Retro Chick Competitions, Vintage

Lingerie Love – Rago Shapewear

Buying vintage lingerie is a bit of a minefield. For starters, we don’t all feel comfortable in someone elses old undercrackers, and if you’re lucky enough to find some deadstock, then what are the chances you’ll find it in your size?

There are some fabulous reproduction companies out there, but today I’m going to share a secret favourite among vintage ladies who’ve been making their support wear since the 1940s.

rago advert 1954

Rago Shapewear was established in 1945 as Rago Foundations in the US. It was started by Italian immigrants Jack Rago and Matty Marchisella who refined the function of their shapewear over 50 years using feedback from consumers and the staff in corset fitting rooms to create the perfect shape with their shapewear.

As the 60s arrived and tights or pantyhose became more popular than stockings many manufacturers went out of business, or just stopped making traditional girdles and corselettes. Much to the relief of many a modern vintage gal, Rago struggled on, and saw an upsurge in the 80s and 90s.

One of the reasons it’s such a popular brand among vintage loving ladies is that the shapewear from Rago is glamorous but also practical and comfortable shapewear, that gives an authentic vintage silhouette.

Rago is stocked by one of my sponsors Pin Up Parade, and I’ve managed to persuade her to give me a £20 voucher to spend on Rago Shapewear to give away to one of you, details on how to enter at the bottom of the post!

Rago 21 Waist Cincher

This waist cincher was one of the first cinchers I found out about when researching shapewear when I started wearing vintage. It’s perfect for wearing under 50s frocks with a tight waist.

rago 21

 

Rago Extra Firm Corselette

I love corselettes for a smooth line under fitted dresses. The Rago one also has a great bra that gives the bustline a vintage silhouette. Not as extreme as a bullet bra, more like the Triumph Doreen, with a subtle “lift and separate” vibe!

corselette

 

Rago Light Control Girdle

A good sort of “everyday” girdle to keep your stockings up and smooth the hip area. I often wear girdles under pencil skirts.

light control

If you’d like to add some Rago to your lingerie drawer, then Pin Up Parade has very kindly given me a £20 voucher to give away to one of you. All you need to do to enter is leave a comment, and then fill in the Rafflecopter widget. You can leave a comment anyway, but your entry will only count if you fill in the rafflecopter widget afterwards! I’ve also added 2 optional extra entries, because, well, why not, so if you’re a Facebook fan of Pin Up Parade or Retro Chick then that’s 2 bonus entries.

The competition is open worldwide, as Pin Up Parade ship worldwide!

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

203 replies on “Lingerie Love – Rago Shapewear”
  2. says: Emily DeFelice

    I really like the Rago Extra Firm Corselette I had a nosy on Pin Up parade but alas they don’t seem to have my bra size. 🙁

  5. says: Siofra

    I usually only wear shapewear when I’m wearing a pencil dress. I have to say it’s no where near as fancy as this though. I love the Rago 21 Waist Cincher. 🙂

  6. says: La procratineuse

    I have a Rago 1294 in black. I love that this shapewear can also look pretty (unlike most spanks style garments). The 6 stocking straps can be easily tucked in if not needed (too bad thay are not detachable).

  7. says: 1973Human

    I’ve had one of the waist cinchers for about 5 years and it is great – can’t recommend it enough. I’d love to try one of the corselettes.

  9. says: Melody

    Rago is my favourite shapewear brand! I was bought their firm girdle for christmas – and I tell you, that thing is AMAZING. Pulls in my tummy without the “too tight” feeling, makes my bum look awesome and is incredibly comfortable. Plus, I love their hook-and-eye and zip closure – that closure is not going to wear or pull any time soon!

    One thing I think is a great selling point of their garments is the size range, they go up to a 6XL if I remember? Brilliant. And the pricing is so on point.

  10. says: Mafalda C.

    I’d been eyeing their new shapewear for a while! Shapewear is a must for sure, I’ve been wearing simple Kiss me Deadly girdles and belts for everyday stockings hold-up but some frocks just require a flatter figure.

  11. says: Kathryn Lawrence

    I love my Rago corselette. It was the first piece of shapewear I bought in 2006 and still going strong 🙂

  12. says: Joanne Curtis

    Never tried any of the Rago shapewear, its always been a little too expensive and the kids need feeding first! lol

  13. says: @carolinesweetie

    I bought my first bullet bra last week, quite a different shape from what I’m used to. I think some Argo in my wardrobe would be good, especially for my dresses.

  15. says: Fay

    Really loved the fitted Corselette, but it doesn’t go down to my back size. The dresses are lovely though, especially the red Gigi Bettie Page one. Site could be a little easier to navigate, but there’s some lovely stuff there!

  21. says: Natalie

    These are so pretty! And a lot more reasonably priced than some other vintage-style shapewear brands I’ve seen

    1. says: Anthea

      Oops, I hit the post comment button a bit too fast.

