Artist Kelly Butler creates unique lighting for your home. Her Tramp Lamps, made from vintage lingerie, cast a seductive spell on me the minute I found her website, so I just had to talk with her about these cool lamps.

What inspired these lamps? I wanted to make something that obviously no one had done before, and I researched the idea well in advance so I would not step on anyone’s toes. I was delighted to find no other product like this in existence and in September, 2003, I began making and selling the Tramp Lamps. If you see any copies of my lamps on the market today, in 2006, be sure that either the manufacturer intentionally copied my creation or that they have never been on the world wide web.

Without giving away any secrets, tell us the process of making a Tramp Lamp. Messy. First, I clip off any details that I can apply later, such as small ribbons, beads, and bows. Then I dip each garment in a vat of handmade-water-based-goo. While they marinate in my mixture I may have another batch lined up awaiting to be cured as well. I produce anywhere from 12 to 20 lamps at a time this way. Then, once they are saturated, I hang them up and sculpt them to look like the female form. Then they dry. This takes anywhere from 5 days to a week and a half depending on how many coats of the solution they require. The solution gets sprayed on to each lamp several times after the initial dipping. It’s a long process and it cannot be rushed.

Where do you find your vintage lingerie? I shop for garments at vintage stores, thrift stores and online, then I bring them back to my studio and arrange them the way they must be to go into my bath of solution. Vintage underwear is a mixed blessing to search for. Sometimes, its easy to find in stores because people are reluctant to purchase it for personal wearing… perhaps they find it too weird to go on that part of the body? Or, it’s too difficult to find, because retailers of vintage shops know it doesn’t sell well, and therefore they don’t bother carrying it.

What, if any, considerations do you have when selecting lingerie to transform? Will it hold my solution well? Will it repel it? Will it filter light well? Will it look great “stiff?” Will it make a killer lamp? New garments tend to be less “curvy” than say a bustier someone wore all the time, thereby giving the garment their own body’s pressure-treatment and shape. Those hard wires bend over time and follow the natural curve of the waist in repose. These used garments naturally become ideal lamps with very little coaxing from my hands.

I am sure you’ve heard some vintage lingerie collectors complain that you’re ‘ruining’ rare items… how do you respond? I actually haven’t had any complaints from lingerie purists that I am desecrating the fabric; in fact, they are glad to see it used in such a creative way, rather than getting rot from sitting in someone’s drawer. Too old to wear, too beautiful to chuck, this is a good compromise. Light it up and it’s almost pure in its preservation. I don’t dare claim that it is an archival process, but I do think it will last longer this way than stuffed in a drawer or an attic chest.

What were you doing before the lamps? I was the lead painter at a small shoe company located here in Nashville, called Kiss My Feet, where we produced hand painted sandals for high-end boutiques near and far.

Is this a full time venture now? I did quit my job with the shoe company to pursue Tramp Lamps full time in January of 2004. However, I have not found it to be lucrative enough to be my sole source of income and I have had to take on odd jobs to pay my bills. I would love for it to be my one and only money source, but I haven’t found whatever the secret is to make this happen. (If someone out there has any leads for me, now is the time to let me know!)

Is this a solo project, or do others work for/with you? It’s all me. My friends and family encourage me, but I man the operation from building the lamps, shipping, web site, and press.

What is your favorite part of the work? I love finishing a lamp. And lighting it up. I love naming the new lamps as I put them up on the web site.

Least favorite? When a lamp I have been working on just doesn’t come out right or look good. I hate the hours of lost time that went in to making a lamp that fails to cure properly.

Were you a lingerie collector before you began these lamps? No. Frankly, I could never wear something so constrictive. But I love the look of the garment and I love the image of a woman in a corset. I’m just not the body type, myself, to wear one… comfortably.

Is there anything you do collect, Kelly? I was obsessed with bugs bunny when I was in high school… I guess I have quite a bit of Bugs toys and hours of Cartoons I dubbed form my Betamax onto VHS when I was a teenager. I love toys from thrift stores and the idea of altering them and making art pieces from them appeals to me lately.

