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Conical bras, minuscule waists - and VERY short skirts: Sexy secretaries from the Thirties to the Swinging Sixties reveal how office girls looked in decades past (obligitory cigarette and all)



A series of photographs capturing secretaries at work from the Thirties through to the Swinging Sixties demonstrate some of the daring styles that were in vogue decades ago.

From miniskirts to kitten heels, the young corporate helpmates model a range of liberating office wear while heavy eye-make up and rouged lips complete the sexually empowered style as demonstrated by characters such as Joan Holloway in the hit AMC series Mad Men.

But it's not just the dress code that has changed over the years, and the action shots showcase a range of practices that would be frowned upon in the workplace today, such as smoking, drinking and outright flirting.



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The changing shape of women: With conical bra and cinched in waist, this Sixties secretary shows just how much women's silhouettes - and fashions - have changed over the decades

Perks of the job: It's not hard to see where Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant looked to source inspiration for Joan Holloway's costumes on the show

Appropriate attire? A teenage girl gets to grips with the office equipment in a tiny skirt and white go-go boots



Can I help? Telephones became increasingly commonplace during the Twenties and Thirties - in 1929 President Herbert Hoover had a phone installed at his desk in the White House

Health hazard: For decades smoking at work was commonplace, however in 1998 a number of countries enforced a ban preventing the practice

While the men photographed appear to be in their mid-to late thirties all of the women are considerably younger, as it was traditional for women to quit their jobs once married and with children.

Washington correspondent Eleanor Clift who worked as a Newsweek secretary during the Sixties told The Daily Beast : 'Women weren’t supposed to be openly ambitious in the ’60s.



'When I started at Newsweek As a secretary, I was thrilled to be where what I typed was interesting. I was the daughter of immigrants, my father had a deli, and my mother made the potato salad and rice pudding.'



The thigh's the limit! A blonde-haired woman stands by a filing cabinet in a scarlet mini dress

Under pressure: One woman calmly listens to a caller while another lets the stress get to her

On call: A secretary exposes some thigh as she mans the phone at an advertising agency in Soho, London

One of the archive shots shows a young lady perched on the edge of her desk taking a telephone call with a short dress revealing ample thigh, while another woman sits typing unaware that her stockings are on display.

Other images capture boss / secretary relationships - often a source of office gossip. In the Mad Men series Joan had a brief affair with her boss Roger Sterling while in the fifth season advertising executive Don Draper married his secretary, Megan.

Ms Clift admits she was also guilty of indulging in an office romance, stating that at the time she 'was living with a television director I had met at a previous job working as a secretary at ad agency Albert Frank-Guenther Law.'

One archive shot shows a 51-year-old Albert Einstein in his attic flat in Berlin, siting a good distance away from his conservatively dressed secretary while dictating a scientific paper.

To close for comfort? A businessman gives his secretary a lingering glance before leaving the office

Ready for action: Women did all sorts of jobs during the 1960s, but some of the most common jobs were teacher, nurse, secretary, typist, bookkeeper and shop assistant



Well seated: Two female assistants get comfortable on some retro-style furniture Gadget proud: A secretary admires a new three-inch-high, eight-pound portable typewriter (left) while a secretary works an early version of the fax machine (right)



Role model: Actress Barbara Hale - best known for her role as legal secretary Della Street on the Perry Mason television series - pictured at her desk

However another shows a male executive admiring his scantily clad female assistant as he decides to relocate outdoors as a heatwave hits.



According to a study released earlier this year more job descriptions are using the word 'secretary' thanks to Mad Men reigniting the appeal of the role .

Ray Weikal, communications specialist at the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), which conducted the research, noted that for years the term used to describe an administrative assistant had been on the decline, due in part to the feminist movement.

He told the Business Insider : 'The title secretary started to go out of fashion after World War II.

'The association was formed as a way of professionalizing secretarial work.



Relocation: A boss and his secretary move their office outside for the day Technological aids: Telephones became increasingly easier to operate over the years and inventions such as the Beoton telephone amplifier allowed office workers to type and make a phone call at the same time



Conservative look: Two women opt for more modest attire with button up collars