      A waist cincher is on my wish list!

      OccaI wear occasionally shapewear, certainly not on a daily basis.

  25. says: Sharon Griffin

    i wear my control underwear on special occasions and feel more confident when i have it on, especially when wearing tighter dresses 😉

  28. says: KATHY DOWNING

    I wear shape wear every day but nothing as glamorous as this unfortunately.
    I once wore hold up stocking inside out and as I walked down the road they were getting lower and lower = in the end I had to hold the tops through my skirt until I could take them off. Was not funny at the time but now I laugh whenever I think of it

  37. says: Isabel

    I wear my giant shaping pants when I am wearing a fitted dress, so usually on special occasions. Nothing as pretty as the ones above though, mine are bog standard M&S.

  41. says: Vic

    Ooh I’d love to win the light control girdle, been after one for a while. I mainly wear shape wear and stockings for going out and special occasions but would love to wear stockings more often
    Vic

  45. says: Kim

    I’ve been eyeing the waist cincher for a while, would love the voucher to put towards finally getting one!

  46. says: marie yeardley

    Rago Extra Firm Corselette my husband bought me one for christmas and I love it, I wear it when we go on a date night with some lovely fully seamed stockings

  50. says: Sarah

    My mom could do with one of these, lets just say she got caught out when we were on holiday – we went to a restaurant and there was a very powerful fan above us as we walked in. What she had on was not quite as attractive as these!! very embarrassing for her but a great memory for me!

  55. says: Fran

    How fabulous! Just discovered your blog and its great, a peach of a post too – the only sort of shaping underwear I have is a pair of spanks! eek. May have to invest in something like this!

  60. says: Amanda Milton

    I wear shape wear for special occasions,under my 50’s dresses,love the waist cincher 🙂

  61. says: Alex Backhouse

    Ooooh I’ve always loved the look of Rago shapewear, but I still haven’t got round to buying any! Tut tut me!

  64. says: Ronni Astroff

    Shapely and retro, I like. I only wear for special occasions, would wear more often if I could find comfortable shapewear.

  77. says: Darlene Ovenstone

    I really like the Rago Extra Firm Corselette. I have never tried any of the stuff but would love to. 🙂

  86. says: jesscawabbit

    This all looks absolutely stunning! I only usually wear it for special occasions, but the rate i’m going with confidence everyday with be an absolute boost! x

  92. says: Lori Smith (@lipsticklori)

    Argh… technology fail! It would’nt let me log in via FB to leave a comment. Thankfully I managed to log in to the Rafflecopter widget via FB though and it then said “Tell me your favourite piece of Rago shapewear, your stories about stockings, or whether you wear shapewear every day, or just for special occasions!” – is that what I should have put in my comment? I’d like to try the Rago 21 waist cincher because all my 50s frocks and skirts feel a bit snug on the waist now. The What Katie Did glamour girdle that I’m wearing today doesn’t go up high enough, sadly. I’m trying to wear shapewear more often these days – it used to just be for special occasions.

  99. says: jessica agyin

    i have never worn retro style lingerie. but always wanted to try. i think it looks very sexy and classy

  102. says: Samantha R

    I have never tried shape wear, I am planning on investing in some for my wedding later this year

  103. says: Anna Linna

    I love shapewear, especially anything that keeps my stomach flat. I’ve had two kids, and let me tell you, it’s not pretty down there…

  105. says: Karen Lloyd

    I only wear shapewear for a special evening out to flatter my figure in a nice fitted dress

  106. says: Emily Fowler

    I wear corsets quite often, just not normally under my clothes 😉 I wear a lot of pencil skirts and 50s style dresses so am going to start taking the plunge and get some shapewear to avoid having to suck it in!

  110. says: linda

    I had no idea this brand really dates back from the 1940’s! This makes them even more appealing! I’m hesitant to buy a real corset, but their awesome waist cincher looks like something I might actually wear (regularly I might add)… yep: I really want it!

  112. says: Spud

    Rago do a great job keeping a classic style alive and I always appreciate it when my wife wears something special.

  113. says: Emmy

    I LOVE both Rago shapewear and Pin Up Parade! If I win I’ll be getting some fab Rago item to wear on our Anniversary.

  114. says: Hanna

    I wear my Rago six-strap lightweight pull-on suspender belt (wow, say that six times fast!) all the time, it’s so much comfier than tights! It has held up to washing and wearing really well, but alas now I think I’m getting to that very special spot where my waist circumference is a tad too small for the size I have to wear to fit my bum.

    I’m less in love with my Rago waist cincher, as I usually wear thick-ish stockings and the four straps are really not enough. It is very pretty though, in fact I wore it under my wedding dress!

