Archive for April, 2011
What Should We Call Your Figure Type?
April 21, 2011
One of my many childhood memories is a rather humorous error my dad made– in front of the family– regarding my mom. I was too young to remember the context, but at the dinner table, Dad felt he was complimenting Mom by calling her figure Rubenesque. Well, all 6 kids absolutely remember the fireworks out of my mom immediately following the remark. Quick to explain his compliment, our dad went dashing into the library for an art book to buttress his remark. Things went from bad to worse when we all cast our eyes on these fleshy women painted by Rubens. We may have been young, but we knew that Dad really screwed up. I think he slept on the couch that night.
So, I was amused to read that the Triumph Lingerie Company is trying to gain support for naming women’s shapes to Old Master Artists and their interpretation of the female form. Their premise is that women have a negative reaction to having their body image defined or described as a fruit shape – apple, pear, banana, etc.
Triumph is proposing a woman be referred to as a Matisse rather than "pear-shaped," and as a Rembrandt if she is full busted with a full bottom. Though this is an iinitially intriguing alternative, I fear these artistic analogies could become problematic.
For example, what if someone said you had a Picasso figure? Would they be speaking of his earlier works or his later more abstract ones? Think about this. Is the person saying that they are aware that your breasts are not even or body parts are not in the normal position? What if they said you had an Andy Warhol figure? Does this mean you look like Marilyn Monroe or a soup can?
My father’s experience should be a cautionary tale to us all. This "Master Artist Body Type" concept needs some serious work.
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Posted by Tomima at 1:23pm
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An Eco Friendly Bra
April 21, 2011
The UK retailer Marks & Spencer has launched, with great fanfare, the first ever carbon neutral bra. Okay, what exactly does this mean?
The lingerie collection is called Autograph Leaves, and the four bras, three panties and garter belt were made in Sri Lanka at an eco-model factory that had its carbon footprint certified by the Carbon Trust. That means they calculated everything that goes into the carbon footprint such as the components, manufacturing, transportation, even the amount of energy consumers will use to wash and dry the underwear.
One interesting discovery from calculating the carbon footprint of lingerie was the discovery of how much impact lace and embroidery have on the footprint’s size. So, lingerie that is simpler is also "greener." And, using manufacturing techniques that use renewable energy and reduce waste, they were able to reduce the carbon footprint by approximately 33% compared to traditional lingerie manufacturing.
"The complexity of a bra’s supply chain makes it the ideal product to learn about the practicalities of carbon footprinting, as it contains 21 component parts from 12 different suppliers," explains Mike Barry, head of sustainable business at M&S.
Find all bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
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Posted by Tomima at 12:51pm
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