Often accompanied by a head full of curlers and our favourite fluffy slippers. Let’s not forget the famous slumber party scene in Grease. A baby doll nightie or pair of baby doll PJs are practically essential kit for a sleepover, pamper party or girlie night in!   

Into the 1980s our fun and frilly garment made way for the sleeker look of designers like Janet Reger. The classic camisole and French knickers combination became de rigueur, and high-legged teddies replaced ruffled bloomers. However, the baby doll never truly went away and formed the basis for the cult ‘kinderwhore’ look in the 1990s, spearheaded by the likes of Grunge icon Courtney Love. To this day, if I sell a hot pink short nightie it’s as likely to be teamed up with ripped jeans and killer heels as it is with fluffy mules and curlers! In fact, ‘Nightwear as Daywear’ is a continuing theme of mine and it’s interesting to explore different ways of showcasing vintage nightwear, with the baby doll nightie being a permanent favourite! 

A life-long collector of all things old and glamorous, Susie started her own vintage clothing business Wake Up Little Susie in 2010. As a fan of a floaty nightie or a cute pair of PJs, Susie specialises in vintage nightwear and lingerie from all eras which she showcases at her own fashion shows, Pop-Up Boutiques and in themed photo shootsCheck out Susie’s Etsy shop for an ever-changing selection of vintage pretties, and follow her on Social Media for news of upcoming Pop-Ups and collaborations, particularly as this October marks her 10th Business Anniversary!  

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This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Gloria

    Im in search of the company name of lingerie hostess party that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s in California.

  2. Rita Lynne Lerch

    I grew up during 1950’s, and I have found memories of being Dressed in Chiffon and Nylon BabyDolls Nighties , by my Cousins, Shirley and Barbara and their Girlfriends. I often think back to those Wonder days of 1954,, with a fondness, that borders my existence as a Little Girl . The wonderful feeling of Chiffon and Silky of the BabyDoll Nighties against my Silk Panties, would even then lead me to experience the Joys of CrossDressing, the exectence of the Girls , was wonderful. I felt only their love, for me and my Mother and my Aunts who love me, not as the little boy ,that I had left behind, as I was Mother’s Little Princess. And they knew it.
    It started in Easten, Penn., where Mother had often expressed her desire to have a Little Daughter of her own. So on that August afternoon in 1949, when I was 2 1/2 years old; Mother and her friend, Janet decided to Dress me as my Morher’s Little Daughter.

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