Tomima’s Blog – Lingerie & Underwear Expert

If you haven’t yet taken a look at the "Total Solution" line of bras from Maidenform, it would be worth your while to do so.  They are the newest cutting-edge technology in bra support without seams.

Maidenform calls this patent-pending feature "Smartzone" cup technology.  But, even with all the tags they have attached to these bras, the customer probably doesn’t appreciate all they have to offer.  So, I’m going to take a shot at explaining it.

If you look at the inside of the cup on any of the Total Solution bras, you will see that the cup has three color sections.  The thin foam inner lining of the cup is all one piece, but to the naked eye, the foam looks like nothing more than foam that Maidenform simply put a print on. 

What you are really looking at, however, is three different foam types (each with its own color) with different qualities — fused together to form one complete cup lining.

Okay, I know that is hard to follow.  So, look at this image that Maidenform provides:

Their illustration shows three sections with the words Firm, Evens Out Bust, Shape.  These word describe what each section does, but in sort of a marketing way.  After listening to Maidenform executives explain all of this to me in NYC last market, I can tell you there is a lot going on.

Let’s start with the "Firm" foam–it’s very rigid.  I pulled and tugged on it and it wouldn’t stretch.  So, having this kind of foam in the bottom of the cup gives you great support and lift to your breasts.  The "Evens Out Bust" foam has some stretch.  Having this type of foam across the mid-section of your breast helps to shape your breasts while eliminating nipple show-through.  Finally, the "shape" foam is quite stretchy in all directions.  Having this foam across the tops of your breasts means that it stretches as much or as little as you need to make this bra give you a custom fit without gaping.  So, as you can see, there really is a lot going on with this bra.

So what does all of this have to do with the Victoria’s Secret Perfect One bra?  Well,  Maidenform and Victoria’s Secret cut a deal, and the result is that the Victoria’s Secret bra uses the same technology in their Perfect One bra.  The Total Solutions bras and Perfect One bras are basically the same.  However, their cut is slightly different – the Victoria’s Secret bras have less breast coverage.

Now that I’ve explained all of this, I am going to muddy the waters a bit.  Maidenform Company also makes the Lilyette brand of bras.  Lilyette bras are known for being a great solution for women with full- figure cup sizes.  Well, Maidenform took this same Smartzone technology and then added a nipple cover panel inside the "perfects" foam section to help reduce nipple showthrough. They named all of this "Absolute Solution" and sell this modification to the Smartzone technology under their Lilyette brand.  So, for full figure women, you can now get this same technology with the added benefit of more nipple coverage.  Women of most bra sizes now have access to this great new breakthrough!

Find Maidenform lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties

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It’s been fun watching the launch of Emporio Armani underwear for men and the recent Emporio Armani lingerie lines because the marketing buzz it has created has been fresh and exciting.

The latest buzz was that Armani had signed up David Beckham and Angelina Jolie for the next round of ads.  One can only imagine how fabulous it would have been to see both of them sporting Emporio Armani underwear as well as their tattoos.  And I wonder if the Armani marketing team thought about putting the men’s items on Angie and the women’s on David?

Well, all my fabulous fantasies of this pairing were dashed today when US Weekly quoted Beckham on the topic as saying "I don’t think that’s true.  I definitely don’t think that’s true."  Oh well…

However, on this same topic, I came across a great video to share with you–Emporio Armani’s behind-the-scenes video on YouTube of David and Victoria Beckham during one of their joint photoshoots in underwear and lingerie, Definitely worth a gander.

And, of course, you can purchase both men’s and women’s Emporio Armani underwear lines at  HisRoom and HerRoom.

Your votes are in!  This year we received more than 20,000 votes from women and men telling us their favorite undergarments.  Some are repeats from last year, but there are also some fresh new designs.  So, for the third year in a row, here are the 2009 Undie Awards Winners:

This year’s Overall bra winner for average figure goes to the Vanity Fair Body Sleeks Contour Stretch Bra 75-266.   This is the second year in a row that this bra has won this award.  Bottom line: this bra is just plain comfortable with a very simple t-shirt design.

This year’s Overall bra winner for full figure goes to the Panache Superbra Tango Underwire Balconnet bra 3251.  A pretty and flattering bra, it is also very supportive.  Its cup sizing goes up to a JJ.

The Overall Panty winner was the Olga Secret Hug Nylon Scoop Halfpant 913.  Over the three years of this award, most of the panty winners have had a center back seam.  This center back seam gives a much better fit and shape while keeping the panty from riding up.

In the Men’s category, the Overall Favorite Boxers went to Calvin Klein Slim Fit Woven Boxer U1513 for the Woven category, and the Calvin Klein Cotton Knit Boxer U3008 for the knit category.  Both have a devoted following because neither has too much or too little fabric. Both fit just right.

In total, there are 36 Undie Awards given out in the Woman’s category, and 14 Undie Awards given out in the Men’s category.  For a full list of winners, go to TheUndies.com and click on the 2009 Winners. And, while you’re there, go ahead and cast your vote for your favorites.  You could be wearing the next Undie Award Winner!

Find Undie Award-winning lingerie and more at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties

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