Loving Lace

American women tend to have an addiction to “T-shirt” bras. You know the ones – they have that thin foam cop that holds its shape, even when it’s sitting in the dresser drawer

There are many benefits to T-shirt bras – they hold a very clean line under thin knits, they provide… coverage [ahem] when working in a chilly environment, they’re both commonplace and plentiful in the marketplace, and they tend to look good (when properly fitted) with just about any wardrobe.

However…

(You knew there was going to be a “however”, didn’t you?)

T-shirt  bras actually tend to be more delicate than lace bras. They wear out three times as quickly as lace, and the lack of flexibility/ease in the fabric means that a T-shirt bra won’t adapt as graciously to a woman’s minor weight fluctuations (due to pregnancy, bloating, etc).

If my gentle readers are anything like my clients, the phrase “T-shirt bras are more delicate than lace bras” just caused a minor brain-hiccup, and snort of disbelief. It’s okay; I’m used to it.

T-shirt bras tend to be made of a thin Polyether or Polyhydric foam; they are sometimes knit from a memory foam, which is a Polyether treated with additional chemicals to increase the viscosity of the material. (Which is what makes them lightweight and squishable – does anyone else feel like we just stepped back into high school science class?) The chemical makeup of these foam cup T-shirt bras creates a more rigid shape than a simple (or not so simple) lace bra, which can sometimes be exactly what one needs. So long live the T-shirt bra; every woman needs at least one, right? Right!

However (there went that word again) – the same rigidity that women love about T-shirt bras, is the exact thing that causes them to wear out so quickly. The foam is constructed of petroleum-based and man-made chemicals, specifically designed to maintain its shape… but… life happens. And foam bra cups wrinkle, and worm, and dimple, and pill. Over the course of a few months, a foam cup T-shirt bra can become a road map of millimeter[s] deep rivers and valleys… the exact opposite of that pristine, blissfully seamless foam that defines the “T-shirt bra”.

In contrast, lace bras conform to one’s shape.  I like to phrase it as “The bra working for you, instead of against you” – allowing for those minor weight issues almost every woman has. In addition, the very process of making lace ensures a firmer, stronger fabric [than foam].

You see, the process of lace making is both ancient, and intense. Until John Leaver invented the Leaver’s Lace Loom in 1813, it could take a lace maker an entire day to create a few centimeters of lace. Leaver’s Lace is a “loomed lace” (meaning it’s created by machine), and mimics handmade lace so well, that it usually takes an expert to see the difference between Leaver’s Lace and lace crafted by hand. And what’s even better? Leaver’s Lace can be made into seamless lace bras… making it an excellent alternative to the typical contour foam T-shirt bra.

Leaver’s Lace is among the flattest and strongest laces on the market,  as during production the threads are twisted/knotted every time they cross (as opposed to woven fabrics where the fibers simply lay across one another). There are currently fewer than 1,000 Leavers Lace looms, worldwide.

After more than 18 months of R&D, the European lingerie company Empreinte has finally launched a new line crafted from Guipure lace. Guipure lace also goes by the names Venise lace, point de Venise, “chemical” lace or “burned-out” lace, and until recently was never considered as a viable option for  seamless lingerie.  Guipure was extensively used by the designer Lilly Pulitzer in the 1960s, and  is crafted by doing machine embroidery on a stabilized background, then dipping the resulting man-made fabric into a chemical bath, dissolving away the stabilizer and leaving a rich, sturdy and complex lace pattern – free from background fabric.

Empreinte is the only lingerie house known to develop technology for utilizing this incredibly strong lace in a seamless bra. Empreinte’s patented contour Guipure lace process is debuting with their ‘Diva’ collection, in both demi and plunge styles, in either a delicate silver, or jet black option.

… And I don’t know about you, but I think that little black number above (yes, that’s Diva in the plunge style) is waaaaaaaaaaay sexier than your typical black American T-shirt bra.

Simone Perele

Tags

Lace, Fashion, bra, nude, basic, sheer, LeJaby, Aubade, Simone Perele, Demi, Balconette, Plunge, Push Up, Lise Charmel, Panties, Second Skin

I tend to go through phases with lingerie vendors… something from a particular collection will catch my eye, and the next thing I know I’ll be on an “X Vendor Affair”, and my collection will grow by leaps and bounds. I did it with Lise Charmel, I did it with Aubade, I did it with LeJaby, and lately I’ve been doing it with Simone Perele.

