The history of the baby doll

One of the projects that I am working on right now, and I must say that it requires a great deal of work and time and the deadline is looming near.As usual, for carnival I produce a character that I then play in performace. This year, I am working on something much bigger. As always I have done some research on the theme, and I am including some of it here. I shall also include my sketches and other reference materials, so that my process can be documented.

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From 1956 with the actress Carroll Baker



Baby doll lingerie is extremely popular today. Seen as a nightwear "classic," the babydoll continues to be remade and updated by lingerie designers. Yet very few people know the history of these now-classic pieces. Provided here is a brief guide to the short but interesting history of baby doll lingerie.

Women's nightwear has evolved and changed over time. By the 1930s, short and sensual were the order of the day. Women often wore short negligees with matching "bed jackets," which were short, sensual and sometimes trimmed with feathers or lace. Out of these bed jackets came the first baby doll lingerie pieces.

The garment got its current name from a 1956 film called "Baby Doll," which featured a young Carroll Baker wearing the item. The film was a success, launching a public infatuation with the garment. At that time, babydolls were simple, featuring a flared negligee with a hemline approximately six inches above the knee. Like the earlier bed jackets, baby doll lingerie often featured feathers or lace trim.

It was around that time that a daywear dress in babydoll style was introduced. The dresses maintained the short, sensual feel of the baby doll lingerie, but were more solid and appropriate for public view. Meanwhile, the nightwear version of the babydoll became increasingly more sensual. Gradually creeping shorter, and featuring ever more daring fabrics, baby doll lingerie made the switch from simple nightwear to true sexy lingerie.

Today, vintage baby doll lingerie can be highly valuable. Collectors often search for babydolls that date to the 1950s or 1960s. However, the item has also continued to evolve. Today a sheer babydoll or lace babydoll is easy to find. Hemlines now run the gamut from the traditional six inches above the knee to barely skimming the buttocks. Necklines range from a more traditional scoop neck to a deeply plunging, cleavage-enhancing V-neck. Babydolls are even available that more closely resemble the older bed jackets, featuring one or two front closures.


Referenced from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-History-of-Sexy-Baby-Doll-Lingerie&id=1078022
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THE JAMETTE CARNIVAL
This was a term which was used by the French and English to describe the Carnival celebrations of the African population during the period 1860 to 1896. The term comes from the French “diametre” meaning beneath the diameter of respectability, or the underworld . It was a term used at that time to describe a certain class in the community.

The view of the whites was that the Carnival activities were immoral, obscene and violent. The kalenda, the drumming, the dances and the sexually explicit masquerades were thought to be totally objectionable.
They were fully supported in this view by the contemporary press. Throughout the period there was a sustained attack on Carnival in most newspaper editorials. This ranged from outright condemnation to calls for a total ban. This was also the era of repressive legislation. The British Colonial Government passed several laws against all forms of African cultural traditions. As was seen in 1881, it took more than legislation and police batons to stop the Carnival. For the more repressive the legislation, the more aggressive the reponses. Carnival was more than just music , masquerade and dance. It was about their very existence.

Who were these Jamettes?
The Jamettes occupied the barrack yards of East Port of Spain. They lived in appalling conditions. These were the stickfighters, prostitutes, chantuelles, matadors, dustmen. There existed all the conditions for social instability : crime, vagrancy, disease, prostitution, unemployment, sexual permissiveness and dysfunctional families. It is no wonder, therefore, that Carnival was embraced with such fervour. For the Jamettes, it was a necessary release from the struggle that was their daily lives.

BABY DOLL
The baby doll character, which is now extinct, was played up to the 1930s. The masquerader portrays a gaily dressed doll, decked out in a frilled dress and bonnet. In her arms she carries a doll which symbolises an illegitimate baby. The masquerader portraying the baby doll, stops male passers-by and accuses them of being the baby's father.

http://www.nalis.gov.tt/carnival/carnival.htm
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