  117. says: Naomi Buchan

    I wear a lot of vintage clothes so it’s importent to get the right shape underneath, up till now i’ve just had to look at the “old Ladies” selections for that 50’s boob look!

  118. says: JenniferAvril

    If I want to wear anything remotely figure-hugging I always wear some form of shapewear. For my wedding I wore such a classic and structured corset that I was unable to eat or drink anything! Worth it for the 50s shape I achieved – I wore a knee-length dress with a huge underskirt and the corset completed the look after I got the dress tailored to it.

  125. says: Ruth

    I love the look of these posh undies and would love a voucher – the word undercrackers makes me snigger too 😉 xx

  126. says: Laura Vitty

    I only wear shapewear for special occasions. My favourite is the waist cincher. Much more versatile than the larger pieces, but still sexy.

  128. says: rp

    I have yet to adopt the rather uplifting (literally and figuratively speaking :D) habit of wearing shapewear every or most days. I wear my favourite girdle & seamed stockings whenever I put on dresses or skirts in winter. The first time I wore said girdle was at my twin’s wedding so no matter how I’m feeling on any given day, one look at it and I’m smiling through the slight tuck/cinch/pinch along my torso.

  129. says: rp

    ok, my comment got gobbled up by the system I think :/
    here it goes, once again, with feeling. I have yet to fall into the rather uplifting (literally and figuratively speaking) habit of wearing shapewear daily but I do wear my favourite plum longline girdle in winter under dresses and skirts. I bought if for my twin’s wedding so it always puts a smile on my face to wear it, no matter the amount of cinch/tuck/pull/heave going on.

  131. says: Christina Jarrett

    I love Rago, their shapewear’s so elegant! I usually only wear shapewear for special occasions, especially when I’m wearing pencil dresses 🙂 x

  137. says: Dawn Taverner

    having 3 kids in the short space of 4.5 years has changed my body, not necassarily in a bad way, but in a way im not used to! these look wonderful and they’d be perfect at keep all those extra bits tucked away! 🙂

  141. says: lauraD

    Beautiful shapewear, dying for a corselette to wear under my pencil dresses (or just on it’s own!) : )

  145. says: Karen Sanders

    I love Rago, but my cinchers and girdles are getting a little worn so this could be a good time to restock!

  148. says: bonitavear

    The Rago Waist Cincher is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for and couldn’t find ~ this is perfect! Thank you for an informative article and the chance to win. 🙂

  150. says: asme belghazi

    lovely to make u feel sexy on special occassions especially when you want to wow your partner!!!!

  152. says: avintagewife

    I love Rago, I have the extra firm girdle and have nearly worn it out! It makes me feel very feminine and confident on days when I need a good boost. I’d love to try the waist cincher. Thanks for the fab giveaway, I’m a fan on both Facebook pages 🙂

  158. says: Cheray Natalie

    love this! i searched everywhere for a waist cincher to wear under my vintage wedding dress…& then i didn’t even end up wearing it! hahaha my vintage dress collection has grown since then though, so i definitely need to find lingerie with a more vintage shape to it!
    Cheray x

  159. says: Laura Avery

    i love the fact i can dress like a slob ( i wear trackie and slobby jumpers because i garden a lot and i need to kee warm ) but yet underneath i can wear some fine looing undies..and no one knows!

  161. says: Hannah Whitling

    I dont wear any shapewear at the mo as ill health means I dont go out at the min, but I’d definately get some when it comes to be better and going out much more, I like the idea of having a smoother figure and curves being in the right place.

  162. says: Faye Huntington

    I have never worn shapewear before, however i think it could really boost confidence when wearing tight dresses!! My favourite from the website is definitely the Light shaping panty brief by Rago! With love, Faye xx

  163. says: Helen T

    this reminds me of the time I went out and bought a pair of ‘hold up’ stockings for when I ‘glam up’ to go out on a Sunday evening. Well, who would have thought that there was such a choice: matt, sheer, run-resist, (I hadn’t worn stockings for a good few years) so after a bewildering few minutes I made my choice. However I found that I didn’t get on with them as well as I had hoped – they just didn’t want to stay up at all – to the point that I admitted defeat, took them off in the ladies and went bare-legged. It wasn’t til a shopping trip later when I bought another pair that I realised what the problem had been – in my confusion over the choice I had inadvertantly picked up a normal pair of stockings (which require a suspender belt), my friend still teases me over this to this day.

  164. says: Danielle

    I LOVE the waist clincher. I love vintage lingerie, it’s so feminine and it’s just beautiful! x

  171. says: Catherine Gregory

    I am a curvy size 12 and proud of my shape, I mean who wants to be a skinny minnie?! But I do wear shapewear if I wear a clingy dress. I wear the big knickers that have a higher waist and suck your hips in giving you the smooth effect

  173. says: Rosie

    These are marvelous! Rago really are so authentic looking, I’ve been wanting my own for quite a while!

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