Founded by a Parisian corsettier in 1948, Simone Perele energizing the world of lingerie with her soft, sumptuous designs. She became known as a revolutionary designer, blending elegance with comfort. In a 2004 Australian interview, Simone Perele’s daughter Catherine explained ~

“My mother had the idea that a bra could be something more than just a body support,” recalled Perele on a visit to Melbourne.

“She believed it could have aesthetic appeal rather than just being something technical. It was an idea that was quite revolutionary at the time.”

Until then, bras were often made-to-measure in stiff satin, lace or broderie anglaise, and briefs were the domain of hosiery and knit manufacturers. Perele’s mother designed and made beautiful lingerie which she then sold to quality shops in Paris’s Opera district and along the Champs- Elysees. Demand grew at such a rate she created her own label, soon recognised as the “Coco Chanel of lingerie.”

Always cutting edge, Simone Perele continued pushing the boundaries of lingerie through the decades, designing the first lace bra in lycra during the 1960s – creating lingerie that worked with a woman’s body, instead of fighting it. The company continued its dedication to cutting edge materials and design as the millennium approached.

During the 1990s, as other companies fought the good fight to bring bustlines front and center, Simone Perele continued to assert ~

“to bring out a woman’s full beauty, first make her body feel free.” 

affirming the company’s dedication to luxury, elegance, and comfort.

Moving into the 21st century, Simone Perele continued developing  technologically innovative materials for their “second skin” lines – Andora, and most recently Caressence, knit with aloe vera encapsulated thread. (Side note – I have no idea HOW they do the aloe vera encapsulated thread thing, but I have to say Caressence is literally one of the softest, lightest bras I’ve ever dealt with. Brava, Simone Perele; brava.)

I swear the longer I work with the brand, the more impressed I become… And boy howdy am I hard to impress when it comes to lingerie! LOL

Like I said way up there at the beginning, I tend to go on “benders” when it comes to certain lingerie companies. For whatever reason I’ll fall in love with how a particular lingerie company does things, and the next thing you know we’re smack dab in the middle of a 6+ month-long lingerie affair… right now I’m on month three-ish with Simone Perele. I bought a darling little yellow set for my birthday a while back, and I keep gravitating to it – and I normally don’t even like yellow! Plus they just came out with Romance in this stunning mocha color (how can you turn down mocha when October is around the corner???), and now there’s Celeste in that stunning mauve that I just NEED TO OWN because mauve meets my “red bra = nude bra” criteria… I’m babbling.

Yep; it’s official. I’m having an affair with my Simone Perele lingerie.

Underwear as Outerwear

No, I’m not talking about doing an 80′s revival of Madonna’s “big hair, lace bustiers and bows” era.

I’m talking about making your lingerie do double duty.

How many times have you seen a cute little tank, or swingy little baby doll top in one store, than hit a lingerie store a few hours later… only to see a cute tank style chemise and adorable little baby doll?

My “sleep style” tends to gravitate towards chemises, not just because they’re comfy, but because they are one of the easiest pieces to wear outside the bedroom. Next time you’re shopping, swing through the lingerie department and look at things with a fresh eye…  All it takes is an open mind!

Baby dolls and chemises tend to work well with skinny jeans & heels. If you’re worried about the sheerness of the top (because lets face it, sometimes things are flat out sheer), try throwing a spaghetti strap Snug camisole underneath. If the straps are really skinny, either wear a coordinating fashion bra (with a gorgeous shoulder strap), or a good strapless.

Longer [mid-thigh to just above the knee] chemises can sometimes even do double duty as mini-dresses – lately I’ve been suggesting clients toss a little cardigan over this In Bloom piece with flats for daytime; a quick shoe change and the right jewelry and it does triple duty! 1) sleepwear, 2) a day shopping with the girls (flats and a cardigan), and 3) a last minute date (heels & chunky jewelry)!

Even lounge wear/pajama sets are full of wardrobe opportunities. Tunic style pajama tops can be work with jeans or leggings, while summer pajama tops are often cute enough to throw on with a pair of shorts and espadrilles.

And finally… for the truly bold… just wear your pajamas. My best suggestion for doing this with grace and style, is to do it with as much grace and style as possible. We’re not talking about wearing grandma’s button down pin striped pajama set. We’re talking about treating hundred[ish] dollar pajamas like they gold they are – as evening lounge wear, worn with strappy peau de soie heels, maybe an elegant cashmere cardigan, and the perfect jewelry. (My personal favorite vendor to accomplish this look is Carol Hochman’s Midnight Collection.)

