Archive for the 'Full Figure Lingerie' Category
The New Goddess Bras – Out With The Old And In With The New.
September 24, 2008
Goddess bras are getting a face lift… or should I say breast lift? One of the original plus size lingerie companies in America, Goddess has always stood for quality, support and great design for the plus sized woman. That philosophy has been the bedrock of Goddess, and won’t be changing. But what will be changing is style, fabrication and technology to be up-to-date with the market and better service their new and existing customers. So, to that end, Goddess will be letting go of more than 16 old bra styles this year. But in return, Goddess is also announcing 5 new bra styles that will start arriving in February of 2009.
So, why the change? I sat down with Betty Schearf and Mary Alice from Goddess for a frank and informative conversation. The first point they wanted to make clear is that Evedon , the parent company of Goddess is very committed to continuing the Goddess line. It’s not going away, in spite of what their competition is saying. Next, we talked about the Goddess customer. They are committed to their core Goddess customer, but also feel like they owe it to her to bring more modern and stylish looks into her lingerie wardrobe. Additionally, there is a younger Goddess customer who is staying away because of the dated looks of many of the traditional Goddess bra styles. Taking all of this in, they concluded that a sweeping change was warranted.
Okay, so what exactly are some of the changes that we will see in the Goddess line? Mary Alice was quick to point to the fabrication. First, the lace choices have a more modern look. To my surprise they explained that lace can look old and dated. There are newer floral laces out there that give their new styles a fresher look. There is also more emphasis on the hand of the fabrics they are using. Softness with support is at the top of their list.
The conversation then moved to color. This was a very interesting point they made. The core Goddess brand color has always been white and they were selling ivory (on the yellow side) as their nude alternative. Now, I know from selling different brands of lingerie, that nude makes up the lion’s share of my sales. Well, Goddess knows this too. Their limited color offering was giving the Goddess brand a consumer opinion of being out-of-date. Needless to say, the new styles coming will be offered in fawn and chocolate to better reflect skin tones.
We’ll also be seeing several construction changes. For example, there will be more use of the leotard back styling than the traditional camisole back. By way of explanation here, a leotard back has the elastic from the straps giving a broad "U" shape to the back, rather than the camisole style where the straps come vertically down from the shoulders and attach to the back band. The advantage to this leotard back style is that it’s more comfortable for the wearer, the straps tend not to slip, and the design creates a more even distribution of breast weight along the wearer’s back.
At least one of the new styles will be bandless. You know that piece of fabric that can be seen under the cups of a bra? Well, that’s the band. Though great for support, this band tends to give the bra a large look and can be uncomfortable and/or roll on more petite women. The trend away from banded bras has been in the industry for a while, and Goddess again wants to provide a product for its customer that is current.
As I mentioned above, there are 5 new bras styles slated for early 2009. The Alice bra will be launching on 2/25/09. This bra will have that traditional Goddess look of projection with the breasts front and center. But, the inside of the cups will be lined with a very soft fabric and the fit is extremely comfortable. The Kiera bra will be launching 1/26/09. This bra gives a rounded shape to the breasts and includes a modern mesh insert along the top of the cups. Finally, the Rose Collection is made up of three bra styles and will be launching on 3/25/09. As with the Kiera bra, the breasts will have a rounded more modern shape with new and stylish lace details.
Reflecting on my meeting with Goddess, I was impressed with the thoughtfullness of the decisions they have made. It’s always hard to let go of tradition, but I think the new styles will not only win over new customers, but update their core Goddess customer as well. After all, no matter our size, we’d like to know that what we have on under it all is fashionable and attractive.
You can learn more about full-figure sizing in HerRoom’s fitting guide.
Find Goddess lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Posted by Tomima at 8:17am
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Shirley of Hollywood Celebrates 60 Years of Sexy Lingerie
June 10, 2008
Shirley of Hollywood intimate apparel is celebrating it’s 60th year in business this month. As it’s name suggests, Hollywood starlets put Shirley of Hollywood on the map for symbolizing sexy quality lingerie that makes women feel fabulous and men wanting more.
Shirley has always been meticulously crafted and found the finest fabrics and finishes such as trims and lace to craft their provocative garments. Owned by the Schlobohm family for three generations, Shirley of Hollywood has always been a family business. From private label for Playboy to major retailers, Shirley can be found in more than 3,000 stores world-wide.
