Intimacy and Friendship
Intimate Apparel follows Esther, a black seamstress who sews corsets, camisoles, and other intimate undergarments for ladies in 1905 New York. At 35, Esther believes that her time to marry is long past, and she spends her days visiting both her clients' homes and Mr. Marks's fabric shop. As the entirety of the play takes place in these domestic and personal spaces—Esther visits her clients in their boudoirs or bedrooms, and Mr. Marks's…
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Race, Class, and Exploitation
Except for Mrs. Van Buren, the characters in Intimate Apparel are by no means wealthy and are overwhelmingly black. Mrs. Dickson, the owner of the boardinghouse where Esther lives, is the only black woman who is truly doing well for herself. Simply by virtue of telling a story that's primarily about people who are members of marginalized groups—black, poor, Jewish, and female—Intimate Apparel explores how society's exploitation of these different identities traps characters…
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Gender and Expectations
Despite the very different lifestyles that the four female characters lead, it's important to note that none of them are fully achieving what Esther suggests is the pinnacle of womanhood, which she defines as being a married lady who is closely involved in her church community and society at large. By comparing the ways that the play's female characters collectively fail at this idealized vision of womanhood, the play ultimately proposes that this vision is…
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The American Dream
None of the characters in Intimate Apparel are New York City natives, and yet all of them came to the city years prior to the start of the play in the hopes of achieving their dreams of success. For all of them, they define this as experiencing financial success and personal fulfillment, whether their dreams include opening a beauty shop, as in the case of Esther, or being the epitome of the perfect wife…
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