 

Secrets of Style

Tags

Aubade, Balconette, basic, bra, contour, Demi, Empreinte, Fashion, Lace, LeJaby, lingerie, Plunge, Push Up, Simone Perele, Sports, T-shirt bra

The most common bra request I see is for a “push up bra”… regardless of size.

The second most common bra request I see, is for a “t-shirt bra”… regardless of size.

I suspect one of the reasons women stick with those two styles, is because they don’t really know how many different kinds of bras there are, or what styles look best on what sorts of figures. Off the top of my head I can list off the following styles: lace vertical seam balconette, lace vertical seam demi, contour demi, full contour [t-shirt], sweetheart contour [t-shirt], plunge [lace], plunge [contour foam],  3-part cup [full], bump, bump up with removable “cookies”, 3-part cup [balconette],  2-part cup [transverse seam], 3=part [tulip] cup, strapless, stick-on, convertible, seamless contour, lace seamless contour, contour foam, contour spacer foam, sports, and bustier.

Whew!

When you think about it, there isn’t a “uniform” shape for breast tissue, so why would there be a “uniform” style of bra? It’s way more important for women to find the style of bra (as well as size) that fits them, than the most popular style available.

Soft tissue needs a different style than firm; firm needs a different style than soft. Older breast tissue sits on the body differently than younger breast tissue – which affects what style of bra is most flattering. Smaller busts work fabulously in certain styles… larger busts, not so much. (And vice verse.) And I haven’t even touched upon the differences in size between vendors, styles within the same vendor, or countries of origin!

If that sounds confusing, don’t worry; you aren’t alone – there really isn’t anyone exempt from the challenges of a stylish fit! it doesn’t matter if a woman is smaller busted, fuller busted, young, old, has firm tissue or soft.

For example, people assume I’m easy to fit, because A) I’m in the industry, and B) I’m nowhere near full busted.

Yeaaaaahhhhh…. not so much.

I’m 39. I’ve given birth [a gazillion times], breastfed babies, been 50 pounds lighter, 60 pounds heavier, and I didn’t put on my first properly sized bra until I was almost 35 years old. I fit beautifully in vertical seamed, lace demi cup bras (usually by Aubade, occasionally by Simone Perele or LeJaby); I can fit a 3-part tulip cup by Empreinte… if I change the cup size. My last [personal] bra of choice is the traditional “t-shirt” bra, because those styles don’t tend to work well with my body. If I do wear a “t-shirt” bra, it is always a sweetheart style; never a full cup. I also tend to avoid UK brands, as well as Italian (ye.gods. does LaPerla look awful on me), American, and some German. They just.don’t.work [for me].

I’m hoping to make a mini-post once a week, discussing each style mentioned above, who they might look best on, what they would do for a woman in terms of wardrobe/styling, and provide examples of each style in current lingerie collections.

Mad Men

Tags

Fashion, ivory, lingerie, Mad Men, Nylon Tricot, pink, sheer, vintage, Vintage Lingerie

After years of friends and acquaintances telling me that I simply had to watch Mad Men, I finally sat down with NetFlix and clicked play…

So far, I’ve seen an ivory chiffon peignoir set I currently own, a light pink nylon tricot nightgown I’ve owned in the past, and a vintage dress I flipped on eBay about 5 years ago.

It is so weird seeing things I own on TV.

Color

Tags

basic, bra, contour, Fashion, Glamour, lilac, lingerie, nude, pink, purple, red

(This post was inspired by The Color Cure at Apartment Therapy. I view color as an important tool in my “live life to its fullest” basket… even if no one else ever sees it.)

One of the most interesting things to me about working in the lingerie business, is women’s addiction to the color nude. (One of  second most interesting things [to me] is how many shades of nude the lingerie industry manages to produce – nude, taupe, cappuccino, toffee, bisque, champagne, caramel, cognac… the list goes on. And on. And on. But I digress…)

A Glamour Magazine article from October 2010 stated that sales of nude foundation garments (bras & panties) were up 38% from the previous year, and that 72% of women choose basic nude lingerie over black or white.

As a woman who only owns ONE nude bra out of dozens (a strapless; it didn’t come in anything more colorful), the statistics on nude bras confuse me.

As a busy little bee in the lingerie industry, the statistics on nude bras don’t surprise me one bit.

