As a former costume designer, I’ve made clothing from many historic periods, including Medieval, Tudor, Turn of the Century, Roaring Twenties, WWII era and so on. Every designer has their favorite historic period, though I suspect the 1920’s and 1940’s figure high on everyone’s list.

Cremerie racerback and shorts set. Photo by Polina Osherov.

All fashion designers are influenced by what came before, as evidenced by the cycle of fashion. (Surely you’ve noticed that flared pants hems have come around a few times in your lifetime?) Some designers even completely copy another design from a previous era, perhaps calling it an “hommage.” Mostly, though, we take something we like and try to modernize and personalize it to become our own design.

In many ways, the embroidered cotton racerback and shorts set is influenced by the lingerie from the 1920’s. I collect vintage clothing bits (and patterns), as most designers do. I always find ‘20’s lingerie very endearing, because it’s all about details, not structure. The tap shorts were usually a very soft silk, like a charmeuse, and had a nice bit of inset lace detail. The bras tended to be completely unstructured (the silhouette for that time period is very flat chested). Twenties’ and Thirties’ slips were “sweet nothings,” soft, silky and inset with airy lace.

Since I know that lingerie tends to be given as a gift, I feel that it is as important for the lingerie to look good in a gift box as it does on the body. I want a woman to open the box and immediately notice the delicate details and softness of the materials. I decided to follow the example of the 1920’s lingerie and create a set that could be given as a wedding, Valentine’s Day or birthday gift. The resulting set, the Cremerie racerback and shorts, is made of very soft embroidered 100% cotton lawn. This fabric is a high quality fabric that feels great on the skin, and only gets softer when washed. It’s also the tiniest bit translucent, which I think is incredibly sexy. The racerback top has lovely, delicate (and soft) stretch lace at the hem that gently hugs the waistline. A narrower soft lace frames the decolletage. The cups are shaped to flatter the bust, but they are as soft and unstructured as the Twenties’ lingerie. Small hidden hooks and bars are the front closure, and provide a very delicate look to the garment.

Back view Cremerie set. Photo by Polina Osherov.

The shorts are slightly flared at the hip to flatter your upper thigh. A tiny tuck and soft lace finishes the hem. They are short, but not so short that you feel too exposed. The button fly and the delicate gathers at the waist provide some great details. The satin ribbon drawstring is functional (provides an adjustable fit), but is also very feminine and decorative.

The set is beautiful enough to give as a gift, but is practical enough to be worn and enjoyed often.