History and operations
The business began in 1946 in a Fifth Avenue loft in New York City, moved to the West Coast in 1947, and by 1996 had 200 stores across the country. [1]
The business was started by Frederick Mellinger [2] ("inventor of the Rising Star [3] push-up bra, the edible panty, and myriad garments whose chief attributes were that one could see through them and remove them quickly" [4] ). [5] Frederick's sold bras, panties, corsets, bedroom slippers, a vast array of hosiery, bridal lingerie, special occasion lingerie, and more. The original flagship store, [6] in a former Kress department store location, [7] at 6608 Hollywood Boulevard, next to J.J. Newberry's, [8] was a landmark on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
The store previously housed The Lingerie Museum featuring The Celebrity Lingerie Hall of Fame (that replaced its Bra Museum), which exhibited a collection of underwear worn by Hollywood movie stars, such as one of Madonna's black pointy-breasted bustiers, the black lace bra and panties that Zsa Zsa Gabor wore in the 1953 film, Lili , a petticoat that Ava Gardner wore in Show Boat , a white peignoir that Mae West wore for Life magazine in 1952, the Milton Berle in-drag costume, [9] [10] and those worn by Cher, Judy Garland, Cybill Shepherd, Belinda Carlisle, Phyllis Diller, Lana Turner, Shirley MacLaine, Tony Curtis, Mary Wilson, Mamie van Doren, the Pointer Sisters, Ethel Merman, Amanda Blake and Isabel Sanford. [11] [12]
Frederick's of Hollywood was the market leader [13] in lingerie until the 1980s when it was overtaken by Victoria's Secret. [5]
see: Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Hollywood#Repentant lingerie looter
In 1992, Frederick's lingerie museum drew national media attention when looted during the Los Angeles riots. Madonna’s black bustier, which was worn in her music video for Open Your Heart, was stolen and has never been returned despite a $1,000 reward from Frederick’s. Madonna gave the museum a replacement in exchange for a $10,000 donation to an organization that supplied free mammograms to people experiencing poverty. Other lingeries stolen in the store were "a petticoat Ava Gardner wore in Show Boat [14] [15] and a push-up bra worn by actress Katey Sagal in Married... with Children . One repentant looter delivered a bag of Gardner's and Sagal's lingeries to the pastor at nearby Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Hollywood. [16] [17] [18] An Austin newspaper noted that Blessed Sacrament's pastor "may be the only priest in America to ever comfort a man who felt guilty about stealing celebrity bloomers." [19] In an article titled "Support Is Generous for Bra Museum", the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted that such an "uplifting story could only happen in Hollywood." [20]
In 2001, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In 2003, it emerged from bankruptcy and was headquartered in Los Angeles.
In 2006, it merged with New York City sleepwear manufacturer Movie Star, and the headquarters was moved to New York. [21]
In September 2005, after 59 years, the store moved to the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.
In 2008, the company changed its name to Frederick's of Hollywood Group Inc. [22] The company was traded on the American Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FOHL.
In May 2014, the company was taken private by Harbinger Group and other investors. [23] Its headquarters remain in New York City.
In 2015, the company closed its stores and again filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [24] [25] Its brand and online operations were acquired by Authentic Brands Group. The company announced it would be online only, with possible plans to create products for sale in department stores and other retail outlets. [26]
In 2018, the company's online operations were acquired by the Naked Brand Group Inc. [27] [28]
Some of the lingerie worn by the iconic 1950s pin-up Bettie Page was from Frederick's of Hollywood. [5]
Lingerie is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments, sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashionable, or both. In a 2015 US survey, 75% of women reported having worn "sexy lingerie" in their lifetime.
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