Monday, August 16, 2010

Viola's For Your Unmentionable Needs





Viola's, Yorkville's premier Lingerie Shop, has supplied bras, girdles, rear lifters, and other support products to the women in my family for 60 years! How do you think the ladies look so good in the old pictures?
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Viola helped the girls keep it in, when they didn't want it out.





I remember being in the Lamston's candy aisle with Mom. She manhandled a giant bag of M&M's and said to no one in particular, "Jeez! This bra's killing me!" I waved bye to the candy as she pushed Rory and me in the stroller a few stores down to Viola's for a purchase.

They are celebrating their 60th anniversary on First Avenue near 77th Street.
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If you have unmentionable needs and hope to ever get that girlish figure back, you best get yourself to Viola's, toots suite! Their lingerie and hosiery sleep in fine boxes folded like Mom folded your things in the small suitcase when you were young and she was sending you away with a big smile on her face. Don't you miss that smile? Well, if you go to Viola's and the ladder's in place, and the lady goes up the ladder, and pulls down a few boxes and opens them carefully for you, the memories will flood back. Yes, they will.
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Viola's! 60 proud years protecting, hiding and enhancing Yorkville figures.
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Tomorrow, Eric Vetter & I are playing tunes and talking: Bill Withers, Al Green & The Classics IV ~ on the "Yorkville Stoops to Nuts" radio show.

My Yorkville radio guests for the next four weeks:

Eric Vetter (Washington Heights ~ Vocalist & Comedy Man)
Frank Flaherty (NY Times Senior Editor & author, "The Elements of Story")
Alison Pryor (coming in from France just to be on the show)
Adam Wade (formerly from New Hampshire, now proudly from Hoboken, Champion storyteller, all weight divisions).

2 comments:

Andrew Gardner said...

Great stuff...I remember going to places like these with my mother and grandmother when I was young...I looked forward to it because I'd usually get to go to a toy store later on if I behaved!

The last place like this I can remember going into is the Towne Shope on the Upper West Side, before they moved...think I was looking for something for a girlfriend, that's gotta be almost 30 years ago now!

Thomas Pryor said...

Thank you, Andrew