Charles Guyette (c. 1900–1976) started as a theatrical costumer in 1930, opening a shop on East 11th Street with his brother that sold burlesque outfits, high heels, and exotic lingerie. By the mid-1930s, the store had become America’s first full-line fetish supplier: hand-made leather corsets, pony harnesses, metal chastity belts, and dominatrix boots—many designed by Guyette himself. He imported from Paris Yva Richard and Berlin, then added his own mail-order photos of bondage, whipping, and Femdom scenes. But Guyette was more than a costumer—he was a pioneering publisher who kickstarted the American fetish underground. Drawing from European influences, he produced and distributed the first U.S. fetish art through discreet catalogs and magazine inserts, laying the groundwork for icons like Irving Klaw and John Willie. His work blended fashion’s transformative power with taboo fantasy, testing boundaries in a pre-“fetish” era.
He imported from Paris (Yva Richard) and Berlin, then added his own mail-order photos of bondage, whipping, and Femdom scenes.
The right heel, the perfect gag, the glint of steel—everything must fit the fantasy like a second skin.
Charles Guyette, handwritten note on a 1936 inventory sheet
From Theatrical Costumer to Fetish Supplier: The Early Days
Born Charles Gates Sheldon on August 14, 1902, in Chicago, Guyette trained as a painter and photographer before diving into New York’s burlesque scene. His East 11th Street shop catered to vaudeville performers and Ziegfeld Follies stars, but by the early 1930s, it evolved into a hub for “bizarre” accessories: vintage corsets, opera gloves, custom fetish boots, and his infamous G-strings, earning him the nickname “G-String King.”
He sourced from Weimar Berlin’s erotic ateliers and Yva Richard’s Paris boutique, adapting them for American tastes with a flair for the theatrical.Guyette’s genius lay in understanding clothing as identity: a harness wasn’t just gear; it was empowerment or surrender. His custom designs, pony-girl sets with bit-gags, usherette dominas in strappy uniforms, anticipated modern kink by decades.
Guyette as Publisher & Distributor: The Mail-Order Revolution
Guyette’s true innovation was in publishing: he was the first in the U.S. to produce and distribute fetish art via mail-order catalogs, blending photos, illustrations, and product lists into “decimated” (often raided and destroyed) collections. From 1931–1935, his peak notoriety came from openly advertising in fetish-friendly outlets like London Life, expanding from sideshow material to European-style erotica.
He sold “costume studies” (staged photos of bound models in his gear) discreetly through plain wrappers, dodging obscenity laws. Employed by National Police Gazette editor Edythe Farrell, Guyette supplied costumes, boots, and photos for tabloid inserts, marking his entry into print.
By the 1940s, he contributed to Robert Harrison’s pin-up empire (Wink, Titter, Beauty Parade, Whisper, Eyeful), providing high heels, G-strings, and spreads that blurred cheesecake with kink.
His catalogs, reconstructed today from surviving fragments in 1930s–1980s publications, featured riding crops, masks, stockings, and pony-play gear—often uncredited but pivotal.
Here’s a snapshot of his key publishing contributions:
| Publication / Catalog | Period | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| National Police Gazette (via Edythe Farrell) | 1930s | Costumes, boots, bondage photos; early tabloid fetish inserts en.wikipedia.org |
| Robert Harrison Pin-Up Mags (Wink, Titter, Beauty Parade, Whisper, Eyeful) | 1940s–1950s | High heels, G-strings, photo spreads; catalog ads in issues en.wikipedia.org |
| London Life Magazine | 1930s–1940s | Open ads for fetish costumes; Weimar-inspired erotica amazon.com |
| Guyette’s Mail-Order Catalogs | 1930s–1960s | Custom sets: masks, gloves, restraints; discreet sales of “costume studies” amazon.com |
These efforts made him the mail-order predecessor to Klaw, but raids destroyed much of his archive, surviving pieces pieced together from later mags like Exotique and Bizarre Life.
From Prison Cell to Costume Vault
In 1935 Guyette was convicted of mailing “obscene” photos and served just over a year in federal prison. After release he dropped magazine ads, kept a low profile, and focused on custom costumes. By the mid-1940s he stopped shooting photos; by the 1960s he had left the trade entirely.
Blueprint for American Kink
Guyette’s whimsical pony-girl sets and usherette dominas directly inspired Irving Klaw (Bettie Page’s costumer), John Willie (Bizarre collaborations), Eric Stanton, and Leonard Burtman (who “borrowed” his photos without credit). He turned European fetish into an American industry, influencing Wonder Woman’s creator William Moulton Marston and modern icons like Dita Von Teese. His life was about boundaries: fashion as freedom, restraint as poetry.
Discover more photo collections from Charles Guyette:
Vintage Fetish Photos – Fetish History Blog
Richard Perez put together an amazing book with info and many unseen photos: CHARLES GUYETTE: Godfather of American Fetish Art, this book can be purchased via Amazon for a very small price.
