'Lifeblood of the Business': Fitters in American Foundations Departments, 1910s-1950s

Abstract

Corset and brassie`re departments in US retail stores thrived through economic travail and wartime, between the 1910s and the 1950s. Highly trained saleswomen called fitters contributed to this prosperity by increasing customer satisfaction, minimizing returns of merchandise, and building customers' loyalty. Unlike saleswomen in other departments, foundations fitters were often middle-aged, were taught their skills by the manufacturers of corsets and bras, and had significant impact on merchandising. Fitters helped to insure the preponderance of nationally branded lines, which were a notable feature of foundations departments throughout most of the twentieth century. During the late 1950s the role of fitters began to decline, as price pressures on retailers and manufacturers drove the trend to self-service in most departments.