Playboy Bunny
A Playboy Bunny is a cocktail waitress who works at a Playboy Club and selected through standardized training. Their costumes were made up of lingerie, inspired by the tuxedo-wearing Playboy rabbit mascot. This costume consisted of a strapless corset teddy, bunny ears, black sheer-to-waist pantyhose, a bow tie, a collar, cuffs and a fluffy cottontail. In more recent Playboy Clubs, such as Sin City that was re-opened in 2006, Playboy bunnies wore slightly altered costumes that were based on the original bunny suit.
Description[edit]
The uniforms were tailored to each Bunny at the clubs in which they worked, and a full-time seamstress always remained on duty whenever the club opened. The costumes were stocked in two pieces, the front part being pre-sewn in different bra cup sizes, and the seamstress would match the Bunnies' figure to the correct fitting front and back pieces. The two pieces were then sewn together to fit each person with great precision.
A woman, also known as the "Bunny Mother", took responsibility for the welfare of the women working as Playboy Bunnies. This was a human-resources role and a management position as the Bunny Mother was in charge of scheduling work shifts, hiring, firing and training. The Club Manager carried two responsibilities for the Bunnies – floor service and weigh-in. Before every shift, the Manager would weigh each Bunny, and bunnies could not gain or lose more than one pound, with exceptions only being made for water retention.[12] Playboy Enterprises required all employees to turn in their costumes at the end of employment and Playboy still retains some of these costumes in storage. Occasionally, costumes are offered for sale on the Playboy Auction site or eBay,[13] but some of the costumes on eBay are known to be counterfeit or damaged. The only two costumes on public display are in the collections of the Smithsonian[14] and the Chicago History Museum.[15]
Return of the Bunnies[edit]
In 2006, The Palms Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas opened the first new Playboy Club in over a quarter-century, located on the 52nd floor of the Fantasy Tower. Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli was chosen to re-design the original Bunny suit.[29] It closed in 2012.
