Joan Crawford in a still from Dancing Lady (USA, Robert Z Leonard, 1933). From the Taussig film stills collection.

The 'Berlei controllette [corset] no. 6181 SBW (short below waist) type'. The design is particularly beautiful and has echoes of art deco in the triangular shapes and filigree font.

This beautiful design has echoes of art deco.

This slide is another used in the educational training series for Berlei fitters. It compares the tight-laced corsets of the early 1900s with the modern foundation garments of the 1930s.

Two women in white lab coats measure a woman for her foundation garment in a clinical-looking setting complete with scales.

One of the great things about using real women as models is that the women aren't trained in how to stand and pose like other models.

Berlei have always catered for different shapes and sizes of women.

A young girl fills the cup of her smaller companion with milk with a somewhat deadly look in her eye.

This cinema glass slide advertises the services of Berlei corsetiere Mrs Winifred Doyle. Galton's was a department store in Maitland, NSW.

This stern-looking woman is a perfect example of Berlei's use of real women as models.