Archive for June, 2008
The Undie Awards Demographics
June 19, 2008
With two years of voting under our garter belts, I thought you might find it interesting to know what the demographics of the Undie voters are. In our second year, we added age grouping and mens, so I won’t be able to provide comparisons of this data between the two years.
Starting with body types. If you voted at TheUndies.com for your favorite underwear, you know that first you gave us information on your 3 body areas: Bust, Tummy and Bottom. Here were the results:
Bust Type: 2008 2007
Small 24% 18%
Average 30% 27%
Augmented 7% 6%
Full 26% 32%
Plus Size 13% 17%
2008 voters trended smaller than in 2007 with a 9% increase in average/small bust type, and a 10% decrease in full/plus size busts.
Tummy Type: 2008 2007
No Tummy 16% 11%
A Little Tummy 38% 36%
Tummy 24% 27%
Full Tummy 22% 26%
Tummy type as well trended smaller than 2007 results.
Bottom Type: 2008 2007
No bottom 13% 10%
Average bottom 50% 46%
Low bottom 9% 9%
Bubble bottom 10% 11%
Full thighs & bottom 18% 24%
We also asked you for your bra size and panty size. Here’s how the demographics broke down for these categories:
Cup Sizes: 2008 2007
AA 5% 2%
A 9% 10%
B 19% 22%
C 20% 25%
D 13% 17%
E 15% 13%
F 8% 7%
G + 4% 4%
Panty Sizes: 2008 2007
Small (5) 22% 18%
Medium (6) 34% 33%
Large (7) 22% 25%
XLarge (8) 13% 15%
2XLarge (9) 6% 6%
3XLarge (10) 3% 2%
To see the full list of Undie and Undie Select winners, go to TheUndies.com.
Posted by Tomima at 8:13am
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How Not To Look Old
June 18, 2008
Are you over 40? 50? 60? Here’s a fun book to pick you up – How Not to Look Old, by Charla Krupp. This hot new book has the kind of sensible advice even the style-cynic can take to heart. Fave chapter? "Learn to Love Shapewear." If you think today’s shapewear is only for the plus-sized, think again. According to Krupp, such single-digit sized-women as the Desperate Housewives babes, Katie Couric, and Gwyneth Paltrow all recognize the need for some shaping. Let’s face it, after a certain age, even the slimmest among us are prey to back fat, love handles, Buddha bellies and other less-than-attractive traits.
Krupp recommends shapewear for pretty much all day, every day. Some of her suggested "Brilliant Buys?" Flexees One Fabulous Body Camisole 77320, Spanx 160 High Waisted Footless Pantyhose, Donna Karan Hosiery Donna Karan Body Perfect Slimmer – Level 1 0A701, Maidenform Control It High-Waist Brief 12419.
When it comes to bras, Krupp reinforces everything I keep telling you here on HerRoom—it’s about fit, fit, fit. Her quickie saggy boob test, which has been on HerRoom for over 8 years, suggests you measure yourself from the top of your shoulder to the bend in your elbow. When trying on a bra, your nipple should hit about mid-way between the two, maybe slightly lower for very large breasts. Her Brilliant Buys in bras? Le Mystere Tisha Bra – Full Figure Renaissance 9955, Wacoal iBra Contour Bra 85380, Chantelle Volupte Molded Minimizer Bra 2361, Natori Sheer Mesh Convertible Contour Plunge 132005.
If you’re going to start knocking those years off, why not begin with your underwear drawer?
Find your new lingerie wardrobe at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties
Thongs
Shapewear
Sleepwear
Slips
Camisoles
Hosiery
Plus-Size Lingerie
Sport Underwear
Bridal Lingerie
Maternity Underwear
Sexy Lingerie
Posted by Tomima at 7:51am
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The Sizing of Underwire & Wire Free Bra Cups – It’s Really about Projection.
June 16, 2008
Ah, the alphabet soup of cup sizing. Though very systematic up to a D cup size, it becomes a complete mystery further up the cup sizing chart. So, what is going on with cup sizing? And, how does a woman know if she needs a new cup size?
Let’s start with some basic information about bra cup sizing. The industry standard for bra sizing today was invented back in 1928. And back then, it only went up to a D cup size. So right there, you can see why the system could have several issues. Anyway, an A cup was designed to hold 8 fl. ounces, 13 fl. ounces in a B, 21 fl. ounces in a C and 27 fl. ounces in a D cup.
Since then, people have tried to take the basic measuring system and extrapolate it to larger breast sizes. This really doesn’t work. Consequently, a woman can be measured but the result will not match what her true size is. She then becomes frustrated.
So, let me share with you what is going on with cup sizing. The first and most important thing to know is that a cup size on one band size is not equal to the same cup size on another band. In other words, a D cup on a 34 band is smaller than a D cup on a 38 but larger than a D cup on a 32 band. The number one mistake women make in changing their size is to go up a band size while keeping the same cup letter. When they do this, the cup size increases even though the letter stays the same.
Why do they do this? The answer is that a cup size is actually a measure of how far your breasts project from your chest wall – not the volume. When you are measured, if your breast circumference increases by one inch, you need to go up a cup size. This makes sense when you think about the measuring system. You take your breast circumference measurement and subtract your band measurement. The difference determines your cup size – 3 inches = C cup, 4 inches= D cup, etc.
Now, let’s think about what happens when you increase your band size. Going back to the measuring system, you deduct your new band size from your breast circumference. Your band size is larger thus reducing the difference between your two measurements by an inch or two. If your breasts haven’t grown, but your underbust measurement has, going up a band size also means you need to come down at least one cup size or your cups will be too large. So, for example, going from a 38D to a 40 band, you will need to come down a cup size to a 40C if your breast size has not increased.
I mentioned earlier that the traditional system of measuring for a bra size starts falling apart after D cup sizes. This is true because the larger breasts tend to sag. So, breasts need to actually be held up for the breast circumference measurement to be accurate. And even then, it’s going to be difficult to get the right size based solely on the measuring system. This is why I recommend women with a D+ breast size get into her best fitting bra and figure out her proper size based considering what seems to fit right and what doesn’t.
One final point on cup sizing. A woman’s breast has a weight range of 8 ounces to 14 lbs. and we demand that a 1.6 ounce bra support all the different shapes and sizes. It’s really rather amazing if you think about it.
For more details on bra fitting, visit the HerRoom bra fitting guide.
Find bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Plus-Size Lingerie
Sport Underwear
Bridal Lingerie
Maternity Underwear
Sexy Lingerie
Posted by Tomima at 9:13am
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