Debbie Reynolds 1950's MGM Bra
A bra that was part of Debbie Reynolds' wardrobe at MGM. The garment features a high-neck with racer-back style straps and hook-and-eye closures, as well as two pads sewn into the cups. There are two handwritten tags present on the interior: one reads "MGM / 52326" and the other reads "1584 / 9852 / Debbie Reynolds."
12.5 inches (band, laid flat)
Description courtesy of Julien's Auctions.
Before I received this piece, I made it my mission to dive into the history of when this bra was worn and used by Debbie Reynolds. There was no clear provenance besides that it was once part of the MGM Costume Inventory, but where did it go in the time between?
I scoured the internet trying to find out more information on the number etched into the tags. The first set of numbers "1584 9852 Debbie Reynolds" I found were numbers that MGM used to inventory/ categorize when a garment was worn and for what production.
I got extremely lucky that I just googled those numbers and actually found an auction lot from the estate of Debbie Reynolds where a costume from the 1953 film "I Love Marvin" has the same numbers along with the scene it was in. I do believe this bra was worn in this scene (all I could find is that it was a cheerleading scene) and possibly with other costumes. It's extremely likely that this bra was included in Reynolds's estate at one point.
Watch her dance in this bra HERE!
This film was released right off the heels of the film that shot her to stardom, "Singin' in the Rain". "I Love Marvin" even costarred her "Singin' in the Rain" co-star Donald O'Connor.
circa 1953, United States
AP.11.16.32