Not to leave anyone out, Shirley of Hollywood in 1987 created the Intimate Attitudes Collection. This collection offers fabulous lingerie styles for the fuller figured woman with sizing starting at 1X and going up to 6X. Quite a ground breaking and risky endeavour that paid off. In 2003, they got into the mens underwear business with a line called Gyz (pronounced "guys").
Famous for their catalogs and visually provocative models, Shirley launched the careers of several famous women: Brooke Burke, Victoria Silverstedt, Leanne Tweeden and Tyran Richard. Several went on to become Playboy Playmates.
With 60 years under their garter belt, Shirley is producing a great commemorative collection that has Hollywood glamour as its inspiration. The collection includes fabulous signature corsets.
The constant with Shirley of Hollywood are their chopper bras or shelf bras, a best seller year after year. And, their crotchless panties are always a hit because they are beautifully made and hide their feature flawlessly.
Find Shirley of Hollywood Lingerie at HerRoom in:
Sexy Lingerie
Sexy Bras
Sexy Panties
Posted by Tomima at 7:53am
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Thoughts on the Overall Undie Award Winners for 2008
June 04, 2008
Since this is just the second year of The Undie Awards, it was everyone’s assumption that there would be several winners this year that also won last year. We were very surprised to find this not to be the case. In the post, I will discuss the Overall winners between 2007 and 2008.
The overall favorite bra for average figure in 2007 was a push-up bra by Wonderbra – style 7234. In 2008, the overall average figure went to a Vanity Fair contour t-shirt bra – style 75-266.
The shift went from a push-up bra that gives more shape and volume to a contour bra that is full coverage and has a thin layer of stretch foam in its seamless cups for modesty. It would seem that women are trending away from the va-va-voom look to a shape that is comfortable, flattering, and more natural.
For the overall favorite full figure bra category, the winner in 2007 went to "The Oprah Bra" by Le Mystere – style 9955. However, in 2008, there was a tie for two very similiar Vanity Fair bras – styles 75-005 and 75-134.
The Le Mystere 9955 Tisha bra was really quite a breakthrough bra for large cup sized women. Finally, there was a seamless and contour t-shirt bra in their size. This bra also scored highly in 2008, but it lost out to two bras with seamed cups (also known as cut and sew bras). There is no better support than a multi-section cup bra. Yes, the Le Mystere 955 is invisible under clothing, but it also a large bra that doesn’t breath very well because of the foam used to line the cups. Both Vanity Fair winners are back-to-basics in terms of fit, shape and support. My guess is that full figure women have both a t-shirt and a section cup bra, but they find their section cup bra to be the most comfortable. This is why I think these basic bras without any of the latest technology tied for Favorite overall bra in the full figure category.
The Favorite Overall Panty between this year and last was quite a surprise. Whereas in 2007, thongs garnered the top 2 positions for everyone’s favorite, this year, the first thong appeared in 4th place. For 2008, the top two postitions went to very basic full brief panties.
2007 was the year of Hanky Panky thongs. Everyone loved them and was wearing them every day. Now, in 2008, women are reaching for briefs, with the most popular being the Vanity Fair Perfectly Yours Ravissant Brief – style 15-712. Yes, the brief known as "the granny panty" is everyones favorite again. The reviews on the voting tell the story. Over and over again, women commented on its comfort, coverage and the fact that it doesn’t show panty lines. This is important. I think most women have been convinced that the only way to avoid panty lines is to wear a thong. Wrong. The old-fashioned brief with no hi-cut to the leg also does a pretty good job of hiding under clothing as well. Women still have thongs in their panty collection. But, for every day comfort and converage, they are wearing their basic briefs and loving it.
So, here are my final thoughts on all of this. There is clearly a trend back to basics. Yes, women probably have a variety of items in their lingerie wardrobe. But what they are loving is their basic undergarments that do the job, and are comfortable. Women are creating two lingerie wardrobes for themselves – one for everyday and one for special or weekend wear.
Find the Undie Award winning lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties
Shapewear
Thongs
Sports Bras
Posted by Tomima at 11:15am
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