Would you buy second hand underwear?

I know this may sound really weird to some, but I love buying second hand underwear... Now get your mind out of the gutter. I'm not talking about old, used, stained panties from a vending machine in Japan (that story is for another time!) I'm talking about vintage pieces you will never be able to get anywhere else, ever again. I like to raid op shops whenever I get a chance, to see if I can find lingerie from different eras. Be it the flouncy teddies of the 1980s, the steel boned corsets of the early 1900s. I have a thing for 1970s polyester nightgowns and love a good old 1960s girdle. I don't usually wear the pieces that I buy, but I collect them like a time stamp of how far lingerie has come over the years.

The photo shoot I am using in this post feature my 1930s steel boned corset/girdle. I picked it up at a Sydney Op shop for $30 and if you follow me on Twitter.com/MyLingerieAddic you would have heard about it already. I always go straight to the dodgy lingerie/swimwear section of these stores to browse through the goodies no one else wants and that's when I found this piece. I actually screamed when I saw it and had to beg my friend to jump up and snatch it off the top rack as I couldn't reach. Now no one would've fought me for this piece, so I don't know why I reacted this way. It was old, used, stained and AMAZING! I was in love. I couldn't quite tell at the time how it sat. Was it a corset? Was it a girdle? Was it interchangeable? I had no idea but I knew it would live happily in my lingerie family for the rest of my life.

I wanted to use this corset/girdle in a photo shoot, as I thought the piece fascinating. I wonder who wore it all those years ago? It was well used, restitched by hand and damn ugly and beautiful at the same time. I wanted to see it on a model as a fashion piece like a skirt with the strap work visible. Back in the day it was used to control the body, now I wanted to use the body to control the garment and change the image it originally stood for. This to me was a statement piece and I just had to use it.

I was approached by the gorgeously talented Elisenda Russell to borrow some of my personal collection for an upcoming shoot she had planned. The aim was to combine some light and airy pastel hues in a sunset shoot. Mixing soft yet strong lingerie pieces layered with with fur, sequins and tulle. Her image was delightful and I happily opened up my wardrobe to her. The piece I immediately thought of was the corset. It was in the most wonderful pale pink colour but still had this controlling sense to it. It was teamed up with a Dimity So bra I picked up at the Bendon outlet for $5. And what an amazing combination it became.

Photography & Styling: Elisenda Russell
M.U.A: Kylie Fenech
Model: Aneeka Simonis

Gwendolynne: Tule&Sequin Bollero
Un Real Fur: Grey Racoon

This is only one of many second hand lingerie pieces I own and I will feature some of my more spectacular finds as the blog continues. 

Have you ever purchased second hand lingerie before or am I the only one?