The slogan T-shirt is a wardrobe staple: through this garment we speak without opening our mouths, we show our allegiances to a brand, we tell other people who we support, which artists, films or bands we like, who we vote for or what we believe in. But there are other ways to spread a message. It is indeed possible to do so in more subtle ways.
An example? A petticoat with an embroidered message peeking from the hem by Ukrainian designer Valentina. Born in the Kyiv region of Ukraine in 1889 (or 1899… dates are uncertain), Valentina Nicolaevna Sanina posed on Harpers' Bazaar in 1941 wearing this design.
The message on the petticoat stated "Jamais deux sans toi", meaning "Never two without you", a play on the French adage "Jamais deux sans trois", pronounced almost identically, but meaning "Never two without three".
The design probably referred to the rumours about Valentina sharing her husband George Schlee with friend and client Greta Garbo. Nobody ever understood if the rumours about the Valentina-Schlee-Garbo ménage-à-trois were real, but both women were stunning and both often donned the same designs by Valentina to confuse the gossipmongers.
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