Kelly’s studio is located in her basement in Nashville, Tennessee. Tramp Lamps are available on her web site, TrampLamps.com, and are sold at number of small boutiques around the country. Visit her website for an updated list of boutiques.

All images © Kelly Butler & Tramp Lamps.

When someone says “1950’s slips” do images of vintage crinolines spring to mind?

While those stiff netted petticoats were popular in the 50s’s (and often desired due to the fragile state of netting), for many vintage lingerie collectors, the 50’s slip is far more a tactile, sensual treat…

In the 50’s to 60’s era, Dupont nylon was introduced and became widely used in most lingerie and undergarments. Designers started blending nylon with fine rayon and satin and this is an era when so many incredible silky slips were produced. You also see a lot of fancy lacework, flouncey hemlines, chiffon, imported laceworks, etc.

In the 1950-60s era, there is a ‘wedding lace’ slip which consisted of the incredibly beautiful micro-pleated chiffon and imported lacework.

Slips give an nod to an era of beauty & glamour icons (Who can forget Elizabeth Taylor or Marilyn Monroe in their slips?), yet they continue to beckon today. Physically, slips are intimate items; seen by few, yet they are demur by today’s lingerie standards. Like the glamorous and romantic details of the garments themselves, slips speak of elements which often seem missing from our in-your-face culture.

You might say slips are some of the most flirtatious collectibles around.

All images © Glamour Gurlz

Slips are some of the most popular and sought after garments in vintage lingerie collecting because they combine the details that delight the senses as well as the emotions. Vintage slips offer visual and textural treats: the indulgence of abundant lace and flouncing hemlines, the luxury of real silk, the charm of chiffon, the drama in the drape of bias cut heavy satin, the slip and sheen of high quality nylon…

But by the late 1970s, when women stopped wearing slips & bras and other foundation undergarments as a part of their daily dressing, many manufacturers stopped making these items alltogether. Those that continued to make them opted to play it cost effective and stopped importing French lace and ended investing in expensive fabrics such as high quality blended nylon satin and silks. Of course, now that these delightful unmentionables are no longer made, slips are hot on the collectible market.

Recently, I sat down to talk with Kimberly, a fellow vintage lingerie collector and owner of Glamour Gurlz Vintage Slips, to discuss the allure of vintage slips.

Kimberly, when did you first fall in love with vintage lingerie?

I personally began collecting vintage lingerie and other glamorous vintage ‘dress up’ items when my dear sweet grandmother passed away about 15 years ago. My mother & I had to sort through all of her beautiful & glamorous lingerie, foundations, costume jewelry & clothing, so that we could donate it to charity. As we sorted through her things, we reminisced about watching her sitting at her vanity, clad in girdle, slip, stockings, heels and bullet bra — This was the era when it was an ‘art’ to make yourself as desirable as possible. I remembered how I used to think “I wanna be just like that when I grow up!” And then I thought to myself, “There is no way I can part with such grand memories!”

But still why ‘old’ & not ‘new?’
Lingerie and glamour accessories in today’s market are not the quality product you find in a vintage item. For example: A modern full slip in today’s market usually consists of a basic nylon in black, white or beige or the standard ‘polyester’ satins. Finding one with more than an inch of lacework is almost non-existent.
Slipping into vintage lingerie takes you to a whole new level of sexiness… I honestly believe once anyone owns a piece of vintage lingerie, they will never go back to the modern, flimsy mass produced styles. When you buy vintage, your buying a piece of history, a collectable, one of a kind item.

But, in a nutshell, those who have owned vintage lingerie become addicted…

Do you have a favorite style or time period?

A favorite of mine was introduced to me by a close friend a few years ago… the designer is Saramae Lingerie and was sold by high end department stores from the 40’s through the early 70s.

These are extremely rare pieces of lingerie and very hard to come by, so when I find one I jump on them.

They normally consist of soft silky nylon with a extraordinary 5-10″ imported cut out lacework, backed in a sheer soft pink or contrasting chiffon.

I currently have over 100 in my personal collection by Saramae Lingerie and do not intend to sell them. I collect these as a true collectable piece of history, a rare and unique gem.

(To Be Continued)