American women gravitate towards nude [contour foam] bras; they just do. Sometimes it’s an issue of practicality – their wardrobe contains a lot of sheer and/or light-colored silky or knit clothing, so when they think “I need a new bra” a flesh toned seamless piece of lingerie is the first thing that comes to mind. Sometimes women gravitate towards nude [contour foam] bras out of habit, or maybe because it’s what their own mother wore, or because they presume lingerie only comes in nude/black/white, or simply because they’ve never worn a color and aren’t sure how to do so.

So… in an effort to turn the tide and rescue women from the world o’ bland, I am spreading the word – RED IS YOUR FRIEND!

It might not look like it, but red = neutral. (Along with pink, lilac, cranberry, lavender…) Since red toned lingerie will pick up any pink hanging out in one’s skin tone and zero out, we can treat it exactly the same as a nude! Can we get a hallelujah? If  both nude and red are neutral colors, which color feels more powerful? Which color feels a bit bland? Which color feels sexier? Which color feels practical? Which color screams confidence from the highest rooftops? Which color says “Hi I’m going to go sit in the corner now”?

In the war between red and nude, I know who wins in my ideal world…

Red, baybee. Allll the way.

Slip

Tags

Fashion, Lace, Nylon Tricot, Prima Donna, Spanx, Vintage Lingerie

There isn’t a week that goes by when someone hasn’t wandered in the shop, asking if we carry slips… apparently slips are one of the few pieces of lingerie that have become unbelievably difficult to source.

One of the “deepest” segments of my vintage lingerie collection, is slips. When I started picking pieces up at estate sales 5-6 years ago, slips were a dime a dozen. (Sometime literally!)

I counted earlier, and currently own 17 full vintage slips, plus 2 vintage half slips – 1930s through 1960s. I actually refuse to add anything to the collection after 1967, as it seems like the late 60s is the point at which all the cool details started disappearing. For example, the image at left is a Henson Kickernick slip, probably from the 60s (based on strap hardware, length, vendor label, coloring)… I’ve actually been known to throw that little piece of cocoa and charcoal sweetness on with a fitted cardigan and heels, re-label it a cocktail dress and paint the town red. LOL

By 1975 exquisite [expensive] details like a sweep of floral lace down the torso, had disappeared into a very utilitarian garment – the modern slip. Gone were the days of 13″ hems of scalloped crystal pleated lace (shown at right on a size 36 “Tall Girl” brand). Strap details of metal hardware and satin became plastic and dull ribbon. The formula for nylon changed, and the stunningly cool, buttery nylon tricot of the 50s and 60s was no more… replaced with that weird, shimmering, sticky plasticky-feeling nylon most people associate with man-made lingerie. Ew.

The 1970s – 1980s was a difficult time for lingerie… women were redefining themselves; feminine sexy lingerie wasn’t the priority anymore. Power suits were in. Hell, pantsuits were in! Fewer and fewer women were needing slips at all, much less a traditional “wardrobe” like their mother’s had worn in the 40s and 50s. A woman used to need half and full slips, in both above and below knee lengths, in whites, pinks, blushes and blacks. They needed slips for warmth, modesty, static-cling, shaping; a slip was as important to a woman’s wardrobe as her bra and panties.

As women’s roles in society shifted, so did their style… and the slip slipped right on out of their wardrobes.

For a while manufacturers continued producing slips (although plainer, less luxurious ones), but as dresses fell more and more out of fashion through the 80s, and started coming with “built-in slips” in the 90s, the slip industry floundered until it finally flopped.

Which brings us to today… and women wondering why it’s so flipping hard to find something so simple as a slip! So what’s a modern woman on a desperate search for a slip to do?

One modern company in the slip business is Spanx. Spanx is best known for their rockin’ body shapers, but they also make several different styles of slips. Another, (IMO sexier) option is to take a piece of “sleepwear” and treat it like a slip… for example, this gorgeous piece for Prima Donna’s Twist line would make a killer “slip”. You can also modify plenty of things and give them”slip status”… chemises, short bias cut nightgowns, really long spaghetti strap tanks. Come on; it’s lingerie for goodness sake. Play a little!

And on that note, I’m of to slip into one of my favorite slips!

Lingerie Zombie

I’ve been thinking about starting a lingerie blog for a few months now. I don’t really have anyplace to babble and blather on about my insidious passion… the friends, lovers, acquaintances? As lovely (and tolerant) as they all are, their eyes have started to glaze over when I talk about the iron damage on a 1940s rayon negligee, or the hairpin lace insert on a new bra. Hopefully (cross fingers) Little Red Slip will become an outlet to further explore my passion for lingerie, before it eats my brain.